I believe that nostalgia is among the most powerful and deadly of emotions. ‘Backyard Baby’, a commercial campaign shot for Meadow Lane, features Zoe Hadjidimitriou, and explores themes of messy suburban bliss, childhood isolation and feminine sweetness. When I think of the early years of my childhood, I think of course of the many hours I spent discovering the world with wide eyes and open arms in my own backyard. Those memories feel perfectly preserved in time, uncluttered by racing thought or noise, almost as if they all happened in slow motion. This feeling of forgotten presence, taken for granted long ago, is enough to make an overly anxious young adult writhe with envy towards their five year old self. Although I may never get to experience that sort of presence or peace again, I wanted to try and capture its lethal nostalgia for this campaign. My clothing collections almost exclusively featured soft colours, delicate vintage silhouettes and girlish motifs, so creating an air of sweet sadness always felt perfectly fitting. This fragile mood is always carried heavily yet gracefully by the talented women I get to work with, Zoe showcases this expertly in her work. A family friend graciously allowed us to use her backyard for the shoot. In preparation, I dismantled and dug through a tall tower of plastic bins, holding old childhood toys, nestled under the creaky staircase of my family home. I found my brothers old spider-man figurine, yellow and green skipping ropes, a wagon of happy meal toys, my old cheer pom-poms and a blue starred paddle pool. I quite literally threw the forgotten toys and props around the yard, finishing off my set design with my dads old esky and some stranded beers. After all, for me, a nostalgic backyard isn’t complete without the smell of beer, a lit BBQ and cigarette smoke - so something of the sort had to be incorporated.