Kristen Cole, president and CEO of innovative retailer Forty Five Ten, has been hard at work. After her store Tenoversix was purchased by Dallas-based real estate company Headington, the second retailer it has purchased after Forty Five Ten in 2014, Cole made a home for herself in her new role and is working on bolstering the connectivity between the emerging and luxury categories with Forty Five Ten.

Cole’s latest project is producing seasonal photo series highlighting the relationship between fashion and art at Forty Five Ten. For pre-spring, Cole chose noted street style photographer Phil Oh to shot model Lili Sumner at the Marlborough Contemporary.

While working on the pre-spring campaign, Cole began thinking about the present moment and asking herself “What do I want to see right now? How do I want to feel?”

“I wanted to focus on the here and now because I love this season,” Cole said. “Pre-spring lands during the holidays, which is always my favorite time in store. Our client always has plenty of reason to shop evening, bold pieces and luxurious gifts at this time, so it’s fun. On an existential level, with being so busy with future projects, I am focusing a lot on being present.”

Cole has long admired Vogue street style photographer Phil Oh’s aesthetic, and thought he’d be perfect to shoot the campaign. “He has a great eye and captures special vibrancy in his subjects,” she said. The push-pull concept explored in the shoot came to life thanks Lili Sumner.

On the relationship between fashion and art, Cole said, “Nothing makes me happier than to see fashion with art. We display contemporary art and artist-produced fixtures in our stores (our collection in store includes Tracey Emin, Juergen Teller, Catherine Opie, Jose Davila, Greg Bogin) and shoot our campaigns within the context of art. For our spring ‘19 campaign we shot Balenciaga by a Tony Matelli sculpture, Partow with John Riepenhoff painting, Rosie Assoulin back to Margo Wolowiec textile piece, and Marni against Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe piece all at Marlborough Contemporary in Chelsea.”

Going forward, Cole plans to continue creating a truly unique shopping experience for her clients through curated music, compelling and beautiful design, high-level of service, directional edits with top designers, and a cool atmosphere with the addition of art and dining.