By The best thing about doing my job is combining travel and fashion- two of my all time favorite passions folded into one synapse tingling experience : exciting locations, amazing clothes,new people to create with and at the end of it- beautiful pictures to take home. This is what my dreams are made from…but sometimes it can be nail biting suspense and flirting with chance, like shooting this season of Bec and Bridge Autumn ’16 in Cuba.
After arriving into Havana, my bags were checked by beautiful yet stern border patrol girls ( all curiously wearing patterned fishnet tights, go figure ). They pulled me aside and dragged out some of my B&B clothes, spoke quietly in Spanish, then looked at me with narrowed eyes and asked all sorts of questions (as if they were pretty fashion police stopping a haul of contraband clothes) whilst I perspired imagining what a Castro jail looked like. Thankfully, they were satisfied with my answers, compliments on their cool 80s stockings and reassurances that I too grew up in a Communist country; after all ex Yugoslavia was Communist soooo…they let me go. Buoyed by this I made my way for the city and the closest mojito to calm my nerves.
My next problem came the next day; when I realized my phone didn’t work at all and internet isn’t really a thing yet in Cuba. I had made sporadic contact with a Cuban photographer named Viktor Rising in the weeks prior; I liked his style and punchy, contrasty photos so among faulty emails we made a loose plan but now, I had no way of contacting him. It took me half a day to find out there were some hotels that have internet in front of them and vouchers I can buy somewhere else to get on so I sent an S.O.S to him and waited. It was the day before I left when I heard back and we made a hasty plan. I stayed up late sourcing a steamer for the clothes from a few different hotels, then got up early to get ready, straightening my hair and applying perfect make up…until I walked out into 42C, 90% humidity Havana sun and my hair bounced back into it’s curls immediately while make up melted off faster than I could re-apply it. Ay!
Fortunately, Viktor was a cool and funny guy and the shoot itself was a dream ; we wondered the eclectic streets, men whistled and women asked where my dresses were from ( such is the power of Bec and Bridge’s well honed sexy dresses ). I danced the salsa and ran over the squares but most importantly, our team had a ball and the dresses looked hawt juxtaposed against the colours of this beautiful city. I hope you like! x
Take lace into another dimension with a scooped out neck and choker detailing ( B&B dress, Chloe sandals )
Nothing like a skintight striped dress to take you from hot days into steamy nights (B&B dress, Gianvitto Rossi sandals, Clutch from Net-a-Porter )
All this baby wants to do is salsa! ( B&B dress, Chloe sandals )
Talk about a trifecta: wrap around, scooped out and leg baring in the most beautiful shade of cornflower blue ( B&B dress, Versace clutch, Valentino sandals )
This silk number is endlessly versatile- wear it loose in summer or over leather leggings in winter (B&B dress, Aquazurra sandals )
Let’s talk sex in a dress because this dress is IT- seriously, I could’ve been married 5 times 🙂 ( B&B dress, Gianvitto Rossi sandals)
Photographed by Viktor Rising
What do you think?