Southern Decadence Parade 2023: Hot Stuff

Storyboard
Written By Melanie Cole
September 2023

Despite the oppressive heat, the show did go on, gyrating through the Quarter to cheering crowds who were wowed by the marchers’ stamina, bright spirits – and minimalist costumes.

- photos by Melanie Cole

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Melanie Cole

Brit by birth, Texan by persuasion, Melanie Cole was lured by the NOLA sirens in 2019. After college she accidentally found herself vagabonding around the globe in an international modeling career. By the 90s she’d ditched the runway heels for a thrift store army parka and torn jeans and began training as a graphic designer in Hamburg, Germany. She spent the following decades designing and developing print retail magazines for major publishing houses there.

Creating layouts that told stories in photos, together with her early years spent in front of a camera, honed her innate ability to capture the essence of a photographic story. She remains passionate about light, color, space, movement, people and their cultures, and visually documenting their stories.

Melanie lives with her two cats and loves to kayak LA/MS backwaters in her free time. Contact her at melanieshootsphotos@gmail.com and follow her at melnaieshootsphotos on Instagram.

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A Gay Couple’s Notable Influence on the French Quarter