WERK the RUNWAY: Cycle 3 - The Mertailor

      WERK the RUNWAY: Cycle 3 featured the Spring 2016 Swimwear Collection from The Mertailor and designer, Eric Ducharme, "Buy. Wear. Swim."

   Buy, wear, and swim in the Mertailor's realistic and swimmable mermaid tails and mermaid-inspired bathing suits. Designer, Eric Ducharme started The Mertailor in 2006, when he was just 16 years old performing in the Weeki Wachee Springs Little Mermaid Show in Florida. "Some kids want to grow up to become firefighters or superheroes," Ducharme says, "but all I ever wanted to be was a merman." Ten years later, he's designed realistic, hand-painted custom mermaid tails for a range of clients as diverse as Lady Gaga, Saturday Night Live, Pirates of the Caribbean and aquariums all over the world. 

Eryn wearing one of the Mertailor's beautiful mermaid tails in 2014

   WERK the RUNWAY: Cycle 3 brought a high fashion runway event to Morristown, Tennessee for the third time on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at the Country Club. With a sold-out crowd and an amazing line-up, Cycle 3 was our biggest success yet. According to guests, the show gets "bigger and better every time."

   WERK the RUNWAY is co-hosted by award-winning makeup artist Missy Young and internationally-published fashion & fitness photographer Eric McKinney of 6:12 Photography. 

   Makeup for the show is by MUA Missy Young. 

   Hairstyling was provided by Harley Chandler, Desiree Huskey and Cassandra Wolfe with the Tennessee Institute of Cosmetology. 

   Music for the runway was provided by DJ Preston Husk. 

   For more photos from WERK the RUNWAY: Cycle 3, check out 6:12 Photography by Eric McKinney on Facebook at www.facebook.com/photographybyericmckinney.
   For more 6:12 photos, visit facebook.com/photographybyericmckinney. If you enjoy my work, take a moment to click "like" on my page. You can also follow 6:12 on Instagram @mannequin612.
   Interested in booking a photo session with 6:12 Photography? Contact Eric McKinney at emckinney612@gmail.com to schedule a shoot.
   For more from MUA Missy Young, visit facebook.com/EcoChicDesignsbyMelissa. You can also follow Missy on Instagram @muabymissy.
   For more from The Mertailor, visit www.facebook.com/mertailor. You can also purchase your own swimwear or custom-made mermaid/merman tails online at www.themertailor.com. 

The Mermaid Collection - Preview

   Check out a sneak peek of "The Mermaid Collection" by 6:12 Photography by Eric McKinney. 
   The beautiful and unique mermaid tails (and our merman's tail) were provided by Eric Ducharme, designer and owner of The Mertailor in Crystal River, Florida. The Mertailor provides both custom and pre-made mermaid and merman tails for clientele all over the world. Each tail is one-of-a-kind, made from the highest quality materials to create an appearance that will make anyone do a double take and question the existence of these mythical creatures. 

   As the owner of The Mertailor, Eric Ducharme has been creating mermaid tails since he was just a kid. What began as mermaid tails made from garbage bags, masking tape and the sheets off his own bed eventually turned into tails sewn by hand with a needle and thread. He was only 14 when he began filling orders for his tail designs. Today, Eric is creating his tails out of silicone, urethanes and latex rubbers, and his clientele includes Lady Gaga, Target, Saturday Night Live, Walt Disney studios, and Pirates of the Caribbean. 
   It was a true honor to collaborate with Eric for an opportunity to shoot with some of his incredible Mertailor designs. No matter where my shoots took place with these tails, we were constantly surrounded by crowds wanting to watch the shoot and inquire about how my "mermaids" were possible. Huge thanks to Eric and The Mertailor for making this collection possible, and specials to makeup artist Missy Young and all of the models as well. You can ask any of the models (or the helping hands at each shoot), being a mermaid isn't an easy task. 
   
   Here's the first look at 6:12's "The Mermaid Collection." 
   

Mermaid: Eryn C.

Mermaid: McKenzie M.

Mermaid: Christina A.

Mermaid: Rachel S.

Mermaid: Alex S.

Mermaid: Hilary M.

   To learn more about these unique mermaid tails and the Mertailor who designs them, check out the Mertailor Mermaid Tails By Eric Ducharme on FB at https://www.facebook.com/mertailor and The Mertailor's website at https://www.themertailor.com/. And don't miss The Mertailor's designs featured on Shark Week, this week on the Discovery Channel USA.


   For more 6:12 photos, visit facebook.com/photographybyericmckinney. If you enjoy my work, take a moment to click "like" on my page.
   Interested in booking a photo session with 6:12 Photography? Contact Eric McKinney at emckinney612@gmail.com to schedule a shoot.