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t was SS/Spring Summer campaign time, and I was an odd combination of thrilled about shooting wildflowers + overwhelmed with all things digital.
When pondering this pitch, my dreams meandered, “What if we all, including my twenty-something assistants, suddenly lived in a world without iPhones or even electricity? What would everyone actually do with the inconceivable amount of time we’d have, what primal instincts would we live-up, and what of advanced society would we attempt to maintain?

In the casting, entered Sophia.
Her eyes lit up when I asked her the question. She answered without hesitation, “I miss ballet and would just dance again!” It hit me, dance is both mankind’s most primal and cultured art.

On the day of the shoot, Sophie could have (!) but did not look at her phone even once. She danced.

This is, no doubt, the view of a post-apocalyptic landscape through a very pink and limited edition pair of Leica x Vivian Westwood binoculars, but I love it.

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owns the boat.

SHE

Amy Hixon, Dylan Bradley, Nick Manousos, Josh Pertler

CAMPAIGNS “BILLBOARDS”and “FUN” COMBINED

Okay, a YACHT-SHOOT!

“Oh, so you can do a cool shoot with a girl on her boyfriend’s boat.”

The location was decided and then, GUY:

That was very much a safe, solid, and industry-standard concept that we would see at Miami Swim Week on rivaling billboards next to our own. So I understood the suggestion.

My goal, however, was, in a metaphorical, commercial sea of competing ideas that err on the side of sun-kissed, “traditional,” cheeriness, to force every single buyer and customer to not just glance at this campaign unconsciously.

It was to halt them from whatever they were doing, force them to take it in or double-take it in, and illicit devilish smiles. Thus it was key that we tap into what women really daydream about! Women’s swim is OUR market, so why not?!

ME: “We know from the data that the Robin Piccone woman is all-ages, very sophisticated in her tastes and brands, and 100% success vibes. Gurrl. She owns the boat! And we will find the best model to show that.”

…we had a lot of fun smashing the “boyfriend” mold too.

Note: One of the reasons I loved the creative director role at ROBIN PICCONE, was beyond the fact that Robin is a legendary and brilliant CFDA designer, creator of Body Glove Swim, inventor of the first neoprene and first swimmable crochet swimsuits, with two swimsuits in The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's permanent collection, etc., and all that. It’s because some of the world’s most famous photographers such as Patrick Demarchelier, Herb Ritz, and Helmut Newton photographed Robin’s garments for Vogue and Elle magazines in the supermodel era via shoots commissioned by Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, and André Leon Talley.

As a creative director and photographer, my mission was to take back control of the company’s visual branding, which had drifted, over time, from the it’s internal heritage and these legendary shoots that helped shape it, into the hands of 3rd-parties and clients whose photography of Robin’s garments were dominating the digital space. Mission accomplished.

Be careful what you wish for though, should you endeavor this! At least staff up for all the many image and shoot requests you’ll soon get from clients wanting to use your images, on their schedules!

Please see my blog on “Brief Encounter” with Helena Christensen and Cindy Crawford by Helmut Newton for Vogue Magazine which was an inspiration for much of my work at RP.