“I was drawn to the chaotic nature of amusement parks,” says creative director Ashley Munns. “The pumping adrenaline, the rush and thrill of the rides, the intensity of speed, unpredictable twists and turns, looming danger, hopeful romance, blinding lights, tacky airbrushed art, cool outfits.” And that’s exactly what she channelled into BIMBA Y LOLA’s FW23 campaign. In it, we join a group of young friends as they have the time of their lives at a classic British funfair.
The campaign follows in the impeccable footsteps of SS23’s sports-centric offering – dreamt up by Ashley in collaboration with London-based Welsh photographer Grant James-Thomas – which saw athletes captured mid-motion with their BIMBA Y LOLA bags as they long jump, water ski and skate. For FW23, the creative duo have reconnected but something’s different. The models are off-duty. This time, they’re seen riding The Avalanche; hair flying in all directions, hats and bags clasped tightly, smiles wide, hands held. On-ride rules may or may not have been broken in the process. Elsewhere, they’re holding bunches of colourful balloons and eating from boxes of ketchup-smothered chips as seagulls watch on. It makes for a nostalgic scene. “There’s a lot of mischief and plenty of shenanigans at amusement parks,” Ashley tells us. “I guess there’s an allure in that too!”
The mood fits that of the collection itself – the colourful spray-painted rides mirrored in the doodle-like patterns splashed across dresses and jackets; bold, candy-like earrings echoed in bunches of bright balloons and bags of pink candy floss. Then there’s the TOTE POCKET BAG. Available in seven different styles – including cow print and last-day-of-school scrawled graffiti – the double pocket design is a future classic. Other looks are new takes on coming-of-age staples: denim jackets and bombers reimagined cropped or with bold notes of neon.
“BIMBA Y LOLA, as a brand, has such a playful, vibrant and youthful energy,” Ashley adds. “It was a perfect match of concept and collection!” It was also perhaps the only time that models have been cast with the prerequisite that they must be adventurous, with no fear of heights or rides.
Obsessed with the whole concept, we spoke with Ashley to find out exactly how they did it.
Firstly, do you have any particular memories attached to funfairs? And did you work to incorporate them here?
I’ve spent a lot of time at amusement parks because I grew up in Orlando, Florida, so I was a legit amusement park rat! I think my right brain was informed by this. I adored the Honey I Shrunk The Kids park, and I’ll never forget throwing up on the Gravitron at the local church fair. Luckily no one threw up on any rides on our shoot day! I didn’t have a specific memory that I wanted to include, but the overall excitement I remember feeling is what I wanted to convey.
What sort of references were you working with?
I looked a lot at the Where’s Wally amusement park images and must have Google Image searched every single weird thing or disaster that has ever happened at an amusement park – there are oddly a lot of mishaps with birds flying into people on rollercoasters.
Presumably shooting a collection in action comes with some pretty unique difficulties? How did you overcome those?
Yes, I knew it would be a challenge but my faith in Grant and his capabilities as a photographer is unwavering, so I wasn’t worried at all. For our first shot, we tried shooting the models on The Avalanche without turning it on. We were like: “Ok guys, let’s see your surprised faces! Let me see the fear!” But it was really hard to get the facial expressions and body movement we needed. The moment we decided to turn the ride on though, everything changed! The models were totally surprised because no one told them it was time to ride it for real. They loved it and we got the spontaneous shrieks and smiles that we were looking for.
What’s the TOTE POCKET BAG all about then? And what do you plan on keeping zipped up in your two front pockets?
The pocket bag is all about fashion meeting function! It’s also ageless – I can see a young teenager or an old Grandma wearing one… and anyone in between! I love its sturdy, structured design. If you want to liven things up though, you can choose one of the fun prints – cow print for you and graffiti for me please. My two pockets would hold dog treats in one, sunscreen in the other!
If you were in charge of the BIMBA Y LOLA fairground aux, what would be blasting from the on-ride speakers?
Rosalía – all day, everyday.
Was shooting this campaign as fun as it looks?
Yes! We had the place all to ourselves for most of the shoot day. It’s totally normal during a long shoot for the team to hit a wall or for momentum to slow down… this started happening to us, but when the park opened up to the public, we got a second wind! Families and teens started piling in, the music was blasting and all of the rides started up. That added excitement and energy helped us finish the last few setups on our shot list. We all had so much fun!
Shop BIMBA Y LOLA’s new FW23 collection here.
Credits
Photography Grant James-Thomas