Exclusive: Emma Mulholland SS12/13 Campaign & Byron Spencer Interview
Starring Ollie Henderson.
It's time to prepare yourself a drink decorated with a miniature umbrella and brush-up on your b-ball skills — Emma Mulholland's SS12/13 'As Bad As I Guana Be' collection has just hit stores! We showed you the lookbook earlier this year, and now we can exclusively share the campaign, which stars aesthetically superior human Ollie Henderson. We caught up with the campaign photographer Byron Spencer to talk bleached brows, Bali, and Emma's tendency to howl like a wolf when inebriated.
Ingrid Kesa: Hi Byron! First up, what was the idea behind the campaign — what sort of look were you going for?
Byron Spencer: I wanted to have a series of really strong portraits. In the previous collections we established that the brand was really cool and young in the imagery. I wanted these images to look a bit more mature but still feel fun. I was really into 90s Versace campaigns and also campaigns for brands like Topshop and H&M.
What's your favourite piece from the collection?
For girls, I really like the swimwear. I think it's real cute and if I had the body to pull it off, I would. The mesh t-shirt is my favorite piece for the boys.
We recently got a sneak peek of Emma's new collection, which you shot. Can you pretty please give us some more clues on what to expect? The suspense is killing me!
It's pretty incredible... I just shot the campaign imagery with Pauly Bonomelli the other weekend and it's probably my favorite thing I have ever done. Um, I don't know, expect something memorable!
Emma is obviously a legend, and you two are friends. Can you tell us something about her that not many people know? Does she have any weird habits, or secret obsessions?
Something you may not know about Emma is that she spent a lot of time convincing people in Sydney that she used to be infamous for doing the worm. This bold claim obviously won her a lot of brownie points within such a ball-breaking industry. When we finally convinced Emma to do the worm for us she not only couldn't do it at all, but I think she may have winded herself. Weird habits — sometimes when we get a bit drunk she howls like a wolf in public. Secret obsessions — she claims that she hates my feet and thinks they are the most disgusting things ever, but once when she was asleep she talked to them and snuggled them.
She's in Bali at the moment. Any plans to go drink cocktails on the beach with her this summer?
That makes it all sound so glamorous. I've told Emma the more time she lives in Bali the more I expect her to go completely organic, get tanned, be happier and always smell of fake frangipani. I also want her to learn steel drums. If she can do all of the above by Christmas I will definitely go enjoy a cocktail with her.
You seem to be friends with a lot of bleached-brow babes... Anja, Ollie... Have you ever been to tempted to try the look yourself?
My mate dyed my hair pink recently. It's gone a bit weird now. I don't reckon I'd really suit the bleached brow thing though, I reckon I'd look like an olive alien.
What are you currently working on?
Lots of exciting photography projects... And a musical.
Ingrid Kesa
