The tragic tale of a witch who tried to get a tan

Welcome to Witch Week, a campaign dedicated to exploring how witchcraft, magick and beauty intersect. Discover photo stories shot featuring real witches in NYC, a modern reimagining of the witch, and one witch’s mission to get a tan, as well as in-depth features exploring herbology, science and alchemy, and male witches. Elsewhere, we’ve created four special covers to celebrate the campaign and our one year anniversary – something wicked this way comes.

“We wanted to play on the typical fairytale aspects of the witch character,” says Ami Evelyn Hughes, co-founder of anti-fashion magazine GUT and creative director of the shoot alongside photographer Raphael Bliss. “We started thinking specifically about the physical aspects of the witch in history, she has long black hair, white pale skin, a big nose, she wears black clothes, big shoes and a pointy hat.” 

Riffing on the idea of a witch trying to turn her pale skin into a nice healthy glow – “she’s a mysterious witch, she wants to experience everything including the heat of the sun on her face,” Ami says – the creative duo started thinking about how supernatural figures such as vampires and witches traditionally melt or burn in the sunlight and took it from there – with an added PSA.

“Suncare is a very important issue due to the pressure felt by many to be always tanned. For those using tanning booths or staying out all day in intense sun using oils to burn themselves the dangers of sun damage are very serious,” says Hughes. “So we hoped as well as being funny we could highlight the real danger of sun damage.”

Photography Raphael Bliss, art direction, casting, and styling Ami Evelyn Hughes, make-up Anete Salinieka using Illamasqua, hair Tommy Staton, model Jess Maybury, witch’s hat Dilara Findikoglu