Behind the Scenes – 2013 Collection Photoshoot – Part 1 – Finding the model

Olivier and I have been wanting to do our own photo shoot to showcase our new collections for the good part of a year, but we couldn’t find the right model. At the end of last year, we finally managed to get our much coveted shoot off the ground with not one but two gorgeous models. Here is how we found them (yes I did find one of our lovely girls on the Northern line tube)!

I love flicking through glossy magazines and am a huge fan of luxury brand advertising campaigns, but had never appreciated the amount of work that goes into putting one together and how difficult it can be to translate a vision you have into reality, which is why we kept delaying our shoot because we couldn’t find the right model to represent our brand – it wasn’t just about finding a beautiful face – it was about finding a beautiful person – our brand is about customer service, friendliness and simple elegance and we wanted our model to emanate this.

I remember spending one Sunday evening looking through pictures of models on casting websites and feeling frustrated as I couldn’t find anyone who exuded the warmth I was looking for, and going to work the next day and standing in a packed rush hour train next to a really pretty girl who I assumed was a student. Just then a homeless person came onto the train and squeezed past us and I was struck how nice the girl was to him as he tried to get past whilst others were being really rude. I knew then she was our model but how did I ask her and wouldn’t she think it was an odd if I did. Well, I did ask her and Donna and I met up for coffee with Olivier a week later and the rest is history. We had found our model and a lovely new friend in the process.

We started planning the shoot and just about to set the date when Donna had to return for personal reasons to Sweden, and we were back to square one, just as we had found our dream model! However they do say that every black cloud has a silver lining, and so we went back to searching and after a few false starts, we found Kristina who is now the face of our brand. Again it was really important to us that our model was not just a pretty face, and Kristina is a talented designer and genuinely lovely person who just happens to look amazing in pictures and showcases our accessories beautifully!

And in true fairytale tradition, with every story having a happy ending, we set a date for a shoot, got all the other pieces and people in place, and Donna called to say she was coming to London that week for a short trip! Fate was being so kind. We decided we would use both of them on the shoot, Kristina for the Made in Britain pieces and Donna to wear our Boutique Collections and couldn’t have been happier with their work or the results from the day.

More about the photo shoot and the brilliant people who we worked with coming soon together with lots of exclusive behind the scenes pics! 

Happy Sunday!

Sangeeta x