When this trio – seniors Ayla Hughes, Max Tayrien and Kylee Bain – walk down the halls, you can’t help but notice them. And that’s the goal.
Draped in all black with silver chains and platform Doc Martens. Eyeliner on point.
They’re the Goth Squad.
“For me, really, I base fashion after others’ fashion but make it my own,” Tayrien said. “My biggest influence is Billie Eilish. I wish I could have her whole wardrobe.”
They’ve become familiar faces — especially in K-Hall, home to K-1 and K-3 for photography and clay classes.
Bain enrolled in Digital Photography her sophomore year, and stuck with the program all through high school. Hughes and Tayrien joined later, taking Classic Photography their junior year before taking the advanced class with Bain.
“All of the kids in this group started out as curious and interested in Digital Photography,” teacher Craig Godderz said. “Once they got together as a unit, the quality of their work started to evolve and become more experimental.
“I think that being able to bounce ideas and concepts off of each other allows them to compare and contrast what works with a project and make changes and improvements as necessary. That, and they always have a model available since they work together and have a similar sense of aesthetics.”
Their creative chemistry hasn’t gone unnoticed. Godderz watched how they worked in class and saw other students push themselves creatively.
One of those projects? The joiner.
“For the joiner project, we collaborate by taking different angles of each other’s faces and bodies, then print and assemble them how we each see fit,” Bain said.
The project requires intense collaboration. From choosing the theme to printing, measuring and piecing it all together — it’s a technical puzzle as much as an artistic one.
“Printing the right-sized photos to fit is difficult,” Hughes said. “It’s also quite hard to measure and get everything into place.”
Last October, Godderz introduced a new project: a horror movie poster.
Right up the Goth Squad’s alley.
“We all had elaborate ideas for what we wanted to do,” Bain said. “And it’s the project that takes the most effort and time to work on together.”
They spent a week planning and another week executing, tapping into every ounce of their shared creativity.
But the journey hasn’t just been about killer photos and dark aesthetics. Over the years, the trio has grown — not only as artists, but as collaborators and individuals.
After graduation, Bain plans to go to cosmetology school, Tayrien will be attending Kansas City Art Institute and Hughes is planning on enrolling in an art school.
Though their paths will soon split, the Goth Squad’s bond — built on art and endless hours in K-Hall — isn’t going anywhere.
They didn’t just create striking visuals. They created a friendship that helped each of them grow into the artists, and people, they are today.