Playboy Club favorite Isabelle Reese lights up when she talks about Playboy. The excitement is immediate, and it carries into the way she shows up on the Playboy Club: open, playful and fully in the moment.
The American Creator living in Italy talks behind-the-scenes Lives, ballet, confidence and what Playboy means to her.
Her photoshoot Lives are a good example. Isabelle takes fans behind the scenes while the set is active, letting them watch the shoot come together in real time. There are wardrobe changes, conversations between shots, quick adjustments and the energy that exists before a final image has been selected and edited. She loves that part of it. The finished photos matter, but so does the atmosphere around them.
“To me, the Playboy Club means eroticism, artisanal value and the elegance of confidence,” she says. “It’s about owning your image, your choices and your power as a modern Creator.”
Years of Ballet Still Show
Before Isabelle became a Creator, she was a professional ballerina. She also played violin for 10 years. That background is easy to see once you know it is there. She understands movement, posture and how small changes can alter the feeling of an image. She is comfortable performing, but she never feels stiff or overly rehearsed. During a Live, she shifts naturally between posing for the photographer and talking directly to the people watching.
For Isabelle, confidence begins with feeling grounded in herself. “Feeling in control of myself, a little mystery, a lot of self-love; that’s what gives me self-confidence.” Mystery is important to her. So is eye contact. “It makes you more magnetizing and makes me more curious,” she says.
An American Creator in Italy
Isabelle is American, but she now lives in Italy, where many of her shoots and Lives take place. The setting suits her: beautiful light, old architecture and no shortage of places that make an ordinary afternoon look cinematic.
Off camera, she prefers a quieter routine. After a long day, she takes a hot shower, grabs a snack, lights several candles and puts on a movie or television show. She also collects books much faster than she reads them, a habit that has already outpaced the first few titles in the stack. Her guilty pleasure song is a little less picturesque: the song she keeps returning to is “Flaming Hot Cheetos” by Clairo. Her dream fictional dinner guest is Dexter Morgan, which raises several questions that are probably better left unanswered.
Cool People Are Born in July
Photos by @donatomigliori
Isabelle is a Cancer, though she says people rarely guess it. “In a way, I feel like it matches my personality, but people would never guess it was actually my sign.” Her favorite part of having a July birthday is less complicated.
“Cool people are born in July. That’s by far my favorite thing.”
Her preferred form of self-care is equally direct: “Go touch some grass.”
Leaving People Wondering
Isabelle’s favorite motto captures much of her personality:
“When life gives you lemons, make orange juice and leave them wondering how you made it.”
She likes maintaining a little distance between what people see and what they think they know. Her Lives offer access, but they still leave room for curiosity. Fans can watch the photoshoot happen, hear her laugh between takes and see the excitement on her face without losing the sense that there is more to discover. Her dream trip would take her through Asia in the style of Anthony Bourdain: following the food, meeting people and seeing places beyond the polished tourist version.
For now, she is in Italy, building the next shoot and inviting Playboy Club fans along for the part that usually happens off camera.
Find Isabelle Reese on the Playboy Club, catch one of her behind-the-scenes Lives and wish her a happy birthday month for a special thank-you.