Without time away from schedules, routines and demands we have no way of truly living, of exploring and getting lost into unknown plans. With Passenger, life is just that… days of adventure, laughs and living in the moments that offer themselves up to us. There is nothing better than working with a brand who lives what they preach. Every member of their crew is blessed with the desire to look further than the horizon and I am honoured to be a part of it.
Every now and again we buckle up in our founders trusty camper ‘Old Piney’ and set out on the road to capture the moments of Passenger’s year round collections in real life settings, tested by elements and escapism.
For this collections adventure we were lucky enough to find luxury in a home overlooking the storm drenched waves of Croyde in north Devon. Peeking out each morning from the palace like windows trying to weigh up the possibilities of making the sky look like summer, Ian and I found comfort in the thought of underfloor heating and a swanky coffee machine (both features considerably out of the norm for these shoots). We’d shoot what we could from within our castle on the hill until breaks of sun and pauses in rain called for us to venture out.
Packed to the nines in passenger gear we would clamber into Old Piney and our army of vans to chase nearby locations, dreaming of the possibility for summer vibes. After a few near misses with Devon-style-hills and a collective team jump start on day one, each road trip was unique for its own story.
Day two lead to events that caused a halt in our shoot plans. After being caught out in the valley of the rocks by a hail storm with drops similar in size to the jagged cliffs themselves, we huddled in Old Piney and squeezed into any inch of space she could offer us. Clutched onto our leftover lunch of cold fajita wraps we joked as if the sun would break through any moment. Of course, it didn’t.
With no luck but full stomachs we chugged on through the hills to find new sweet spots and hunt moments of blue skies. Blissfully unaware, the storm had followed us and turned to snow, settling as a blanket before us on the roads through Exmoor, turning sheep to camouflage and our summer dreams to dust.
In true Passenger style we stopped for a moment that couldn’t be missed, launched some snow balls and stood together amongst the white hills for a team photo. Ok, we might not be able to use them as our ‘summer collection shots’ but they sure make for a perfect story.
We had to call it quits and hand in the rest of the day for a pint and some better weather down the line. Though feeling slightly defeated, Rich and I spoke about the fact that life is often more unpredictable than not and when one plan doesn’t quite work out, the powers that be offer you something else to take your mind of it. I’m a big believer in things happening for a reason and this was just one of those moments.
Though still up against ice like temperatures, our final shoot days managed to call on some sun to make up for our lost time. Armed with summer tees, boards and Passenger Packs we made the beach our home and shot into the last hours of light. There’s nothing better than those final moments when the light is golden, the beaches are quiet and the crew are in high spirits dreaming of our ‘short term local’ pint provider.
After cold and windswept days Old Piney was parked up to recover from her hikes, the fire was lit and the team would settle to spend our evenings indulging in Justin’s family feasts with beers in our hands and Passenger’s Playlists on around us. We’d share memories of past shoots with our newest team members, flooded tents and cliff edge curry deliveries, and make new ones with them there. We’d play pool (very badly) into the evenings and crowd around Rich to browse through the highlights from the day, caught by photographer Tom.
With each day of each shoot we learn new ways of doing things, new ways of showing Passenger’s story and what we are about. We push to drive the importance of escapism, unplanned adventure and the chase for freedom. For how is one to get lost if they don’t know where they’re heading?
I have loved every single minute of my journey with Passenger, watching both the brand and team grow each time an adventure comes around. Days with Passenger are the days i look forward to most of all.
Passenger’s SS2020 collection, shot from this adventure, launches Friday the 13th of March. Make sure to keep up with our story at @passengerclothing and check out some sneak peaks below…
Lydia Cooke 