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Eustratia winter collection part 1

Sometimes as an independent brand, it’s difficult to produce enough garments for a new collection all in one go. I always struggle to find the balance between making enough money to stay afloat, preserving my artistic integrity and learning new skills, all of which I consider integral parts of running my business. This means that sometimes, I have to prioritise things that break up the flow of creativity and not create as many new items as I planned.

This happened during the creation of my winter collection and I decided to photograph and share what I had and add to it at a later date, instead of risking it looking rushed or producing items I didn’t love.

I was initially afraid there weren’t enough similar items for it to seem like a collection but ater looking at the images, I think the mood comes across, despite the fact that it is incomplete.

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Images by Toria Brightside

Models: Myself and Jessica @Vauhaus

Featuring the beautiful Tara

Some of the items have already been listed on my website, where you can also get 20% off or about another hour with the code: ENDOFYEAR20

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Winter fantasy shoot

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate! It’s finally time to share the annual Eustratia winter photoshoot images.

We had a great team this time, working with Toria Brightside, who has been by my side throughout the creation of this latest collection and has a great understanding of the pieces and reuniting with Victoria who has been part of 4 previous collection shoots and has just returned to modelling after a break to start a family. The makeup was provided by Faye Aydin.

 

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We shot this set in my house, I love shooting at home because we have the freedom to shoot for as long as we like and move everything around to fit the scene.

The new items will be added to the website in the next few days.

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Vidal Sassoon, Black Milk

A few months ago, I was involved in a hair presentation project at Vidal Sassoon in Manchester.

The theme was based around the darker side of nature; life-giving, but at the same time wild and dangerous.

It was put together to showcase Melanie Baker‘s hair dressing skills but also featured colour by Helen Jordan and cuts by different members of the Sassoon Manchester team.

A section of one the images from my “winter project” was used as the promo poster, after it inspired Mel to choose the theme.

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I then planned the styling, based on the theme, but also being mindful of the sassoon brand.

This shoot took place before the Vanguard collection launch, but we used some of the garments, as well as latex pieces from different collections and even some old favourites, such as veils, flower crowns and antlers.

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Model: Zoe Harlotta

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Model: Lia @Vauhaus

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Model: Florence @J’adore

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Model: Stacey Black (me)

Images and retouch: Adam Mark Williams

Make up: Jules Daniels MUA

We also had to do a catwalk and each of the hair styles was inspected and judged individually.

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All the models and Mel.

11130208_10155479081415311_245537083010047501_nThe model in their full outfits, after the catwalk.

The presentation, catwalk and photoshoot all went really well, Mel did a great job and the whole team was awesome and a pleasure to work with.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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