Sometimes in life there’s a guiding light that leads you to an idea.
In the case of Newcastle’s Jan Sutton, the idea was glow-in-the-dark lingerie.
Jan runs LuminoGlow Lingerie from Carrington. She sells the company’s lace bras and undies around the world.
The company produced a new collection called Summer 17, sparking the need for some new marketing material.
One problem with glowing lingerie is it’s quite hard to photograph.
This can pose a bit of a problem when you’re trying to advertise the goods.
“It’s really hard for the camera to capture the glow,” Jan said.
The most recent photo shoot was done on the Sunshine Coast. About 13 people were involved. They rented a house for a weekend.
It sounded like a lot of fun. We asked Jan about getting an invite to the next photo shoot. She’s thinking it over.
Anyhow, as we said, getting quality photos of glowing lingerie is tough. Getting the lighting and camera settings right can be tricky.
“The model actually has to stop breathing. She can’t move or we get blurred images,” Jan said.
Despite these challenges, the photo shoot worked out well. The images were crisp. Photoshop wasn’t needed.
Nevertheless, Jan is always keeping an eye out for how she can better photograph her glowing lingerie.
Recently, she was watching a David Attenborough program about glowing creatures. The program was called Attenborough's Life That Glows.
“It was all about really interesting creatures that glow in the dark. It was a fabulous show,” she said.
“It looked brilliant.”
Attenborough paid tribute to his film crew for their efforts in capturing the glowing creatures.
Jan was intrigued. She wanted to know more. She rang Attenborough’s UK office and asked how they did it.
“They put me on to guys in Tasmania who worked on the show,” she said.
“These guys were so excited to hear about my lingerie. They said they’d love to do a test shoot.”
Jan sent them some glowing lingerie and they made a video.
“It was phenomenal,” she said.
“The problem is, it needs so much post-production work. They said we’d have to get David Attenborough’s team to edit it.”
That means a big budget. Jan put plans for an Attenborough-style video of her glowing lingerie on hold for now. At least until she makes some more sales.
She hopes to work with Attenborough’s team in future. We just hope she can convince Attenborough himself to narrate her video.
We can just imagine his commentary: “Such stunning creatures of amazing beauty. It’s quite enthralling to see the female species glow, in what can only be described as an elegant and wonderful mating ritual”.
Anyhow, back to Jan. We asked how she became involved in making luminous, seductive underwear.
“I’ve always loved textiles. It’s always been a passion,” she said.
As often happens, the idea crystallised over drinks with friends.
Someone said something like, “wouldn’t it be hilarious if you could bring that reflective look into lace”.
The seed was sown. A new meaning was set to be given to those bedroom words “turn the lights off”.
A small team began working on the plan. A colleague of Jan’s, based in Milan, set about finding a mill that could produce the lace they needed.
This led to the fabric being made in Italy. The garments themselves have been put together in various countries, with the latest range being made in Sydney.
We’ll leave the last word on this matter to good old Attenborough himself.
“Scientists are finding ever more strange and wonderful glowing life forms all around the world,” he said on his show.
Indeed they are, David, indeed they are.
Check out the garments at luminoglow.com.
This article first appeared on the Newcastle Herald.
