Motherhood is a beautiful thing. “It’s an opportunity to give someone the best blessings and experiences in life that I could give to them, an opportunity to create and raise a person who will be beautiful, kind, compassionate and a good person on this planet,” says British stylist, consultant and creative director Anna Trevelyan, 39, who was the brains behind this shoot. A new mother to Ska, who was five-months-old when we shot this, Trevelyan wanted to celebrate the strength and fortitude it takes to be both a mother and a career woman in one fell swoop.
The women here were chosen by Trevelyan (who is also featured) and Peruvian photographer Mariano Vivanco, 48 (who “totally gets it” as a father to five- year-old Henry), for their capacity to be both mothers and incredible, highly sought-after creative forces in their respective fields. “To look at these women and know that on top of their careers, they’re birthing and raising children… I have a whole new perspective on how much of an achievement that is,” Trevelyan says, adding, “It gave me the confidence that I could do it too. Motherhood is a beautiful addition to your life, but it doesn’t stop you from achieving anything.”
Trevelyan saw it as “self-affirmation” at a time when she feels both the strongest she’s ever felt and the most vulnerable. “It’s an open and personal thing,” she says. “I always knew I wanted to have kids, but I had this fear of not being seen as a ‘career woman’ still or as capable, creative or driven.” When we chat, she speaks quietly so as to not wake up Ska. “Our industry is not necessarily the most welcoming of motherhood,” she says. “And there’s still a bit of resistance when it comes to hiring mothers. Not from everyone – many of my clients and people I work with have been really welcoming, but I still feel like that’s, unfortunately, a bit of a reality.”
On set, things were understandably hectic, but it transcended a simple photoshoot and became something rather profound, rooted in joy, connection and female power. “It was just fab, all these women who are just doing it with babies,” Trevelyan says. “I was breastfeeding. Tiffany (Hsu) was getting her hair and make-up done, and breastfeeding. Sita (Abellán) was there with her baby on the floor, looking at shoes. And then Susie (Lau)’s kid was running around screaming!”
“The day was nothing short of spectacular,” says Vivanco. “I have worked with kids in the past, but never had a set with 10 perfectly behaved kids! The cherry on top was photographing Anna, who had the great idea to be shot breastfeeding. It encompassed everything we wanted to express in its most authentic form.”
