Our First Official Swimwear Shoot for Avery

by Michelle Chen January 13, 2022

When you're a designer and you finally see all your designs come to life, that's one of the greatest feelings in the world. To finally hold something that took almost a year of planning to get off the ground, that's when you know it was worth it. It's your baby and the next step, naturally, is to show it off to the world.

One major stressor we faced when planning for the first official shoot for Avery was finding models. We were in the midst of another lockdown in Toronto that we didn't know who'd be interested in coming out to shoot. Though we did end up booking two models, one of them had to drop out the night before because of COVID. Major bummer but our gorgeous model, Shelly Nadeau did come through and she ended up being the face of our brand!

Picture above: The Lola Bikini Top | The Lola Bikini Bottoms

The Memories Collection

We woke up bright and early to shoot the Memories Collection. It was looking like an overcast April's day with rain on the way but we were staying optimistic that the sun would come out and give us some golden hour light. The main theme of this shoot was to have a nostalgic city vibe with a dreamy look to it. We shot Shelly after 4pm for this reason; the later in the day, the more the sky would change colour to match our dreamy and feminine swimwear.

Pictured above: The Mai Bikini Top | The Mai Bikini Bottoms

Big City Nostalgia

When envisioning our shoot for Avery, the first that came to mind was a rooftop with a gorgeous view of the city down below. Though we didn't find a rooftop to shoot on, we came pretty close. Check out this chic downtown Toronto penthouse condo that had the most jaw-dropping views we could ask for, pictured above. It had just finished raining, the skies were clearing a bit while the sun was giving the city an illuminating glow.

Pictured above: The Liv Bikini Top | The Liv Bikini Bottoms

Minimalist Dreamy

Our first swimwear collection is made in a dreamy pastel colour palette that is many times subtle with bold details. To keep with the neutral palette, we made sure the space we shot in was also minimalistic to not overpower the colours. We made sure to make our bikinis the star of the show first and foremost.

Pictured above: The Mai Bikini Top | The Mai Bikini Bottoms

Casual Luxury

With plain white walls and bedding, neutral-toned decor and black and white artwork, we achieved a modernly chic vibe for the Memories Collection. As it was designed for the modern woman who values luxury as much as comfort, showcasing it against a natural setting was key. It's what we call city chic swimwear - made for the beach, inspired by the city.

Pictured above: The Liv Bikini Top | The Liv Bikini Bottoms

Au Naturale

Since it was our very first photoshoot, we didn't have the best equipment but we made the most it. We shot a mix of professional shots for the website and a bunch of detail shots on iPhone to be used for our social accounts. We turned this beautiful condo into an impromptu studio with a reliance on natural lighting to come through. For the most part it did but we also used reflectors throughout to bounce off more light when it was dimming.

Pictured above: The Evvie Bikini Top | The Evvie Bikini Bottoms

Founder Turned Model

Remember when we mentioned one of our models dropped out the night before the shoot? As a result, our founder (who also happens to be the one writing this post) decided to sub in! She modelled a few looks herself early in the day before all the rain came in. Granted that it took double the time to model three looks - compared to Shelly who did all of them in the same amount of time - but it turned out to be a great learning experience in the world of modelling.

Pictured above: The Aria Bikini Top | The Aria Bikini Bottoms

As far as first swimwear shoots go, this one turned out better than we'd hope. Though we didn't get as many dreamy golden hour shots as on our Pinterest mood board, it had all the elements we'd planned for. We got the nostalgic city vibes we dreamt of and your girl Shelly Nadeau definitely killed every look.

There'll be many shoots to come for Avery as this is only our first collection. We got a taste of what it's like to shoot swimwear specifically but the best part was definitely seeing your designs worn on a live model. We kid you not when we say every look worn by our lovely model got a jaw-dropping reaction. Here's to more Avery - enjoy the Memories Collection!

Picture above: The Lola Bikini Top | The Lola Bikini Bottoms

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