Being an adult is hard sometimes.
When you have to budget for your fast food cravings.
Or when you have to go to bed early because the bank holiday is over.
Or when you have to run a photoshoot of your new summer collection… in front of an uninvited audience who aren’t your parents.
“Isn’t running a photoshoot fun?” you might think.
If we think back to the studio photoshoot we did in March, we’d say yes.
Back in those good old days, we were chill (most of the time). Like directors at home on our own film set.
But this time we were in Bristol. In public.
It was a day we’ll remember very fondly.
But half the time we wanted to cover our eyes and pretend we had nothing to do with it.
We hid like children who weren’t supposed to be there… because we weren’t supposed to be there.
“I suppose you can use our cafe for some shots,” one barista told us, “but I don’t know how long you’ve got… my boss will be back soon.”
Freddie, our photographer, thought we could placate any manager by ordering an Aperol Spritz and half a pint...
That’s the kind of hopeful thinking you need to get things done in a start-up, so we applauded his attitude.
But once we finished clapping, we hid behind a corner.
At this point, we should mention it wasn’t just the six of us.
The seventh member of our crew was an oversized trolley.
This thing was big. Like we’d taken a trolley out of Sainsbury’s and were dragging it around the highstreet to do the rest of our shopping… except we weren’t really buying anything, we were just carting around cables, laptops, half the summer collection and most importantly, our snack of choice – grapes.
We also had a big pop up tent for outfit changes. And when the wind picked up we were running to grab hold of it so it didn’t blow away and expose our models to curious shoppers.
All in all, it was hard to be inconspicuous.
So while Freddie and our models made drinking coffee look like an art form – we hid.
We need to talk about Freddie
There were plenty of moments where “getting the perfect photo” meant “not giving a damn what people think.”
Like when Freddie jumped into this position to get a shot he didn’t end up using.
Or when he lay down on the pavement to get the perfect angle.
Or when he lingered at a rammed lunch spot at midday a little longer than is socially acceptable, and we heard an onlooker say, “That’s a bad moment to take a photo.”
Turns out for every bit of awkward we were feeling, Freddie was feeling confidence.
We asked him if he’d ever felt uncomfortable during a shoot.
He responded by telling us stories of when he’d taken photos in nightclubs and bouncers had taken him out back to tell him off.
Or when he’d landed in countries when it might not have been strictly legal to take photos in that jurisdiction.
So we were acting like children who’d hired some MI5-level photographer. Of course he was going to climb into some dangerous positions.
This guy gets hired by some big guns too. The sort of brands you might see at the Met Gala or London Fashion Week.
It was a weird feeling. Just a few years ago we were taking photos of our tees in a basement.
Now we were traipsing around with this MI5/Met Gala guy.
That’s another thing with adulting. Even when you’re doing the very thing you dreamt of doing all those years ago, you still feel like a kid, but this time thinking “I can’t believe this is actually happening”.
Last month, we released wide leg linen trousers to the world. Our first ever non-cotton product.
We sold out in 24 hours.
Honestly, we still feel kinda like kids doing this, but we know something big is happening too. And that's thanks to you.
We’ve seen the fashion industry can be different – not just more sustainable but offering good wages for garment workers too.
Ethical can be affordable.
You can have a Ferrari for the price of a Fiesta.
And it’s all possible because you’re getting behind it.
We’ve got more on the way very soon, but what’s not sold out in the new collection is still live, so hit the flaming hot orange button below before it goes.
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P.S. Keep scrolling for some of our favourite pics from the day.
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