Interview by Tegan Jaimie Gallacher
Images by Aleksandra Modrzejewska
Makeup by Shaun Lavender
Assisted by Misia

Introducing the creative duo made up of Bethany Grace and Tamara Turnbull, the founders of LUNCH. With the launch of the inaugural drop just last week, I had a (virtual) sit down with the team to discuss how the long term friends turned business partners first came up with the idea of LUNCH, shooting through a pandemic and most importantly their dream LUNCH. Together, they have launched an online shopping experience that is equal parts aesthetic and ethics.

Where did the concept of LUNCH begin?

Bethany – Most definitely over the phone on the couch during lockdown, and probably whilst wearing pyjamas.
Tamara – (laughing) B and I had been in discussions for so long about the fact that there was no platform out there, especially from Scotland, that promotes young and independent designers.
B – Yes, that was definitely something we recognised and wanted to change. That plus the fact that Tamara and I had been working for so long together doing creative things, and we were looking for something new to do. It was the perfect combination to get LUNCH on the go.
T- …and to get our butts off our couches.

How long did you work on LUNCH before launching?

B – Definitely a lot longer than we thought we would be. Probably about a year. COVID-19 being the biggest reason for that, but I think it’s safe to say we’re both happy it took a little longer. Some of our ideas progressed and changed over that time.

Can you summarise the DNA of LUNCH as a brand?

T- LUNCH combines the aesthetic and the content of a magazine with a supportive platform for a growing network of young designers from around the world.
B – So I would say with that comes transparency and an obligation to promote our designers in a way that showcases the effort and care they put into their pieces, with the hopes that we can promote slow fashion over fast fashion.

Why is it important for LUNCH to be a sustainable company?

B – Most importantly because we care about the environment. But we’re also conscious of our own love for buying clothes and how that impacts the world.
T- Definitely, fast fashion is everywhere and everyone is now more aware of the harm it causes, so to offer people the chance to shop made-to-order and to gain a personal, unique shopping experience where they can connect with the designers a little more, whilst not having to wonder where their clothes were made and who they’ve been made by, is important to us.

How did you select the brands to work with for your first drop?

B – A couple of them are long term friends or collaborators of mine, then others were brands we had either been following for a while or had come to our attention during our research.
T- Luckily, B and I have a really similar taste in style and we’ve worked closely together on shoots for years, so this obviously helped a lot in choosing which designers to have and what product selection to make. Of course, everything had to work well together but we wanted to make sure there is something on LUNCH for everyone.

You’re running the whole show together, from the business and admin to the editorial content, design and photography. How important was it for you as a team to creatively produce LUNCH?

B – Pretty instrumental if you ask me, but I’m sure Tamara would agree that I’m a bit… let’s say fussy. I’ve been working in content creation and branding for a long time now, so it made sense for us to do everything ourselves. Plus as Tamara mentioned our tastes are so similar we knew exactly what we wanted and how we wanted it.
T- From the get go, when we first started developing ideas for LUNCH, there were things we knew were going to be important for us. Our visual identity being the big one, and with that came casting and representation. We both knew we wanted this to be as inclusive as possible and that meant making LUNCH genderless and offering clothing for all shapes and sizes.

You’ve mentioned the importance of casting for LUNCH, can you explain the process behind shooting?

T- Bethany and I always have really wild ideas for our shoots, but I think that’s the fun behind the name LUNCH, it can be very tongue-in-cheek and we like to play on the theme. But as mentioned we make sure it is inclusive and most of all fun, but shooting during COVID has its restrictions and did limit us quite a bit.
B – Yes, we originally wanted to cast two models in our campaign to interact with one another, but that’s not allowed because of COVID. I’d bore you if I went into the amount of risk assessments and paperwork Tamara and I had to do before shooting. We’re definitely more collaborative when it comes to shooting, we have ideas mapped out but we prefer to let our team and talent take us on a journey based off of this. I always rant on about how collaboration is key, we’re really lucky to have such an amazing network of creatives around us.

How do you envision LUNCH developing?

B – We’re working on our LUNCH LIBRARY, a part of the platform that will bring our designers to the forefront. Sort of like a directory for independent brands. A place that profiles the designers, their origins and inspirations.

And finally just for fun, (and most importantly), what would your dream LUNCH be?

B – For me it’s all about the location, give me a picnic or in a small hidden cafe and I’d be happy with whatever you put on my plate. If I had to choose some ingredients though, I really enjoyed my cheese, bread and wine in the South of France last year (add in some grapes and I’d be beaming).
T- I have a sweet tooth and it’s been growing even bigger due to lockdown, so for me it would be to skip savoury and just pass the chocolate fountain with all the added extras for dipping in, yum.