A 4am pick-up from your inner-city hotel to drive to Cronulla would make anyone a little grumpy, but Alyssa Sutherland isn’t showing a hint of it – for an international model, I guess constant travel comes with the job! There’s time for a little chit-chat with the crew and a rest until we arrive, still in the dark, at the Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club in Sydney’s south, our shoot location for the day. The mission? To shoot 13 gorgeous pink dresses especially commissioned for 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty, which will be auctioned in aid of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.

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First, some food and coffee, then hair and makeup starts. The crew come alive chatting about the difference between Australian and American pronunciation (Alyssa is now based full-time in New York and our photographer, Harold David, is American): coffee, cinnamon, cell phones, all the big topics are covered (it’s 5am, after all!). Harold announces the sun is rising, so it’s into the first dress and onto the cold sand we go! We have a lot to get through this morning. In and out of the surf club, we whirl through shooting all the dresses – from goddess-like maxi lengths to fab little minis, and a full-on ball gown for the finale. It’s all a bit like a dream…

Alyssa says she has another shoot today, so she gets through the last shots, changes and off she runs to the studio. Wow, what a day – and all before 1pm!!!

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