Exploring the Enigmatic Beauty of the Philippines: A Land of Diversity and Wonder

Nestled in the heart of Southeast Asia lies a gem of unparalleled beauty and diversity: the Philippines. As we prepare to launch our Spring/Summer 2024 swim collection, we want to take you behind the scenes to our lifestyle campaign shoot for the collection, shot in August 2023 – so let's embark on a journey to explore the enchanting allure of the Philippines.

Image: Snapshots from the Philippines

Lanuuk swimwear has always been about creating a luxury experience for our customers, taking them on a journey of self discovery to make them feel confident and empowered wearing our swimwear. We are passionate about investing a lot of time and effort into our swim campaigns, helping to bring our products to life. Our photography and filming style aims to capture the natural beauty within nature, taking you away to beautiful inspirational locations, portraying our collections on real women of different backgrounds and sizes and letting their natural beauty speak for itself.

Image: Lanuuk Lula Swim Set in White, shot at Zambales Island, the Phlippines (February 2020)

Our collections and campaigns take a lot of inspiration from the diverse scenery and rich culture of the Philippines, which is where our swimwear is made and all of our campaigns have been shot. Our co-founder Leya, grew up in Manila and after moving to London to study and working for a decade, she returned to the Philippines with her family for a change of pace and to try a new career that could explore her more creative side. She went on to open a boutique hotel and restaurant, Nuuk Taal and amidst this hotelier journey found a love for design and ventured into designing swimwear, launching Lanuuk with Ayesha in 2018.

With Lanuuk's design and manufacturing teams being based in the Philippines, it has always made sense for us to make the most of the rich array of landscapes on our doorstep to both draw inspiration and to shoot our campaigns.

Image: Lanuuk Diana Swim Set in Olive, shot at Taal Lake in Batangas, the Phlippines (December 2018)

The Philippines is a country of contrasts, boasting an array of landscapes that range from towering mountains to powdery white beaches. The country's extensive coastline is adorned with pristine beaches, such as Boracay and Palawan, consistently ranked among the world's best.

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Video: Behind the scenes of Lanuuk shoot for the Sunset Collection shot in Boracay, the Philippines (April 2022)

Whilst spoilt for choice, identifying an island to shoot our campaigns has not always been easy. This takes months and weeks of planning to coordinate various aspects.

Location

Finding the right island to fit in with our vision for the collection and the campaign. Our SS24 collection, entitled ‘the Island Collection’, channels our longing to connect with our natural environment by drawing inspiration from the wavy textures and earthy colours that exist on a deserted island. For this shoot we settled on a location called Fortune Island in Nasugbu, home to the ruins of an abandoned luxury resort. The island’s limestone cliffs overlook the crystal clear waters and powdery white sand. Atop the cliffs, the ruins of an acropolis with Grecian pillars and statues, provided us with plenty of diverse backdrops for our shoot.

Weather

Whilst not an ideal time to shoot a campaign being the midst of monsoon season in the Philippines, other constraints meant that we had to shoot during the month of August. This somewhat restricted our choice of location, not wanting to risk getting stuck in remote locations or to risk transport cancellations due to the weather. We got lucky and the week of our shoot ended up being clear. That said, the conditions on the island were gruelling. Baking hot sand, combined with extreme winds made for a very challenging shoot.

Travel

Getting to Fortune Island was an adventure in itself. After completing hair and makeup on the models, we set out from Nuuk Taal lake around 3am to reach the coast by sunrise with our team of around 20. From there, we rented 2 bancas which are local and traditional boats (generally known as outrigger canoes), to transport our team and all of our equipment and swimwear to the island.

Logistics

For this shoot, we had a team of around 20 including, the two of us, our photographers, videographers, models, make-up artists and productions assistants to help the day run smoothly. Despite meticulous planning, you never know how the shoot will go until the day of when you’re up against the weather conditions, time constraints, and outfit changes, which means a lot of improvising and prioritising to ensure that you get the shots required and make the venture worthwhile.

Transportation

The journey to Fortune Island from the mainland in Nasugbu was via banca. Due to the high tide, the bancas could not greet us at the shore which meant a very eventful walk/wade from the mainland to the boats, around 100 feet from the shore, with all of our crew and equipment. It was a rough but thrilling 1.5hour boat ride to the island, which at the time seemed never ending! The waves were strong and unforgiving, and certainly not a journey for the faint hearted. But our boatmen managed to bring us to the island safely, with the Grecian ruins proudly greeting us as the island came in to view.

Images: Behind the scenes photos from Lanuuk Island Collection campaign shoot on Fortune Island (August 2023)

Despite the gruelling circumstances, the experience was one we wont forget in a hurry and certainly add to the sense of adventure and pride that we feel, seeing the final shots.

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Video: Behind the scenes of Lanuuk shoot for the Island Collection (August 2023)

The Island Collection launches in May 2024 and we cannot wait to bring you these swim pieces that truly evoke a sense of escape and relaxation. This collection combines beautiful sandy and nude tones with fresh shades of blue. Our new designs represent our evolution into a brand that offers a range of modest swim coverage options from mini, midi to full-coverage, giving women more choice over their bodies.

The pieces in this collection are crafted from our lightweight UPF50+ sunsafe, breathable and quick-drying fabric and sold as separates, giving you the flexibility to build your swim sets with the colours and coverage levels that you desire.

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In conclusion, the Philippines is a land of breathtaking beauty, cultural richness, and warm-hearted people, with something for everyone. Whether you're seeking adventure in the great outdoors or craving a taste of authentic Filipino culture, this enchanting archipelago of over 7,000 islands offers a kaleidoscope of experiences waiting to be discovered. So pack your bags, open your heart, and get ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime in the Philippines. Mabuhay!

A special thanks to our incredible team who contributed to this campaign and helped bring our vision to life:

• Photographers: Nina Eilisa Harmuch and Diego Harmuch and all of the production assistants at Envy Creatives
• Models: Hanah, Brea and Jeska of Luminary Models
• Videography team: Sean Amador
• Hair and make-up artist: Jim Ryan Ros

- Ayesha & Leya ♡