Grey Linen Sundress

Victoria Andrews (Team leader)
Brisbane, Australia.
Daughter: Lola, 4 years old
Instagram | Website

I have followed the traveling dress blog for sometime now and I thought it would be amazing to create a group that would just include artists from our little corner of the world, Australia and New Zealand. I approached my talented dressmaker friend about creating something especially for this project and she was delighted with this idea! So late last year Alison and I spent a morning over coffee coming up with the perfect design. A light blue/grey linen dress, with ruffles and lace details and a matching underskirt to add length for the older girls in the group.

I received the dress just before Christmas and both Lola and I were in love with its beauty straight away. I knew exactly where I wanted to shoot the dress; the iconic Brisbane location The Powerhouse. I love the red brickwork and industrial feel this place has. It was a very warm summers morning when we ventured there and Lola loved twirling and dancing in the early morning sun. It was so exciting to send the dress over the Tasman Sea on it first adventure to Auckland, New Zealand!

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Aimee Glucina
Auckland New Zealand
Daughter: Mila, 5 years old
Instagram | Facebook | Website

When I saw the organic, old world charm of the dress I felt drawn to take it somewhere coastal. We made a family outing of it opting to try a coastal walkway around Auckland's Westmere. My daughter immediately fell in love with the way it trailed behind her and swirled when she spun around - it was going to be hard to get it off her! We spent nearly an hour and a half walking that track, visiting the docks and coastal inlets. Being part of this project was inspiring. I loved the images my family was able to make together and I can't wait to see how everyone else interprets the same dress.

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Olga Levien
Auckland, New Zealand
Daughter: Anna-Bella, 5 years old
Website | Instagram | Facebook

The dress arrived in the late afternoon and my daughter Anna-Bella was very excited to try it on and twirled around in the house. I couldn’t wait for the next day for better light and weather, so we jumped in the car and drove to the closest playground with some plants and trees. It was a dark and moody evening and the light disappeared so quickly, but we managed to explore around, had fun and captured some memorable moments with this beautiful dress, before it was off to its next destination.
It was such a pleasure to participate in this exciting project and share creatively with seven other amazing photographers from Australia and New Zealand!

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Stacey Kaye
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Daughter: Ruby 10 years old
Instagram

Before I had even received the dress, I knew the location I wanted to use, a place close to our heart, our front yard, our beach. The East Coast of New Zealand is our home and the dress arrived on the first day of February, on a beautiful summer’s day. My youngest daughter fell in love immediately with its lace details, full skirt and underskirts. A dress that demanded a twirl, every little girl’s dream. An hour before the sun was due to set, we walked down to the beach to a hill which has beautiful views of our beachfront, it also houses a secret cave. It was magic to watch as she danced and twirled, as the sun set in a light summers breeze!

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Natalie Finney
Melbourne, Australia
Daughter: Adele, 5 years old
Website | Facebook | Instagram

I absolutely love to embrace the sense of wonder and enchantment that children bring to our lives. My little girl was so excited when asked if she would like to create some images with a special dress that was travelling ALL the way across the Tasman Sea to reach our home, in Melbourne, Australia. I knew from the moment I was asked to join the traveling dress project that I wanted to create a series of images that told a narrative. Images that embodied a journey and incorporated a little piece of our bayside paradise we now call home. So, off we went with the dress on our own little adventure. Scootering our way down the street, making our way across the wooden creek bridge with foreboding clouds close behind us, and finally to our beach, where Mother Nature greeted us with a pouring of glorious warm sunshine!

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Alana Green
Southern Grampians, Australia
Daughter: Maelys, 5 years old
Instagram

The afternoon I chose to photograph my 5 year old in this dress, it was superbly hot and she was not thrilled. However, the promise of an ice cream post-photograph session was enough of a bribe. We drove about 20km from our house to a spot where the golden afternoon light was bright against the brown grass and fields of wheat. She hunted for fairies as we wandered around, and was convinced she had found one on the little white flowers she is holding in my second image. The third photo was taken a further 20km away on one of my favourite roads. There are often sheep grazing along the fence lines and my daughter loves to go and chat to them. As she wandered down the road, she was hunting for snakes. Luckily, she was unsuccessful in her pursuit.

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Helen Whittle
Molong, Australia
Daughter: Minnie, 9 years old
Instagram

When the dress arrived myself and my daughter were so excited to start making images. I knew I wanted to incorporate colour into my images, but also wanted to try a fine art look. Currently living in a rental house, I had been studying the dappled light falling on a light grey wall on the side of the house and decided this would make a stunning back drop. My daughter kindly gave me 10 minutes of her time to capture these images in this beautiful timeless dress. I feel so honoured to be a part of this travelling dress group down under, with so many talented photographers, such an amazing concept that I feel lucky to be a part of.

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Nic Kearney
Seal Rocks, Australia
Daughter: Coral, 5 years old
Instagram

When I opened the package my daughter Coral was so excited about this beautiful dress. We had a family vacation planned for the small coastal town of Seal Rocks, east coast Australia, the following week. I was excited to finally have an excuse to shoot at the historic light house. The grey of the dress certainly complimented the mood of the shoot. It was drizzling, getting dark very fast and surprisingly cool for an afternoon in early April. The weather deterred the tourists who might have visited the lighthouse this day and it was wonderful to have this special location all to ourselves.

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”This experience has been truly wonderful, we have loved creating beautiful images with our daughters and also connecting with local artists!” -Victoria Andrews (Team leader)