An ode to New York, a love letter to modern womanhood, and a reflection of the community she has built: Emilia Wickstead’s Resort 2024 campaign highlights the intimate relationship between a subject, their wardrobe – and their city. Photographed in a documentary-style, the images show friends of the brand — inspiring businesswomen, mothers, and creatives who come together under a shared love for New York.

Lynette Nylander, Tilly Macalister-Smith, Leandra Medine, Ivy Getty, Selby Drummond, Naomi Elizee, and more grace the campaign in beautiful moments of candour and raw, genuine magic. From intimate glimpses into motherhood to dynamic depictions of women on the go, the portraiture captures the essence of each subject and shines a light on how the Emilia Wickstead brand builds community with every collection.

We caught up with Emilia Wickstead about the Resort 2024 campaign, shooting in New York, and capturing the essence of contemporary womanhood.

See images from the campaign…

Read the interview…

Congratulations on the beautiful campaign! Can you tell me a bit about the inspiration behind your Resort 2024 collection?
As a female designer designing for other women, women are my most influential source of inspiration. I’m constantly inspired by women who lead dynamic lives and how the various roles they embody impacts their personal style. Naturally, each collection starts to become a uniform of sorts, empowering each woman as they inhabit each version of themselves. This season I was drawn to thinking about the women of New York. New Yorker’s have such a modernity and ease, but there’s no one type of New York woman. I really wanted the casual and the more occasion-driven aspects of my aesthetic to be in dialogue with one another in this collection, for example in the way we used heritage checks and tweeds interchangeably for day and evening.  
 
What were you reading, watching, listening to, and researching while in the initial stages of the collection?
I revisited the work of photographer Alice Springs, Helmut Newton’s wife, and her portraiture of women with their young children in the 1980s, which was the original inspiration for my Pre-Fall 2020 collection nearly four years ago. Her photographs represented women so intimately and with such personality. 
 
How do you visually convey themes of modern womanhood and sisterhood with fabric, colour, silhouette, etc? 
I’d like to think that there is something for every woman in this collection. We are known for dresses but often use tailoring and play on traditionally masculine sartorial codes. I love the idea that the same woman can wear a bold, jacquard gown or a tweed suit. 
 
Do you have a favourite part of the design process?
I love when designs go into the fitting stage and begin to come to life. Proper fit and construction is so integral to my work.
 
At what stage of the process did you decide to shoot the campaign in New York and why did that feel like the right city for the collection?
We landed on the concept early this year. After I graduated from Central Saint Martin’s I spent a year living and working in New York at American Vogue, Proenza Schouler and Narciso Rodriguez. The city was such a formative experience for me. The energy in New York is like nothing else, and that spirit has inspired me as a designer ever since. The US is also our fastest growing market — so much of our community is there. 
 
Can you speak about some of the women featured in the campaign?
All of the women have unique stories and have forged their own path in their respective industries. They are each inspirational and impactful in their own right. Hannah Traore, for example, is a trailblazer in the art world, opening her own gallery as a platform for historically marginalised artists. Chai Vasarhelyi is a multi-award winning filmmaker who has truly honed her craft. Her most recent film Nyad, premiered this year at the Toronto Film Festival and just launched on Netflix. I’ve known Isabella Massenet since she was a young girl — she made her modelling debut in one of my runway shows in 2016. I’ve known Tilly Macalister-Smith since she was a writer living in London; she’s now a mother of two married to a New Yorker with a glowing career. 
 
The photography series really conveys the intimate relationship between a garment, its wearer, and their environment. How did you ideate this concept and what was the process like of working with the women on their portraits to ensure you captured their essence?
I’m a big believer in the power of clothing to transform you and to give you confidence, and I’m constantly inspired by how women’s personal style mirrors this. Different environments can encourage women to push boundaries; I love the idea that women can wear a dress in the boardroom, or in a very relaxed, casual way, and the impact this can have. I wanted this freedom to be reflected in the images. The process with each women was very organic, but it was important that they felt comfortable in their chosen outfits — it was very collaborative. 
 
The campaign also points to the beautiful community you’ve fostered with your label. How important is that element of the brand to you and how do you set out to accomplish such?
I spent the first five years of the business personally meeting clients in fittings and very organically began to grow a community from there. Whilst it wasn’t necessarily something I intentionally set out to do, our community and our customer are the cornerstone of everything we do. There’s an emotive aspect to Emilia Wickstead that I hope naturally makes women feel connected. 
 
Are there any other cities you’d like to explore in a similar way in the future?
Watch this space!

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