How we shot the 2020 Collection

Shooting a new collection is always a hothouse of anticipation. How will the clothes look on the model? Will the vision we talked about come to life? How can we do a fashion shoot during the COVID-19 pandemic in a way that’s safe for everyone? A shoot has a lot of moving parts and that includes all the people required to create a beautiful finished product that captures the imagination of our customers. 

The theme for our Fall/Winter 2020 collection is ‘Quarantine Chic,’ focusing on clothing that is comfortable, chic and looks good on camera for all those Zoom meetings we’ve been having. 

We shot the campaign at Roundhouse Park in Toronto, which was the former Canadian Pacific Railway Don Station. It’s the home to a collection of trains. We may not be able to travel right now but we thought that the dark plum that we introduced for fall in dresses and pants would contrast very well with the inherent moody romance of travelling by train. 

Fashion shoots tend to follow the same set-up each season but this time we made sure to adhere to the new pandemic requirements by Ontario Public Health for both shoots. 

• All crew wore masks at all times. The model, Aliya, was exempt from wearing a mask during the shoot.
• PPE was provided for the entire shoot.
• We maintained social distancing during the entire time of the shoot. 
• Stylists who were in contact with Aliya had to wear gloves and masks at all times. 
• Anyone who didn’t have a reason to work with Aliya or touch the clothes remained socially distanced. 
• We sanitized all the equipment and made sure there was no cross-usage.

There was a sudden downpour around noon which caused us to have lunch in the train rather than the studio but there are worse things in the world than having to eat a socially distanced sushi lunch in a 1930’s time capsule of a train! 

The campaign took approximately 5 hours, which is pretty standard in the industry. We put on our masks and made sure to sanitize as we executed our vision. I think they did a great job - the proof can be seen in our video below.

Thanks to the entire team who came together, masks and all, to shoot our 2020 collection.