Metallics shoot | From moodboard to magazine...

The last of my Barbados shoots was out the other week and I was really pleased with how I managed to achieve the original concept I had with this one. It doesn't always work like that and sometimes you have to let go of much-loved original ideas.

It was a metallics story, "7 days of shine" - how to add a bit of sparkle or shimmer to your Summer wardrobe.

Here is a picture of the original moodboard I made a few weeks before we shot when I was brainstorming story ideas:

And here's the moodboard from my shoot:

I never wanted to copy any of the shots form the moodboard but wanted to capture those mouthwatering blues, the warmth, and the shine of the clothes.

It was a long hard day that day - our final shoot on a ten day trip, but we pulled it out the (sequin clutch) bag. Thanks to a fantastic team.

All the clothes are High Street unlike all the designer on the original moodboard. Check out the cheap as chips white blazer from Primark...

Here are the final pictures that went into the magazine:

Leona!

It felt like quite a biggie when I was asked to style Leona Lewis for Fabulous. She's just one of those people that is so talented and gorgeous, you don't want a thing to go wrong. She's a pretty big star too, and you kind of get that vibe when you meet her. Something a bit special about this girl.

Theme of the shoot was metallics, so I whipped up a quick moodboard prior to the shoot. Loads of great inspiration for this one...

I felt a bit nervous on the shoot, which I haven't done in years, and there were quite specific instructions as to what she would and wouldn't wear. Plus as a strict vegan all leather/feather/pleather was out. Actually this was harder than it seems. Despite trying to remember this whilst selecting pieces for her I still managed to present leather and feather to her. How could I forget where feathers some from? BIRDS, Chloe. Cue my assistant hurriedly hiding a few things...

Leona's rail of metallic delights. (Feathers removed shortly after photo was taken...)

Jewels for LL. Again, feathers removed shortly after photo was taken...

Great selection of vintage accessories from Winchester Vintage. Thanks Charlotte! And no feather to hide - whoop!

I got that buzz... the one that makes me love my job more than anything...a few shots into the day when Leona put on the Andrew Majtenyi dress she wore for the cover. She worked it and we ended up with this amazing cover, out today...

And here's just some of the other great shots by photographer Elisabeth Hoff...

Leona shines in Maria Grachvogel

Leona was happy to mix designer with High Street. Shoes from Schuh.

And then with hardly time to breathe it was on to the next celeb shoot that was going to be a potentially tricky one...