Three L.A. couples celebrate Valentine’s Day in Acne Studios

Styled in Acne Studios’ Valentine’s Day edit, three L.A. creative couples brought us into their worlds as they reflected on their artistic journeys, relationships and personal styles as a tool for connection. The simple act of always having their partner’s go-to moisturizer in their bag for them, shopping together or making space for each other’s dreams can yield the kind of fruitful love that makes navigating this world all the better.

Hayley and Clyde

Hayley, left, wears Acne Studios top, belt, skirt and bag, Y Project earrings and model’s own socks. Clyde wears Acne Studios shirt and model’s own socks and Dickies pants.

Smooth jazz plays as the sun pours in over the mountains and into the heart of Hayley Ashton Corley and Clyde Nikolai Corley’s home, tucked away in the hills of Topanga Canyon. Hayley is an artist and model, and her husband Clyde is an artist and filmmaker. Though the two of them have not been professionally photographed together often, they are quite natural together on camera. As the shoot unfolds, Clyde can be found affectionately rubbing Hayley’s hand, gently playing with the wedding band on her ring finger. “I met Clyde when I was 20 and we’ve been together almost 10 years now,” Hayley says. The two got married in India, where Hayley’s family is from, during a three-day ceremony in November 2024. “The wedding was making what was already spiritual, physical,” Clyde says.

When you first met, what drew you to each other?

Hayley: His eyes. I saw him across the room and we both looked at each other. I crossed the room, walked up to him and sat down and wanted to just chat. Then Clyde DM’d me on Instagram and a few weeks later he asked me out to breakfast.

Clyde: We just clicked immediately; we were drawn to each other. We were kids, and she was just so positive and kept talking about all the good things about L.A., which is really refreshing when you’re from L.A., because everybody comes here and kind of hates on things.

What was most memorable about your first date?

Clyde: We went to Figaro Bistrot in Los Feliz. I order an eggs Benedict, and Hayley’s like, “I’ll do the same.” But then she swaps the bread for croissant, makes the egg scrambled, adds spinach, and ends up with this different story sliding around the plate. She was over it and didn’t even eat it.

Hayley: I honestly hate eggs Benedict so much.

Clyde: But we just kept looking at each other and I really liked being around her. Then I got back to my car and got a parking ticket, so it was great. About a $150 brunch that no one enjoyed and that was our first date.

What is your favorite thing about the way your partner styles themselves?

Hayley: Clyde dresses himself by his mood. Some days it’ll be all black or white, but he’s always pulling fits. I feel like I tend to go to Clyde when I want to be dressed a certain way, so he really helps style me.

Clyde: Hayley’s really natural. She wears anything and it’s fire, and I’m inspired by that. Maybe it informs my outlook on clothing. Hayley can play both worlds really well; she can dress up really beautifully and be an absolute stunner. She can tap into her Indian roots and express beautiful dynamic style. She’s also just my muse so I’m obsessed with her.

If you styled each other for the day, what do you think the end results would look like?

Clyde: Hayley loves funny fits I wear, maybe baggy sweatpants and a funny beanie. She loves a messy skater boy look. Or she likes when I’m really dressed up so she’d probably dress me in some fun whimsical stuff.

Hayley: If Clyde were to style me, it’d probably be skinny jeans that are tight on my butt or a really chic skirt. He likes to see my skin and my shape, where sometimes I tend to wear baggy pants.

If you were on a game show, and you had to accurately guess at least five things that you could find in your partner’s bag at any given moment, what would those items be?

Clyde: In her bag right now would be her phone, wallet, her little rose-brown colored lip gloss. She has this energy boosting key from a Chinese herbalist lady in New York, like a tonic. She’s known to bring a phone charger around.

Hayley: For Clyde, I think laptop, hard drive, computer charger, phone, wallet. That’s pretty much it.

You both are so creative. How has being in love enhanced your artistic practice?

Hayley: Clyde is just a really inspiring person to be around. Watching him and his craft inspires me to be a better artist, because he has such discipline, but also flow. The past 10 years of being together has helped me hone in on my own work and practice.

Clyde: I feel the same, in different ways. I’m coming from a place of feeling seen. I got the person who loves me for who I am and I don’t have to keep up with trends or anything. It allows me to focus on the actual feelings I’m trying to express rather than how it’s going to be seen by the outside world. It just allows me to stay inspired. We’re so lucky. I think if love can inspire you to hold on to the things you care about, that’s really advantageous in art.

Mo and Banoffee

It’s a picturesque afternoon in Echo Park. The sun is warm, the breeze is cool and the peaceful bustle feeds the atmosphere at Canyon Coffee. Mo Faulk and Banoffee Faulk, partners in love and creative pursuits, arrive for a late lunch. Both earth signs, the two laugh at the peculiarities they noticed within each other upon first meeting. Together for almost a year, they instantly clicked, which is quite apparent while observing them. They can’t help but smile at each other throughout the shoot, stealing forehead kisses between shots and laughing constantly. It is a connection so in sync it could have been written in the stars. And, as two people with heavy earth sign placements, it nearly was.

With Mo being a creative producer and manager, and Banoffee being a musician and producer, their jobs can be socially demanding. The self-proclaimed homebodies share that their ideal quality pastime is rewatching “Grey’s Anatomy” for the third time, sitting together in silence while enjoying cookie milkshakes, or spending a weekend away in nature.

When you first met, what drew you to each other?

Mo: We both understand the chaos of family dynamics in a way that’s really comforting.

Banoffee: Yeah, it’s nice when you find someone who’s not a nepo baby in L.A., because it’s rare. But the goofiness as well. I was drawn to Mo initially, because they’re attractive, but it was nice to meet someone who can be really silly.

What was the most memorable part about your first date?

Mo: We were coming to hang out as friends, but we left kind of obsessed with each other. Separately, we left and called our friends.

Banoffee: We met at 10 in the morning and left at 4 p.m.

Mo: We just didn’t want to leave each other.

Mo, right, wears Acne Studios jeans, top and bag and Martine Rose shoes. Banoffee wears Acne Studios jeans, top and belt, Martine Rose X Nike shoes and stylist’s own Acne Studios moto jacket.

What is your favorite thing about the way your partner styles themselves?

Mo: With Banoffee it’s always fun because everyday is like a new character. They’re down to put weird stuff together that actually is very cool. I like the playfulness with clothes and it also speaks to the playfulness of our relationship.

Banoffee: Mo’s style is sort of a recontextualized hick. They love a flannel and fishing caps. I like how rugged their style is, but somehow they make it look really high fashion.

If you styled each other for the day, what do you think the end results would look like?

Banoffee: Mo would put me in a baggy jean, with a belt and a little shirt, with some sort of leather jacket or a bomber and a cool sneaker. I feel like Mo’s ethos for dressing is “over-casual is always cooler.”

Mo: Maybe those new jeans you got me, I have no idea.

Banoffee: I’d put you in a vintage thermal.

Mo: Oh, yeah. Little tight thermal, big jeans.

Banoffee: Would we dress each other exactly the same?

If you were on a game show, and you had to accurately guess at least five things that you could find in your partner’s bag at any given moment, what would those items be?

Mo: A Juul, 17 empty Juul pods, a lipliner that’s broken without the top on it, one of those makeup brushes that’s been in there for far too long and maybe a mini hairbrush. And empty contact lens cases.

Banoffee: Mo’s bag is so full, so practical, it’s annoying. They’d have two Aquaphors. The big tube and the little tube. They’d have all of my things: ID, sometimes my passport, medications, my contact lenses. A mini natural mouth wash, gum, a charging cord, deodorant, there’s probably a spare pair of socks, and then those sniffy menthol things for your nose. And a lot of rings, chains, and things that they may or may not want to wear.

With both of you being in the creative industry with overlapping work, how do you think being together has influenced your artistic practice?

Banoffee: I feel like our relationship has re-energized my creative work. We’re each other’s cheerleaders but can also get our hands dirty. It feels cool to be a part of a team in that way. Before I met Mo, I was feeling kind of tired about my work, a little bit like the romance had gone from it, but I feel like since we’ve met, there’s a lot of possibility opening up because we’re in it together.

Mo: I agree. Being in the entertainment industry can feel really lonely. Everyone’s kind of stepping on each other intentionally or not to get to what they want to do, and if things aren’t going the way you want it to it can feel hopeless. But with Banoffee, they think everything I do is cool, every idea I have they’re excited about, and I feel the same way about them. The idea of being a team, it reignites the fire.

Lex and Petar

Petar, top, wears Acne Studios top, Calvin Klein underwear and model’s own socks, shoes and jewelry. Lex wears Acne Studios jeans, sweater and belt and model’s own jewelry.

Lex Orozco-Cabral and Petar Ilic are on their sunset-lit balcony, overlooking the Hollywood strip. Petar, a Bosnian model and creative, works at a creative agency in the fashion sector, while Lex, a Bay Area native, is a union costume designer and stylist. Both exude a level of comfortable confidence in front of the camera — like two sculptures come to life. Immersing themselves into the fun of it all, Lex jokes, “This is our normal.”

Crossing paths for the first time in New York, connecting over Instagram and finally meeting when Petar moved to L.A., the pair’s romance had been years in the making. Lex, a triple fire sign and Petar, a balance of fire, water and air, live together in WeHo where they love to spend time deep-diving into fashion and pop-culture references. Lex has a larger-than-life personality — he is sure, protective and affirming of Petar, while Petar is calm, grounding and nurturing of Lex. “Two years later and I’m still obsessed with him,” Lex shares lovingly. “He’s just getting better and better,” Petar offers, “and I’m here for where this is gonna take us.”

What about your partner were you most drawn to?

Petar: I have a lot. The list is long. He’s handsome, he’s tall, he’s funny. I love his fashion sense, just everything about him. This is my person. Everything we do from day to day, it’s never boring.

Lex: At first it was physical, he’s just so gorgeous. But then once I met him, I fell in love with his little -isms. He has these buzz words and phrases. And he is genuinely so caring, so kind. I’m like, “Where the f— did he come from?”

What is your favorite thing about the way your partner styles themselves?

Lex: I definitely help him and elevate his style but he had great style before. He’s very minimal, he likes to look refined and polished, like a proper boy, but then at home, he’s dressed really gay. Like, at home it’s sexy undies and a rocker shirt.

Petar: I never really cared too much about dressing up before I met him. One of my favorite things about him is that his style is so crazy. He’s wearing all these amazing pieces. I never really met anyone who cared so much about clothes, and it’s inspiring. I’m like, “this is hot.” He’s like an encyclopedia when it comes to fashion.

If you both had to style each other for the day, what do you think those end results would look like?

Petar: That’s really hard to say.

Lex: I would like him to dress gayer.

Petar: I’m just avoiding all the bullying I can. I get nervous sometimes holding hands.

Lex: But I try to tell him no one is bullying you here, this isn’t Bosnia.

Petar: And that’s true, I’ve never been bullied here in L.A., and he helps me get out of my comfort zone.

If you were on a game show, and you had to accurately guess at least five things that you could find in your partner’s bag at any given moment, what would those items be?

Petar: His phone, wallet, the microfiber cloth for glasses and phones, really just the essentials.

Lex: His crystal stone, his mouth tape. He always has some type of lip gloss, gum and edibles.

Lex holds Acne Studio bag.

You are both very creative. How do you think being together, being in love, has influenced your artistic practice?

Lex: I just have better days. I know that I have the best f—ing boyfriend at home waiting for me. I always say I get the best ideas [when I’m with] him.

Petar: I am just honestly happier from the moment I wake up. The world feels safe and everything is more aligned. Also the subjects we talk about, the things he shows me.

What is something about the way your partner sees the world that you really appreciate?

Lex: He’s so positive and optimistic, and I miss that because I can be jaded working in this industry where you don’t always get credit for your work. I’m more of a stresser, and he calms me down.

Petar: One of my favorite things about him is that he’s very confident, he’s a go-getter. You gotta act like you’re the main character in life and he brings that out of me.

Cierra Black is an Inland Empire-raised, L.A.-based writer and UCLA graduate. With bylines in several publications, Cierra writes about the interplay between art, style, and beauty, and social issues and behaviors.