This was the beginning.

Not yet a platform. Not yet an archive. Just a girl with a camera, drawn to the way students showed up—dressed in feeling, in color, in care.They are not just photos. They are fragments of becoming.

This is where The Hemline first arrived—in hallways, in sunlight, in soft intention.

✦ A Letter to Those Who Let Me See Them

To the ones who paused for a photo,
who let me capture the way sunlight hit your jacket,
the rings on your fingers,
the quiet fire in your eyes, thank you.

You didn’t know me.
I was just a girl with a camera and a question.
But you said yes.
You let yourself be seen.
You let yourself be, unfiltered, unshaped, unafraid.

Maybe it was just a moment to you.
But to me? It was a blueprint.
A soft confirmation that

brilliance doesn’t wait to be named,

it just walks across campus in boots and rings.
that style is story,
that softness and edge can live in the same frame.

The Hemline wouldn’t exist without your trust.
Your presence gave it breath.
Your image, your words, your yes,
they stitched the very beginning of this archive.

The Hemline is growing into a storytelling platform for women and youth—to hold our voices, our visions, and everything we’re still becoming. Thank you for helping shape its first breath.

This page is for you.
Always.

With deep care,
Diamond Smith

Founder, The Hemline

The Hemline


As Virginia Woolf once wrote in a letter inviting her friends to the countryside, Bring no clothes, here, it's just us. In the same way I encourage you to strip back the punitive structures of clothing, and all their symbolic implications. 

Beyond our respective titles and roles, here, it's just us here and joy lives in that exchange."

- Francesco Risso

Young woman with glasses, black hair, and facial piercings standing outdoors near a pond, wearing a colorful graphic shirt with ladybug designs and a necklace with a cross pendant.
A young woman standing outdoors on autumn leaves, wearing sunglasses, a black hoodie under a black leather jacket with an American flag patch, orange sweatpants, and chunky black boots, with a small black backpack.
A young woman with pink hair smiling outdoors, wearing a white crop top, a knitted beige cardigan, and colorful beaded necklaces, with a church and trees in the background.
A woman with shoulder-length wavy hair, dyed red at the ends, standing on a sidewalk between two rows of bushes with pink flower buds. She is wearing a navy blue and white varsity jacket, beige skirt, patterned tights, white leg warmers, and white bo
A young woman with bright orange hair styled in a messy bun, wearing black lipstick, multiple silver necklaces, and a patterned shirt. She has a green lightning bolt face paint on her cheek and small earrings in her ear.
A woman with curly hair wearing a black face mask, gray blazer, black top, black lace-up corset, black leather skirt, and knee-high black boots, standing outdoors near a body of water with trees and buildings in the background.
Close-up of a young man with curly blonde hair, wearing large mismatched tortoiseshell glasses, a black shirt, pink jacket, gold earrings, and a gold chain, standing outside on a sunny day near a grassy area and buildings.
Person standing against a white wall, wearing a llama hat, glasses, a patterned black and white top, black dress, and fluffy white leg warmers with black shoes.
A smiling young man with glasses, wearing a beige sweater, a pink and white cap, and necklace, posing in front of a concrete wall.
A woman wearing a yellow embroidered kurta and white salwar standing indoors against wooden wall panels.
Close-up profile of a woman with brown hair in a messy bun, wearing colorful earrings and light clothing, with pink and white makeup accents near her eye.
Person with short, multi-colored hair wearing glasses, a black shirt, a patterned open shirt, baggy blue pants, and slippers, standing on green grass near blue utility boxes and a brick building with trees in the background.
Young woman with curly red hair, wearing a vibrant pink and red textured sleeveless crop top, baggy dark denim shorts with multiple chains, colorful socks, and white high-top sneakers, standing on sidewalk outside a store with large glass windows.
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The Hemline

The Hemline

Thank you for being part of this beginning.
Your presence, your style, your story—it all meant something.
With love, always.

—The Hemline