Shooting Peek & Beau - By Anna

A few weeks ago Emma discussed the design decisions behind our mini-brand Peek & Beau, time for the next step: Photoshoots!

Once our designs are made real and samples are (almost! First samples almost always have some fun surprises that require a bit of rigging on photoshoots – they haven’t yet been through the fitting and refining process required to go into production) ready to be photographed, we start organizing photoshoots. For our main Playful Promises collection this usually requires a lot of juggling with models, locations and the dreaded budget, however Peek & Beau was a little easier!

We decided to shoot some simpler shots at our in-house studio, using coloured lighting to make the images pop. As this line was a little more alternative and experimental than Playful Promises we wanted to use a model that gave off an effortlessly cool vibe to match. Georgina Clifford at Profile caught our eye because of her awesome undercut!

I love the idea of exploring what is “feminine” and how lingerie plays a part in this discussion – much of the Peek & Beau collection steps away from traditionally feminine lingerie shapes to more androgynous options, combined with lace textures and cut outs. Styling Georgie’s hair with curls, eyes a heavy blue and black with nude lips balances a punk aesthetic with a softer edge. 

Thanks to Richard Marz for this BTS photo - sneak peek of a piece that is arriving in August!

As we loved this collection so much, we decided we’d like to invest in some more elaborate imagery to sit along with the shots we’d already done. We’d followed Tilly Dinmore(a.k.a Demonpuff) for a while, and just adored her style – she was just who we had in mind when we thought up Peek & Beau!

As I was visiting LA in January, it seemed a great idea to fit in a photoshoot with Tilly (we also shot our competition sets  and some extra imagery on Miss Miranda the same day). Tilly was super bendy from contortion work, which makes for some interesting poses – the shot on the swing was a little harder to get as it was covered in a slippery fabric!

We can’t wait to share the rest of the images with you once they arrive in August, and we’ll be shooting next season’s collection at the end of May, so keep an eye on the Peek & Beau instagram for behind the scenes pics.

Shop the Peek & Beau collection at Playful Promises

Behind the Scenes: Gia Genevieve and Tatiana Gerusova

There are some exciting projects underway at Playful Promises, one of which has been announced!

Our first dedicated Fuller Bust collection is now available to pre order, for delivery at the beginning of November. This range has been developed after the success of adding E and F cups into our collections in 2014.

The 7 new sets, in sizes 28-36 DD-G, take our naughty and quirky style through to our fuller bust customers. We wanted to use a model that reflected the flirty nature of our brand, and as we are such big fans of Gia Genevieve, we arranged a shoot in early September!

We adore Gia's work with photographer Tatiana Gerusova, so, having shot our images in-house for the past 4 years, we decided to work with them on this campaign for a little spice!

Rather than fly Tatiana and Gia to London, as I was already in New York for a holiday, we decided we'd arrange the shoot there. We had found a beautiful location in Brooklyn and met on a very hot day (thank god for air con!).

I thought I was a fast photographer, but these guys just had it down! You can tell when a photographer and model work so well, you don't even need to shoot many images because all of them are so good. Obviously, it helps that Gia is just as stunning in person as she is in photographs! Watch one of our instagram videos of the shoot here.

They were so quick, we were done a good 4 hours early and had the luxury of a chilled lunch with far too much food (one thing I noticed about America is the portion sizes are huuuuuge!).

Even the three cats living at the location got involved in the shoot, which wasn't initially planned! We were going to have Gia crouching in front of the mouse hole (actually a catflap) in her cat mask, suddenly there was some commotion in the kitchen. 

One of the cats had jumped onto the table, grabbed my turkey bagel, and started licking it. Thanks, cat.

We used the slightly-damp turkey as cat bait, and got the amazing shot above!

Bagel stealer.

Once done with the shoot, and extremely excited to see the images, I flew back to London that night! No love to the guy next to me that fell asleep on my shoulder, though.

View from the Top of the Rock (It was my first time in NY, I did ALL the touristy things!)

View and shop our Fuller Bust Collection!

Madonnelle of Rome

Rain, rain, go away.

Factor 50 for porcelain skin, squeaky flip flops and sunglasses that make you look important (nobody knows who you are, you could be famous for all they know). Yes it may seem a comical combination but when on holiday nothing seems as wonderful as having the weather to wear your diva shades without judgement and getting out those painted toenails after lathering your body with sun cream. Now back in the UK with drizzly rain and downpours, nobody will get to see that vintage lazy summer floral bikini… unless we’re given another heat wave that is, OR you just feel that anyone and everyone must see it despite the rain!

Suffering from the holiday blues, reminiscing of that city break to Rome which is long gone, why not look back even further. Historians, cut me some slack on my brief upcoming facts!

Known as a holy city, when waltzing through the streets of Rome, those who have been may notice Madonnelle (little Madonna) is framed on street corners, made from mosaic, marble and even wood for the purpose of spirit protection.

Positioned in-between two windows, these sacred images combined with angels were very popular with the lower classes, currently you can count over 500 in the streets of Rome! But don’t try to find them all at once, it would only lead to you stopping at every water tap in sight and there’s probably nearly the same amount as there are Madonelle’s!

Every year a procession takes place of a statue of Madonna Fiumarola being carried across the river Tiber, through the streets and neighbourhoods of Trastevere. This continues the Italian tradition from the early 1500s, when the statue was donated to the Basilica of San Crisogono after found by fisherman in Corsica. Trastevere is filled with events of theatre, music and food festivals to lure in tourists during this time, which slightly loses the popularity of the event with the Italian people. However, this event still remains its strong religious elements.

You may not find yourself a religious believer, but it's impossible to not be drawn to the architecture the city has to offer, all with pious elements attached. So instead of waiting to visit Rome, be a saintly figure wherever you go in our Magdalene set. The central colourfully kitsch print combined with black chunky fishnet side panels on the bra and briefs shows a good girl going bad.

Summer Sun Holiday Wishlist

With the English sun finally making an appearance in London this week - today it’s a tropical 23 degrees Celsius! - I’ve started daydreaming about the perfect summer holiday. Whether it’s a stylish city break, or a relaxed island sojourn, all of my dream destinations are by the sea – so naturally my mind has also been wandering to the perfect swimwear!

Top of my holiday wishlist right now is the fantastic walled city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, which you might recognise as King’s Landing from HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Dubrovnik sits beside the Adriatic sea, and with temperatures of up to 28 degrees Celsius in July and August, there’s no better place for picturesque views and pebbly beaches!

Next on my wishlist are the Cinque Terre (The Five Lands) in Liguria, Italy. These five quaint cliffside villages are accessible primarily by train, and are perfect for a peaceful, secluded getaway. Few places are as untouched by modernisation as the Cinque Terre and their remote yet dramatic location is to thank for this. 

Popular with hikers, the Cinque Terre are also a hotspot for scuba diving and boast some sandy beaches in sheltered coves. The Vintage Lazy Summer high waist bikini is top of my list for making the most out of this fab destination, and the colours match the beautifully painted buildings!

Home to two of the most famous beaches on Earth, the lively city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the perfect destination to let your hair down. With bustling markets and vibrant nightlife, the city is a feast for the senses both day and night!

Take your look effortlessly from day to night, beach to club, with the Playful Promises ‘I Love Lala’ swimsuit. Its dynamic print will ensure you stand out in this dazzling city!

Last, but certainly not least, is the Caribbean island of Barbados. With its balmy climate, white sand beaches and turquoise seas, nowhere more embodies the term ‘island paradise’. Top of my list for Barbados would be swimming with turtles, and of course relaxing with a rum punch (or three!).

And top of my list for swimwear would be the Vintage Lazy Summer frilly bikini!

What far-flung places are on top of your holiday wishlist? Are you travelling this year? 

CIFF Copenhagen Tradeshow Diary

After heading to Paris for the lingerie tradeshow, we had just one day in the office before we jetted off again to Copenhagen for the CIFF tradeshow!

Not impressed by this guy on all our passes and plastered all over the venue! We don't approve of sexual assault :(

Our booth!

Our flight was at midday on Wednesday the 29th, so we grabbed our bags and got a taxi to Gatwick at 9am. This time we had an extra full suitcase because we were taking both our lingerie AND all of our Whistle & Wolf clothing!

The flight was actually ok, considering both of us don’t like flying AT ALL. We even got to Copenhagen earlier than planned. What was not fun was the walk down off the plane in -4C - it was so cold! Luckily we had packed a lot of layers from our trip, but of course on the plane you aren’t always wrapped up warm. 

We realised that the airport isn’t too far from the Bella Centre, where the tradeshow was being held. We managed to get there, set up, and go to our hotel fairly quickly. We were staying at the Phoenix Copenhagen, which was gorgeous! You have to love a hotel that has a fountain in the middle of the foyer with a rubber duckie on top.

Unfortunately it turns out that CIFF, or at least the section that we were in, was not right for our brand. We met a few new people, but in hindsight we feel we should have done a different tradeshow as the brands in CIFF seem to be targeted at an older market and a lot more expensive. From the brands here you’d also think that all scandinavians only like grey and black! This is all a learning curve for us, so next year we might scout out the trade shows before we commit to exhibiting. 

On the plus side, Copenhagen is a wonderful city that would be even more wonderful in the Summer! Luckily for us the snow started to subside on Saturday, so it was a little less painful walking around. 

I went for a walk to Rosenborg Castle, shortly before getting covered in snow!

Love the colours of these buildings along the canal

We ate twice in a restaurant called Ravage, which was REALLY tasty! We also managed to get a table at Geist, a fancy place that is said to be similar to Noma (one of the best restaurants in the world). We had some interesting dishes, including a sheet of avocado with caviar, raw beef with mussels, baked cauliflower (which was surprisingly good) and cod. For dessert, Emma tried the salted wasabi cream toffee and Anna tired the chocolate toast!

Delicious beef stroganoff at Ravage 

Interesting nordic cuisine at Geist