When we set out to photograph our first line in action, our goal was to follow the "Sunswell guy" through his perfect day out East...morning surf in Montauk, coffee in town, an afternoon of fishing, and a sunset party on the dock with friends.
The super talented Mark Schafer was already on board for photography and video. He shot our first samples in his basement studio this winter (with styling by the amazing KMac!) and volunteered to do whatever he could to help bring the line to life.
From there, our dearest friends stepped up to help. We ended up with a killer natural model (and new friend!), awesome Scout truck, waterfront dock with boat and captain, and four dozen Montauk Pearl oysters from our buddies at Bell & Anchor and The Beacon for the sunset finish.
Montauk went off without a hitch (we even got a little surfing in!), and we sat down to a lunch of fish tacos from Harbor Market feeling good. Around 3p, we were headed to pick up the oysters when we realized we were trapped in Bay Point (the peninsula where we were shooting - one way in, and one way out). An explosive had been discovered on Long Beach right across from Bay Point's entrance (don't worry, it was fine-read the full story here), and Long Beach Road closed for what turned out to be several hours. Our oysters were trapped at the Bell & Anchor on Noyac Rd, our model was trapped in Sag village and our afternoon shoot was ready to go on the dock in Bay Point. So we called yet another friend in Bridge - a producer who is predisposed to problem solving. She quickly resolved to grab the oysters and meet us at the town dock along with our model.
Back on track, we shot the boating piece and stepped onto the dock just in time for the magic hour. Friends gathered for cocktails and oysters shucked by our do-anything, wear-anywhere model, and we transitioned into a fun night on the water.
It was incredible. This is just the way we like to spend our days - and the clothing held up beautifully. For anyone who has spent time on photo shoots, you know that a stylist with a steamer is always on hand to make the clothing look perfect, often fixing and fussing between each shot. Other than the start of the day, we did not steam the clothes once - a testament to the design and construction of a collection that was created to perform through any part your day in comfort.
