Lydia wears the La Lune Frill Cuff Bias Midi - Tamara wears the La Lune Tie Front Blouse in Cream + La Lune Tuxedo Pant in Cream

BEHIND THE LENS

Introducing Jessica Ruscoe; photographer, producer, stylist and all-round creative genius.

Get to know the powerhouse behind the lens of some of our favourite shoots, responsible for brining our collections to life each season.

Our first creative project with Jess was back in 2018 - a small scale shoot with model Sian Henderson, captured on an overcast day in August at Cronulla beach. We immediately fell in-love with Jess's aesthetic and her ability to showcase our garments in a completely new light.

Since then, we've worked collaboratively with Jess season after season to conceptualise our shared creative vision, with locations all over the world.

Jess reminisces on two of her favourite Shona Joy shoots to-date and shares how each of these concepts came to light.

Sian wears the Willow Strapless Maxi Dress in Cream.

CASSIS, SOUTH OF FRANCE | 2019

"You couldn't have asked for a more picturesque location than Cassis in the South of France. The little fishing village has always been a special place for me - I first visited in 2016, and have been going back each year since.
Tucked away from the busyness of the better-known Riviera towns, it was an ideal location for this shoot.

We all agreed that the tones of the pieces I was shooting were perfect for a sunrise / sunset beach location, so decided to split the day into two parts, with a very early wakeup call to catch the sunrise and an evening dip in the ocean as the sunset behind the epic cliffs. We had a lot of fun working on this campaign, and were so fortunate to be able to work like this - splitting a large scale campaign shoot across two days allows everyone to recharge and means we can work with the best light (morning and evening)! Not to mention being able to take a little midday nap - that always helps too! We all spent the hottest hours of the day relaxing and prepping for the evening portion of the shoot, after of course, we celebrated with pizzas!"

Videographer + Assistant Stylist: Ally Chloe
Models: Lydia Kirwood + Tamara Gogoladze

Lydia wears the Soiree Bias Maxi Dress in Silver Sequin

Lydia wears the Joan Plunge Midi in Sage - Tamara wears the La Lune Bias Midi in Sage

Tamara wears the La Lune Tie Front Blouse in Cream + La Lune Tuxedo Pant in Cream - Lydia wears the La Lune Frill Cuff Bias Midi Dress

BALI, INDONESIA | 2020

"I was so excited when the prospect of shooting bridal came up. I find bridal shoots often give way to a little more creativity when it comes to styling, location, and the overall vibe of the shoot.
Scouting the perfect location to achieve the mood we were after took a little longer than usual. Eventually, I found a location in Bali that had elements of the types of architectural structures we had envisioned; beautiful arched ceilings, textured floors and white rendered walls - it had a very dreamy feel!

On the day, we kept Alena's hair very natural, tying it back and keeping her skin glowy and bronzed - the Bali heat helped with that too! I loved the idea of statement earrings and bringing textural elements into the looks, as each dress featured that heavenly silky finish that Shona Joy is so well known for. I worked with Maison Roe who creates beautiful bridal jewellery and bespoke veils, in addition to that incredible shell necklace from Cleopatra's Bling and some vintage pieces of my own.

This may well have been one of my favourite campaigns with Shona Joy to date. It was an honour and an absolute pleasure to shoot their first bridal range, and so lovely to see the images generate so much press - published by the likes of Vogue Paris and The Lane."

Model: Alena
HMUA: Rebecca Doney