Vanguard concept shoot

The Vanguard concept shoot images are here! I have been waiting for the full set to be completed before posting these as it was my favourite project so far this year and I wanted to show it off in full.

The team that help me bring this idea to life did an excellent job and they deserve every credit. Shooting on location can be challenging, especially when alternating between different settings and working with animals.

Photography, retouching, model direction: Toria Brightside

Models: Amber and Hazel @VAUHAUS and myself.

Make up: Laura Wilson

Hair and styling: me

The jewellery for the collection was made by Richard Ayres, who was also dog-handler at the shoot.

Special thanks to our driver Ben, who also looked after the dogs while we were shooting.

Extra special thanks to Eustratia and Vauhaus interns Lindsay and Lauren who facilitated and carried, set of smoke bombs and ran around holding them to get the right effect, fixed and pressed garments and helped out with the images.

We also really appreciate Barney’s owners bringing him down for the shoot.

The garments are available for sale, here.

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We shot this over three different locations and by the time we got to the last one, we only had 5 minutes of daylight left but we managed to make it work and the images in the last set are some of my favourites.

The harness cami has so far emerged as the best-seller from this range and can be purchased with 20% off till midday on Wednesday.
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Shooting for Coco and Max Melbourne

In January, I was sent a selection of wonderful garments to shoot by my friends at Coco and Max and with the weather finally starting to warm up over here, I thought it was the perfect time to share with you all.

coco 1

coco 3My first set featured the Geo pop leggings in white/pink.  I paired them with a floaty open shoulder top from my own label, Eustratia and some gemstone necklaces. Anyone who reads this blog can probably guess I don’t wear much pink and I don’t usually go for these shiny looking leggings but the quality and fit on these are amazing, they feel cool rather than sweaty and the waistband and seams are super comfortable.

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For my second look, I wore the Geo skull bather. This has recently been reduced on the website as it’s now winter in Australia, giving all you northern hemisphere readers the perfect chance to snap one up. The print is so detailed and magical and despite it being white, it will not become see-though when wet due to the amazing pink lining (though it also comes in black). A close up of the print can be found on my instagram, here.

coco light 2

I paired the bathers with the dragonfly poncho in white. Beautifully draped, it provides the right amount of protection from the sun, while still keeping you cool.

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I love dragonflies so the print is an added bonus for me and will definitely be debuting this at the beach very soon!

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For the final part of the shoot, I wore my absolute favourite piece from the range, the crystal leggings. I love knee pad details and these lightly padded, crystal heart shaped ones are so unique! The leggings are made of liquid foil effect 4 way stretch fabric and offer a comfortable fit with just the right amount of support.

odin 1For this look, I also enlisted the help of some furry friends. This is Odin, my favourite puppy from our litter. My scale headpiece is by Richard Ayres.

coco doggies 1

I also tried the leggings with a more casual look, pairing them with my limited edition crystal heart t-shirt and some large headphones.

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Charlie and I rocking our Coco crystal hearts!

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I had loads of fun shooting these and am glad to have found another great indie label with high quality, original and ethical products. Every garment is proudly 100% manufactured in Melbourne, to support fair local trade.

Supporting smaller labels is great for the economy and means more people can survive doing what they love. I always believe it’s better to have an eclectic selection of special items that you enjoy wearing than a sea of generic mass produced garments that make you feel like you have nothing to wear.

All images by Richard Ayres photography, styling and retouch by me.

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Eustratia A/W ’14-15

Having first started work on this collection almost a year ago, I’m delighted to finally be able to share my complete vision.

I decided to present it in format of a story and hope that it helps to define the feel and character of each item of clothing.

anna sad fullHAZEL MASK FULLHAZEL MASK CLOSEHAZEL FULLHazel opening doorhazel moth 1 copyhazel butterflies close copyhazel moth half copyladder 1charlotte doll 2charlotte 2 copyanna dressamber 1Amber 2 copyanna roses copyanna 2anna backamber 3amber back amber full length 2amber fabricamber mask closeamber mask fullcharlotte tree closecharlotte tree2 copyThe items will be added to eustratia.co.uk over the coming days and can be ordered via email (enquiries@eustratia.co.uk) or facebook message in the mean time, with an introductory 20% off.

Those who would like to see the story performed live can do so at the Fashion and lifestyle exhibition, in Manchester on the 11th and 12th of October. Tickets are free and can be booked here. Models will be provided by Vauhaus.

My beautiful models in the order they appeared: Anna, Hazel, Charlotte and Amber.

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Eustratia winter collection preview.

For the past few months, I have been thinking, making and planning  for the Eustratia  A/W ’14-15 collection.

As an independent designer, single-handedly running all aspects of the business, making a new collection can be hard. I make one item at a time whenever I have some hours spare in between the rest of my work.

An image or item I make for myself usually sparks the idea and then I make a rough line-up sketch, which usually evolves as I start to create the garments.

anna roses copyAnna Dateshidze in the rose bodysuit.

I usually plan my collections around a theme and often base my editorials on a still from a dream but this time I wanted to tell a more complete story.

charlotte doll 3Harlotte Wonderland in the twist top and high waist briefs.

I always plan the concept and style my own collection shoots as well as making all the props, often with the help of my friends. This time, I decided to go one step further and do the photography myself as well.

This was a big decision for me as I’m not a photographer but so far I think it has helped me get closer to my vision by having control over the composition of the images and the ability to edit them myself.  Of course it’s every designer’s dream to own copyright to their images and I look forward to featuring them on my promotional material.

hazel butterflies close copyHazel in the Moth bodysuit.

I used a variety of props for the fashion story and shot it in 3 parts to make sure it went smoothly.

10575983_848995281786340_339686771_nHere we are on the way to the shoot the first set. (yes the ladder is also a prop)

915679_1525838860966017_1775423054_nCut out butterflies and moths were used for the moth bodysuit images. These were lovingly cut out by my intern, Lindsay.

10475008_299153160256627_2104034801_nWire butterfly headpieces were used in a couple of sets to give the impression of butterflies hovering around the model’s heads.

10611027_936859676339762_158123335_nRik made this door for me to use in a different shoot last year, but was not featured in the final images and fit in perfectly with this season’s concept.

The Collection is due to launch on the 1st of September  on www.eustratia.co.uk and will be showcased several times over the weekend of the “fashion and lifestyle exhibition” in a theatrical live fashion show.

During the show, there will be a slideshow featuring snippets from the fashion story, inspirational images and these little videos I took while shooting:

I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I do and look forward to seeing the rest of the story.

Amber 2 copyAmber in the new harness lingerie set.

 

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#MCRFW 14: The show

This season, I was delighted to be invited to showcase my collection at Manchester fashion week.

I was part of the “We are Manchester” showcase on the Saturday and presented my spring/summer collection, which can be viewed here.

My friends from Vauhaus came to help out and also co-hosted the aftershow party, which I will write about in my next post.

1Amber paired the mirror leggings and crop top with her horsebird varsity for a cool day time look while flyering and helping dress the models.

10Jen and Hazel, my personally selected models, ready for the show!

14Backstage shots by Natalie Rose Wilde.

1315The flower playsuit is one of my favourite pieces in the range and features over 100 hand-made flowers. Special thanks to my intern, Lindsay for helping me make them.

IMG_1717IMG_1689IMG_1740IMG_1684IMG_170023IMG_1706IMG_1747IMG_1753The models were provided by PHA models.

Catwalk photos by the official MCRFW photographer.

I walked on at the end to take my bow, something that was a first for me as most of my shows don’t take this format.

For information or to shop the collection, please head to the online store.

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