A mother has teamed up with an award-winning photographer and a schoolgirl model to launch her debut fashion collection.
Mum-of-three Ginny Kirsch has unveiled the first range from her eponymous fashion line, Ginny Ks, with a little help from friends and neighbours.
The fledgling designer, who created the clothes at her home in West Heath Road, Hampstead, enlisted local teenager Olga Turko to model the range and Belsize Park photographer Jillian Edelstein – whose portraits have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair and Interview – to take pictures of the collection.
The line could also launch a career in fashion for model Olga, who recently graduated from South Hampstead High School, in Maresfield Gardens.
Mrs Kirsch said: “I’ve got quite a large circle of local mothers and asked them whether they knew any girls, and a friend of mine was convinced Olga – who is originally from Russia – would be perfect.”
Olga had never modelled before and studied poses for the shoot which took place just after she sat her A-levels last summer.
“She was just incredibly cool and collected and performed amazingly on the day,” added Mrs Kirsch. “She looks like a professional.”
The designer, who lives in Grade II-listed Schreiber House opposite the Heath, said her line was four years in the making, with plenty of trial and error along the way.
She previously worked as a freelance ladies shoe designer before taking a career break, which allowed her the time to retrain and work on the collection from home while looking after her children.
She said: “I wanted to create a stylish and feminine range with a relaxed fit that would be versatile so that you could wear it at home, wear it out and also wear on holiday.
“I want to keep the idea of everything being loose and very nicely cut, beautiful fabrics, interesting necklines and clothes that hang nicely.”
The range has initially been launched online-only “to keep the costs down”.
* Visit ginnyks.co.uk for more information.
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