I was contacted by Skinnydip London who were looking for an illustrator to create live illustrations at the Cosmopolitan Self Made Summit 2018.  They had a promotional pop up stall at the event where they were showcasing their products but they wanted something engaging and enticing to go alongside this.  Their aim was to create a buzz surrounding the brand and gain more followers and engagement on social media.  

Skinnydip have 100s of concessions across the UK in stores such as Selfidges and Topshop, as well as a few stores of their own.  Beginning life as an accesories brand, Skinnydip have branched into fashion and now even have their own nail salon in their Covent Garden store.  Their strong brand identity is aimed towards the effortlessly cool, young, fashionable and confident female and features their iconic pink colour in addition to bold, striking graphics .  It was clear that the illustrations needed to be in keeping with the brand's bold identity and attractive to SkinnyDip's target market.  As the Self Made Summit was focused around people rather than fashion I decided to focus on capturing the guests personailty though portraiture.  I stripped back my colour palette right back using only a black, pastel lavender and accenting the lips with Skinnydip pink to really encapsulate the brand.

My collaboration with Skinnydip was a huge success.  Their pop up stall had the longest queue at the Self Made Summit and everyone was talking about it!  People were desperate to get a unique portrait!  In order to have a portrait done by me, guests needed to follow/tag @skinnydiplondon on Instagram which meant Skinnydip gained huge social engagement over the weekend.

'We worked with Laura on an event with Cosmopolitan, offering customers to the event complimentary fashion illustrations in Skinnydip notebooks. Working with Laura was a pleasure from start to finish. From initial conversations, she was so engaged with the project and went above and beyond to ensure that each design was suited to the brand. On the day Laura worked like a trooper with a very busy (and sometimes demanding) crowd, illustrating each customer with a bespoke twist and making them all feel special, but also ensuring everyone got their turn. Each illustration was beautiful, and it really helped to make our stand at the event stand out. I would recommend Laura in a heartbeat!' 

- Louisa Davies Social Media and Events Coordinator for Skinnydip London

Photography by Sebastian Xander @sebastianxander www.sebastianxander.com