Behind the Scenes of the latest Yonder shoot - Emma Tweddle
We had an awesome time shooting the new collection with our friends in Saltburn. It was interesting, we just came off a call with a marketing agency who seemed to be suggesting that we could follow the model used for commercial ‘success’ that a client of theirs, a swimwear brand have used which seemed to be hollow influencers and sexualised images of beautiful ladies. That’s not us, or our style. We like the smell of fire smoke, being outdoors on the beach in all weathers, listening to each others stories and ultimately, being ourselves. That is what we wanted to capture with our new collection. If there was surf, we would have surfed of course, but we aren’t about to pretend we did; it was flat this day but it was still just perfect.
Thanks to Emma Tweddle for being everything we want to see in a Yonder Ambassador and thanks to Leanne & SJ (and Tom) for making our clothes look rad and at home.
Emma shared this lovely little summary of the evening, we thought we would share it.
As lockdown three came to a close Sally and Tom reached out and suggested getting together to shoot some new promo material for Yonder. It felt like a long time since socialising so I jumped at the chance and couldn’t wait - any excuse to hang out with these guys and I’m there.
We met up on a gorgeous evening, it’s rarely this warm at this time of year on our coastline so it felt particularly special. We grabbed some beers from the shop and headed to the beach. Two of my close friends joined the crew and collectively we made the decision there’s only one thing to do on a night like that - beach fire and bevs. Yonder shoots are unlike most others, not that I’ve done many but for a start there’s no hair and makeup before hand, just wear what you want, grab what you like and we shoot.
After grabbing our gear we went on the hunt for drift wood to burn - Billy their little boy was particularly keen on getting involved with the fire so we roped him in to help us. As the sun started to set we got the fire lit - Tom started shooting but to be honest at this point we’d already forgotten he was taking pics, we had good company and an incredible sunset to keep us distracted.
The reason why I respect what Yonder do so much is growing up I had always felt so disconnected from surf culture - being from a cold climate and not fitting the surf industry’s usual stereotype (blonde hair and bikini clad) I always felt marginalised by the industry. Also as gay woman it was nearly impossible to look around and see a role model within the industry who I could connect with. I know this may sound trivial and un important to some but it does weirdly make you feel isolated or like you don’t belong when you have no reference point to go from.
Looking around the fire that evening I felt so proud to be a part of these anarchists of the surf world. A bunch of misfits all brought together by our love of the ocean. It’s beautiful stuff really. Leanne sat in her funny little hat and mits sipping rum, SJ not lifting a finger while berating me for stealing her lighter and Sally just kicking back and taking it all in while Billy took turns to prod the smouldering fire with me. In my opinion some of the most Inspiring women I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with.
I always think about how different it could have been if this was the type of stuff I was seeing in mags years ago when I was a young grom - less about fitting a certain mould to appease the male gaze and more about just being yourself and feeling comfortable in your own skin. This is the message that Yonder is putting out there, it’s genuine, completely un-contrived and inclusive no matter who you are or where you’ve come from. It’s what surf culture should be about.
As the sun finally set and we succumbed to the dark I savoured my last dregs of beer and we rolled Billy back in a wheel barrow we had used to collect wood in. A dreamy evening and a taste of what summer has to bring to the table this year.
