What makes a New York City It Girl? It’s not conventional beauty, wealth or even fame, but an undefinable allure that invites inspiration.

She’s the girl who feels distant enough to idolise yet relatable enough to befriend. Her star power is enough to command any room, and for the next month, that will be the Rectangle Room Gallery in Lower Manhattan .

She’s the subject of All About Alana , a photography exhibit featuring more than 30 photographers’ images of the titular Alana Jessica Martin.

The idea of centring a show on Alana Jessica Martin – an actress, model, musician and muse – seemed as natural to those around her as the urge to photograph her. The challenge – and perhaps the heart – of this project came from creating new work for the exhibition.

Martin participated in more than 30 photoshoots over the course of one month. Lighting, hair, makeup and styling all spun together like gears in a machine.

Martin, cigarette in hand and gloss on her lips, took on the challenge with enough stamina to compete with Tyra’s top models.

The show features a diverse group of photographers, ranging from college students to industry professionals, all working in unique styles. High-contrast black-and-white portraits placed among gritty colour street photography, decorated studio sets pinned next to candid moments in friends-of-friends’ apartments. Each work has the mission of capturing the All About Alana essence.

Daniel Arnold’s photo places Martin in crowded Little Italy, framed beside two patriotic workers staring down the camera. The scene perfectly captures the dichotomy of stardom – glamour set against grit, life in constant motion. Legendary editorial photographer Danielle Levitt’s scene feels just as old-school NYC at Katz’s Delicatessen. The rush-hour bustle serves as a backdrop for Alana’s allure. Fries, Diet Coke and an eye roll are enough to cast her in a Clueless remake.

Sam Penn’s intimate portrait, meanwhile, gives Martin her well-earned space, with her hands in her hair like a close-up from an early-2000s Britney Spears music video. It’s an image that answers the question: Who is AlanaJessica Martin? Other artists, like Clifford Prince King, decided to exhibit a 12-photo contact sheet echoing the screentests of an old-Hollywood actress. She’s beautiful and convincing in every frame.

As a champion of this endeavour and the curator of the show, I met in 2020 and we have since worked closely together on countless projects spanning a range of styles. My photo shows the star draped in front of an old mattress, with a cheekiness that alludes not only to the ultimate bombshell, Marilyn Monroe, but also to the delicate romance of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus .

Our bond is the glue holding this project together, an homage to the beauty of an artist’s relationship with their muse.

This show is a celebration of New York City’s newest, finest, blondest It Girl. Walking through the space feels like browsing Andy Warhol ’s Factory: a Candy Darling film strip plastered on the wall. It’s a wonderful callback to the muses who have inspired masterpieces – Cookie Mueller , Connie Girl, Edie Sedgwick. The work shows someone on the cusp of greatness, with the charisma to keep you watching. Alana Jessica Martin is it.

All About Alana is on view at Rectangle Room Gallery (113 Eldridge St., New York, NY 10002) until November 15, 2026.

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McGinley writes about his new exhibition, in which he invites more than 30 photographers to contribute their own vision of the actress, model, musician and muse Alana Jessica Martin