A few months ago, my husband and creative visionary Davey Terrific (yes he really is) came up with a shoot concept that we both thought would be a fantastic way to showcase some of the local fashion industry talent. Working in conjunction with Cotswold Style Magazine we were able to bring this concept to life and to a much wider audience and we are proud to say it features as the cover image and a four page fashion spread in this month’s edition [July ’14].

Cotswold Style July Issue Cover Image www.cotswoldstyle.co.uk Fashion Shoot Model: Ashleigh Millman www.boutique3.co.uk www.keithscarrott.co.uk

Cotswold Style July Issue Cover Image
http://www.cotswoldstyle.co.uk
Fashion Shoot Model: Ashleigh Millman
http://www.boutique3.co.uk
http://www.keithscarrott.co.uk

The idea behind this shoot is simple: the eyes of the fashion world are so often drawn to London or Manchester but as massive advocates of supporting local business we wanted to focus purely on design talent and independent boutiques in the area and so the “Made in Cheltenham” concept was born.  We’ve made it our mission to work with the most talented people the area has to offer, so this was a perfect excuse to do just that.

“Made in Cheltenham” is an obvious play on the “Made in Chelsea” title but that’s where the similarity ends; there are no false smiles, backhanded compliments and appalling acting here!

We want to shout about our local designers – such as Kelly Thorne who provided two outfits for the shoot. These outfits epitomise contemporary Cotswold fashion; the first one shown below gives a nod to traditional tweed, but the cut & colour provide an exciting take on the traditional, suitable for the fashion-conscious lady of any age.

What tweed-clad lady is complete without an equally tweedy man? In the Cotswolds we’re surrounded by a plethora of stores that offer a great range of tweed but for this project we chose to work with Cheltenham-based Horace Barton, who provided our male model’s attire in the images below.  They provide a smashing range of outfits and a full service with bespoke tailoring to-boot. We loved their mix of classic Cotswold fashion juxtaposed with a great range of jacket styles, shirts, dapper bow ties and braces.  We love the addition of the suede gun shoulder patch on the jacket featured below; tres manly.

Fashion Shoot Models: Isabella Nash & Peter Lloyd She wears: www.kellythorne.co.uk www.keithscarrott.co.uk He wears: www.horacebarton.co.uk

Fashion Shoot Models: Isabella Nash & Peter Lloyd
She wears: http://www.kellythorne.co.uk
http://www.keithscarrott.co.uk
He wears:
http://www.horacebarton.co.uk

Fashion Shoot Models: Jess Bracey & Peter Lloyd She wears: www.boutique3.co.uk www.stephaniebatesdesign.co.uk He wears: www.horacebarton.co.uk

Fashion Shoot Models: Jess Bracey & Peter Lloyd
She wears:
http://www.boutique3.co.uk
http://www.stephaniebatesdesign.co.uk
He wears:
http://www.horacebarton.co.uk

Another firm local favourite of ours is Olive Clothing.  Based just off Cheltenham High Street they provide a classy yet affordable take on the incursion of boho trends into high fashion. Simple lines, mainly pastel tones & flattering cuts – to us, that makes for some extremely wearable outfits that you can dress up or down depending on whether you’re going for festi-chic or girl-about-town.

Of course, the Cotswolds also houses a number of boutiques that specialise in sourcing the best in designer fashion, so the shoot wouldn’t have been complete without representing some of these choice brands. Montpellier-based Boutique 3 provided the outfit used on the cover image and also for the shots shown below from designer labels Stefanel, Graham & Spencer, Filippa K, Hugo Boss & Velvet.

In addition to Boutique 3, central Cheltenham-based Trapeze also kindly offered to be part of this shoot, providing key pieces from Vivienne Westwood, Paige, Maisin Scotch, Ganni, Diesel, Scotch & Soda, Lyle & Scott & Lacoste’s new collections. We fell in love with the green lace Gianni dress, so on-trend for this season.

Fashion Shoot Models: Ashleigh Millman & Malcolm Williams www.trapezeclothing.com

Fashion Shoot Models: Ashleigh Millman & Malcolm Williams
http://www.trapezeclothing.com

Fashion Shoot Model: Malcolm Williams www.trapezeclothing.com

Fashion Shoot Model: Malcolm Williams http://www.trapezeclothing.com

Fashion Shoot Model: Jess Bracey www.trapezeclothing.com

Fashion Shoot Model: Jess Bracey http://www.trapezeclothing.com

No fashion shoot would be complete without jewellery and we wanted to show that Cheltenham has it’s own home-grown design talent.  We were lucky enough to have Stephanie Bates on-board who went the extra mile by painstakingly crafting some of the pieces you see especially for the shoot!  Now, these are truly some beautiful & utterly original creations for men & women.  They are most definitely classed as fine art jewellery and deservedly so; hand-crafted, each piece is unique and bespoke designs can also be made to order.

We love our shoes too and local designer shoe brand Keith Scarrott kindly provided some of this season’s finest footwear to complete our looks. Summer sling-back sandals, killer heels and some of the softest leather pumps you could ever imagine all feature.

Stunning Foxhill Manor provided the backdrop for our shoot and we couldn’t have picked a more perfect venue.  It’s exterior is quintessentially Cotswolds but step inside and you’ll find it super-charged with contemporary styling, uber-modern finishings and all the “of the minute” gadgets and gizmos you can shake a stick at, including it’s own media room equipped with home cinema, blackout blinds, gaming stations, surround sound and a multitude of coloured beanbag chairs, not to mention comic strip wallpaper.

Yes, much like many people’s pre-disposed concepts of the Cotswolds & Cotswold fashion, it may appear to be traditional & historic on the outside but I assure you, there is more there than meets the eye and if you look closer, you’ll see that there’s a veritable banquet of contemporary design when you delve deeper inside.

The shoot wouldn’t have been possible without hair & make-up artist Jodi Croft who styled a look to suit each outfit. She’s another local talent who we’ve worked alongside for many years and her professional styling never fails to hit the mark.

We were also lucky enough to be loaned the classic Bentley you see in the image below from Azure Cars. We felt that the classic elegance of the Royal Blue Bentley really set the tone for the shoot.

Finally, we would have nothing without the time, energy and fabulousness of our models and we’d like to personally thank each one of you for giving up your time and making it such an epic shoot;  Ashleigh Millman, Malcolm Williams, Jess Bracey, Isabella Nash, Peter Lloyd & Elliott Caunce

I’ll leave you with a few of my favourite shots that show the whole nine yards.

Fashion Shoot Models: Jess Bracey & Peter Lloyd She wears: www.boutique3.co.uk www.stephaniebatesdesign.co.uk He wears: www.horacebarton.co.uk

Fashion Shoot Models: Jess Bracey & Peter Lloyd
She wears:
http://www.boutique3.co.uk
http://www.stephaniebatesdesign.co.uk
He wears:
http://www.horacebarton.co.uk

Fashion Shoot Model: Isabella Nash & Peter Lloyd She wears: www.kellythorne.co.uk www.keithscarrott.co.uk He wears: www.horacebarton.co.uk

Fashion Shoot Model: Isabella Nash & Peter Lloyd
She wears: http://www.kellythorne.co.uk
http://www.keithscarrott.co.uk
He wears:
http://www.horacebarton.co.uk

 

Full Credits:

Photography: Stefanie Calleja-Gera  www.photographybystefanie.co.uk

Styling & Creative Direction: Davey Terrific

Hair & Make-up Styling: Jodi Croft  www.faceperfectbyjodi.co.uk

Location: http://www.foxhillmanor.com

Bentley: http://www.azureluxurycars.co.uk

Clothing: www.kellythorne.co.uk  www.trapezeclothing.com http://www.oliveclothing.com http://www.horacebarton.co.uk http://www.boutique3.co.uk

Shoes: http://www.keithscarrott.co.uk

Jewellery: http://www.stephaniebatesdesign.co.uk

Models: Ashleigh Millman, Malcolm Williams, Jess Bracey, Isabella Nash, Peter Lloyd & Elliott Caunce