It’s been a crazily jam-packed week here at Become, but as you know, ‘unstoppable’ is one of our favourite words! Amongst the many exciting plans we have up our sleeves for this Spring (watch this space…), we’ve spent the last few weeks organising our Spring/Summer photoshoot. And the sun was shining brightly for us on Wednesday and Thursday as we made our way to the Apiary Studios over in Hackney, London to shoot our ever-growing range of Become clothing, created to empower women everywhere going through the menopause. 

A Range of Versatile Wardrobe Essentials
Under the careful direction of our Head of Creative, Marion, our goal for this shoot was to show off our range of stylish wardrobe must-haves: “We wanted to portray how effortlessly our clothes can be mixed and matched to create a whole range of outfits,” said Marion. “Capturing the versatility of these perfect capsule pieces and how indispensable our t-shirts, camis, vest tops, briefs and leggings are for any menopause wardrobe.”

An Unstoppable Team
Team Become were joined by an amazing bunch of co-workers old and new as we gathered to bring the brand to life. Stylist Rebekah Roy put together a range of fabulous outfits, showing the many ways our clothes can be worn; from relaxed holiday looks to smart styles perfect for the office or an evening out. Our talented make-up artist Em-J kept our models, Carol-Ann and Brucella, looking fresh with just a minimal touch of make-up to highlight their natural beauty. Photographer Bart Pajak perfectly captured the fun spirit and relaxed confidence that we loved so much about them both. He soldiered on with the shoot, despite having suffered a near-catastrophic injury to his camera click finger!  

Our Amazing Models
We first met Brucella, who is 52, when we launched the brand in 2017, so this is the second time she has modelled for us. We adore the energy she injects into our clothes when she wears them, you wouldn’t know that she’s been experiencing the first hot flushes and night sweats of perimenopause, so this shoot was very timely for her. Brucella was amazed at how far the brand has come in just over a year. “It’s been brilliant seeing how far Become has grown as a brand since I modelled for the company right at the beginning – it's great to see how the range has really developed with some fantastic pieces in time for the Summer.”

This is the first time that Carol-Ann, 53, has modelled for us and she was particularly interested in the fact that we were an innovative start-up: “It’s great to model for such a new brand, especially having gone through the menopause myself.” Despite nearing the end of her menopause, Carol-Ann appreciates the need to talk to her younger friends about it. “I do try to discuss menopause with them, to try to help them as they go through it,” she explained. “We’re definitely more open to talking it today than when I was perimenopausal – I really didn’t know what was happening.” We love her youthful spirit, which shines through in her shoot pictures.  

Empowering Women Everywhere
It’s really important to Sarah, our Head of Marketing, that we portray the fantastic benefits of our clothing. “Become is a brand that can really empower women everywhere to continue living their lives as normal, despite the fact that they may be experiencing hot flushes and night sweats,” said Sarah. “Our range is designed and made with today’s woman in mind – a woman with an active lifestyle, possibly a busy job, maybe children and/or grandchildren … our goal is to hopefully make life a little easier, so that they can continue to be unstoppable.”

Meanwhile, whilst I was chatting to Brucella over lunch, she mentioned to me how she now feels bolder with age: “You realise that it's so important not to let anything hold you back – take every opportunity you're given because life goes by very quickly.” And we couldn’t agree more!

Huge thanks to the whole team who put together such a brilliant photo shoot. We can’t wait to share with you the amazing pictures, which will be up on our website soon...  

Helen Prentice