A Hackney-based indie designer has seen sales soar after Vogue magazine contacted her "out of the blue" to dress global superstar Billie Eilish.
Hackney designer Tilly Tomkins had no idea who would end up wearing her handmade erotic lingerie after British vogue contacted her in February for a mystery photo shoot.
The designer has been making locally sourced lingerie for 10 years for her brand Nearer the Moon from her studio in Hackney.
She said: "It’s been a great lesson as a small business owner to keep your head down and keep doing what you think is right because you just never know who is watching.
"One of the Vogue team found me on Instagram and contacted me out of the blue for the shoot”.
Since the shoot she says sales have exploded, adding: "With no more details than the style of garment and some measurements I immediately replied.
"This had been a dream of mine for 20 years, ever since I saved up my paper round money to buy copies of the magazine.
"I didn’t think it was real."
A few days after receiving the email Tilly describes a flurry of emails as she prepared for the shoot with "a lot of overnight deliveries of silk and suspender clips".
Tilly said she ran on adrenaline and coffee for two days putting together some of her best work.
She says she waited patiently for the images to be released on May 7 and was on the sofa watching the great British Sewing Bee when a notification came through.
Editor-In-Chief of British Vogue Edward Eninful OBE had tagged her in a post showing American superstar Billie Eilish wearing lingerie she had designed and sewn.
Tilly said: “My customers have been absolutely amazing in reaction to the shoot. I know a lot have been impressed that British Vogue chose to work with British small businesses."
Tilly's collections are all ethically handmade-to-order in the UK using fabrics, sourced locally to reduce the brand's carbon footprint.
Each Nearer The Moon piece takes between two to eight hours to create and is finished by hand.
The exact design worn by Billie Eilish as part of Nearer The Moon's Eclipse range is available to purchase at www.nearerthemoon.com/collections/eclipse
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