ORACLE – Spell Sep/Oct ’16
Photographer Graham Dunn
Muse Luma Grothe
Styling Kelley Ash | Hair and makeup Ashlee Rose Clay
Production Greg @ Avenue 53
Video by Ready Gypset Go | Music ‘Local Angels’ by Mesita
Set styling Sarah Loven
Photography Assistant Colin Levin | Styling Assistant Willemina Freiberger
Fine jewellery ERTH by Nicole Trunfio
Thanks to Soukie Modern, Palm Springs
I had a strange and mysterious fascination with The Southern Oracle in The Never Ending Story, a huge sphinx-like statue who told us the Childlike Empress needed a new name… but childhood memories aside, I called this collection Oracle because it takes us back to our bohemian roots, back to the start but from a grown-up place.
When I first read Julia Chaplain’s Gypset Style, I remember being struck by her perfectly coined term ‘Gypset‘. She shone a light on the international community of artists, designers and bon vivants who fused the ease and carefree lifestyle of a backpacker with the sophistication of the jet set. Oracle pays homage to ‘Gypset’ and how much we’ve loved swirling around in the imagery it conjured.
Every collection starts with a thread… a single image in our head. For Oracle it was ‘a collection for the it-girl of the 70s‘… And on that steamy 105 degree day in Palm Springs, Luma was that girl… in all her sultry, sophisticated, raven haired beauty. She brought Oracle to life.
We got the call from Luma’s agent the night before the shoot… “She’s grounded at JFK and she’s not going to make it to Palm Springs”. We were like, “Uh, no she’s not, and yes she will!” We juggled some flights and sure enough found a way to get her to set (albeit with no sleep) – and thank the good lord we did because she was perfection.
Soft, and flowing, with delicate strands of silver lurex thread, Oracle is the dress you tried on in secret as a child, borrowed from the special part of your mums wardrobe, all grown up and beautifully exotic. Pair it back with a lazy-off-shoulder blouse with hand-stitched detailing or double it up with an elegant, simple floral in rich maple tones… It’s all so divinely bohemian-luxe.
We hope you love it! xx Isabella and Lizzy