Have you seen the London Wedding Street Style Shoot I did in February of this year? You may remember that I mentioned that I also wanted to do another in Amsterdam to represent the city the brand lives in and where I make the majority of the orders (some I make while travelling for auditions etc). Wool & Water is proudly hallmarked with the Amsterdam Made certification don't you know?
It felt a lot more of a challenge to arrange this shoot, W&W is an indie brand so no investors, no grants, just me putting what I make back into the company in order to grow it. Having lived and worked in London for the better part of 15 years as an actor I have a (much appreciated) wealth of people I can reach out to to help me make something for next to nothing. As jobbing actors we all try to support each other in whatever way we can, plus it usually involves some creative fun! However here in Amsterdam I wasn't sure my current contact list was big enough to pull this off.
The first person I reached out to was Claudia Kafoe, a Dutch friend who has a background as a dancer and fashion designer. We started meeting to chat over ideas and logistics in late May. I work on my own so much that I get pretty hungry for opportunities to collaborate with people, in my experience other people can add to your initial ideas in ways that expand and elevate the concept beyond the limits of your perspective and I was eager to have Claudia's styling input and of course shoot experience.
Wherever I was cycling to & from over the next few weeks, I kept a look-out for a perfect 'Amsterdam' spot to shoot. Quiet but pretty, close to my apartment which would be our base on the day and easy for everyone to get to & from. When I think of visual representations of Amsterdam I think of the buildings, the canals, the bikes, the beauty...I was spoilt for choice but managed to find the perfect place in de Baarsjes near where I live & work.
I then contacted friends Dan & Sam, who I hoped would be up for modelling as one couple (which they were) and appealed to everyone I knew for a gay couple to photograph. After all sorts of helpful suggestions I heard about Wes & Matthew who had just got engaged, one email later and happily they were signed up along with their lovely dog Duke!
Claudia and I spent lots of time on Pinterest & chatting through styling ideas, which W&W pieces to photograph, how to connect all the other details such as flowers and boutonnieres before settling on a shortlist of looks for each model's pre-shoot fitting.
In the London shoot we used Tulips to reference the brand's Amsterdam roots and so for this shoot we used English Wildflowers and Roses along with some stunning Peonies.
A hair stylist contact put me in touch with our brilliant make up artist Terezina and another friend, Ben, offered to take the Behind the Scenes photos, some of which you can see in this post.
My partner Joe is a director and talented photographer so that was covered, next we just had to keep our fingers crossed that the rain stayed away.
The day could not have gone smoother, everyone arrived in great spirits, open and enthusiastic for the fun of the experience and I could not have hoped for better imagery of both sets of models/couples.
You can see some of the imagery on the previous Post about Wes & Matthew and of course on the Wedding page. If you are signed up to the monthly newsletter you'll have seen a sneak preview of other shots too.
After so much planning (& worrying) I left the experience elated by how much is possible to achieve here in my 'new' home city and so grateful for being surrounded by such supportive, talented, creative friends, and having made some new ones!
Wool & Water Pieces Featured:
Grey Marl Bow Tie / Pink & Green Suspenders / Blue Textured Skinny Tie / Red Marl Bow Tie / Magenta Bow Wow Tie (S-M)
As always, stay curious!
Ax
I am Alice and I run Wool & Water and Wool & Whiskers, a unique Bow Tie label from my garden studio in Amsterdam, fuelled by copious amounts of green tea.
