Studio Spotlight

With exotic animals, exquisite jewels and a stellar team tasked with capturing their unique beauty under challenging circumstances, the latest campaign for Australian jewellery designer Margot McKinney is one we won’t soon forget here at Newstead Studios. We spoke to Margot herself, photographer Sam Thies and Art Director Annie Griffiths about the inspiration behind the campaign and how it all came together to produce these mesmerising images.

Annie: The critical intention for the campaign was to create exotic abundance. Abundance needed to be communicated in every aspect – colour, wardrobe selection, propping. So every single piece was considered thoroughly to make sure whatever we put it with would do it justice and show it in its absolute best light.

Margot: For me, it’s about something bigger than us. It’s about something that is out there in nature that just gets in.

Sam: We chose animals that had similar colour schemes to what Margot would use in her jewellery, based on their patterns and the detail. Our very brave talent did an amazing job of handling this quite stressful situation.

Margot: I took my hat off to them, at how professional they were because it was challenging. Not everyone will feel comfortable having a huge python writhing around their shoulders.

Sam: We managed to get some pretty incredible shots under some pretty tough conditions. The attention to detail needed to represent the same level of detail that Margot was designing her jewellery to.

Annie: We’ve really delved deeply in to what it means to be a Margot McKinney brand. It’s been such a fun campaign to produce.

Margot: It’s the most excited I’ve been about a campaign. I keep going back in the middle of the night to look at the shots. I can’t tell you how happy I am with it!