Zoot Shoots

Take a break

Office Siren on the beach

Once and a while it´s important to take a step back, take a break, do something out of the ordinary, enjoy yourself, or, like photographer Lotte Bruning Donskoi is putting it: “After a whirlwind day of work, it’s time to swap your workplace grind for beachside bliss. This photo series captures the transformation from vintage corporate hustle to coastal happiness, relax and calm. Witness the journey from business attire to barefoot in the sand, where the stress of the day melts away under the warm sun and soothing waves. Take a break.”

Photography, art direction, and post production

Lotte Bruning Donskoi

Assisted by Sarah Landis

Styling Carolina Castel’branco

Hair and makeup Sophie Hamedani

Model Klaudia Pulik from We Are Models

Words Charlie Chaquet

Lotte and her team take us to Praia João Sao Estoril, a popular little beach at the start of the Estoril-Cascais Coastal Line, not far out from Lisbon. With her stylist Carolina Castel’branco she is reinventing the classical “office siren” in her images. Its a fashion trend that reemerged in early 2024s, pushed by Bella Hadid, and drawing back into the late 1990s and early 2000s’ power dressing with a sexy twist, as practised by Madonna.

Carolina was styling a modern, grown up version from the office siren, empowering our model, rather than sexualizing her, by using sophisticated, classical cuts with an unexpected twist. Working mostly with second-hand and vintage clothes, they reimagine this corporate-inspired look, drawing on vintage influences to craft something both nostalgic and strikingly modern. The clothes still remind us of the office, with shirts and blazers, but it’s more the idea of a colorful vintage secretary, a girlboss who just wants to have fun, as Cyndi Lauper would say. Take a break with us and enjoy the scenery of bold colours and wild nature.