holiday fashion cover babcock ranch black dress
Ivette Bianchi gown; bracelet by Roberto Cavalli. Photography by Omar Cruz

Making the Cover: Holiday Fashion at Babcock Ranch Preserve

For our December 2025 cover, we bring holiday drama inland, where sculptural gowns meet Florida's wild winter landscape.

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This month, we go beyond the coastline to show the raw beauty of Florida’s inland wilderness. At Babcock Ranch Preserve in Punta Gorda, photographer Omar Cruz captured the cover among towering longleaf pines and stretches of open prairie. To meet the setting, stylist Veronica Porras assembled a lineup of architectural gowns from Monsoori, Gaurav Gupta and Lena Erziak—pieces chosen for their structure, color and ability to hold presence against the landscape.

The resulting images push holiday fashion into new territory. Here, we share the cover alongside the additional composed frames captured throughout the shoot.

Purchased in 2006 through the state’s Florida Forever conservation program, the 70,000-acre preserve links pine flatwoods and cypress domes in a green corridor from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf. Celia Kritharioti gown; vintage necklace. 

Beyond the preserve’s edge lies America’s first solar-powered town—a modern community built on the same principle that guides the land: Live lightly, restore what’s been taken. Gaurav Gupta gown; Kimono Dragon jewelry.

Open for hiking and guided eco-tours, Babcock exemplifies Florida’s inland beauty, with longleaf pines, open prairies and wetlands stretching for miles. Monsoori gown; Alexis Bittar jewelry.

Today, the preserve shelters more than 30 native species—from swallow-tailed kites to the endangered Florida panther. Each sighting marks a slow, hard-won return. Gown from Lena Erziak.  

Photography by Omar Cruz 

Styling by Veronica Porras 

Hair and Makeup by Duality Artistry 

Model is Jodean Amen