One Phone Call

Halloween is a coin flip: one side promises a treat, the other a trick — and sometimes, it only takes one phone call to land you inside. Once you’re there, that same call might be the only one you get.

Creative direction, designer & model Calum Macniven

Photography Denelle and Tom Ellis aka amarriedcouple
Studio Peanut Factory Studio

Set design Bibi Baker

Makeup, SFX & model Luke Slyka

Makeup Boudica

Nails Katy Lueck from Frisky Mariska

Models
Pirate & elf Luke Slyka
Vampire & fairy Lucas Mancinni
Scarecrow & labubu Calum Macniven

Interview Maria Ribeiro
Words Daniela Abranches

Conceived by London-based costume designer Calum Macniven, One Phone Call turns a holding cell into a theatre of transformation, where fantasy and fallout collide. Known for his camp, character-driven creations and irreverent humour, Macniven builds worlds from recycled scraps and storytelling.

Shot on digital and film by Denelle and Tom Ellis at Peanut Factory Studio, London, the editorial unfolds like a dark fairytale in gritty realism under harsh light. Six characters — from a shredded vampire to a zombie toy — drift between fragility and defiance, bound by the same fate: they’ve all been caught and detained, with only one phone call to make.

SFX makeup and handcrafted costumes bring the tale to life, blurring costume and fashion, tragedy and comedy. In Macniven’s world, Halloween isn’t just about dressing up — it’s about what happens when the mask refuses to come off.

Hey, I’m Calum Macniven – costume diva and enfant terrible of Hackney Wick. Oddly what triggered my creative career was stand-up comedy, which then led me to creating a queer cabaret show that I would make my own costumes for.

I would like to thank my team of friends who all brought also much talent to the shoot – each slayed their roles and together made this come to life.
Calum Macniven

The Cursed Pirate

“I only managed to rewatch around 5 minutes of Pirates of Caribbean recently before I fell asleep, but it was enough to inspire this look.”

ZOOT: Do you see a clear line between costume design and fashion design — or do they overlap in your practice?

Calum: I think fashion and costume are like twin sisters who have spent their lives trying to differentiate themselves from each other, but deep down they’re very similar. Sometimes fashion is giving costume and sometimes costume is giving fashion. I prefer costume because they have a better attitude and it’s a lot more fun.

The Party Fairy

“This look was a vendetta against this colour combination, I was determined to make blue and green cunt.”

ZOOT: When you create characters, are they born from your surroundings and experiences, or do they come from entirely other worlds?

Calum: Both. I like to think I’m a world builder in my own silly way – creating a land where Jlo’s ‘This is me… Now’ was a huge success and giant dildos follow you everywhere you go. Underneath that is an obsession with the failures of Hollywood and a want to campify sexual deviancy – it all makes sense to me in the Toon Town-like pool I pull my ideas from.

The Silly Scarecrow

“Inspired by myself in this position – left outside alone without any brain cells left.”

ZOOT: Your work often walks a fine line between the eerie and the humorous. Do you see yourself as a provocative artist?

Calum: Everyone else sees me as provocative – I’m just trying to live an authentic life. Sometimes queer people don’t really get the option to not provoke, which is why many of us learn to weaponise humour even in darkness.

ZOOT: What’s the story or mood behind this editorial? What visual or cultural references shaped the concept and atmosphere?

Calum: Well actually… I was in a bad relationship that ended with my ex calling the police on me telling them I tried to strangle him to death – which unfortunately wasn’t true. I was detained for 18 hours in a cell where I had a menty-b and made a sculpture of a man on the walls with wet toilet paper. The inspiration for the shoot started there...

The Royal Elf

“I wanted an above-it-all character to be amongst the cells mixed with something from a traditional fantasy world.”

ZOOT: Can you tell us more about the techniques and materials you use? How do you resourse them and how do these choices shape the personalities of your creations?

Calum: There are lots of materials I collect: material from local set designers, found objects, things I’ve swapped for other things – I try to avoid capitalism as much as possible when making something. The materials I use often inspire the look, because I like to work with what I’ve accumulated from the streets. Also, I love a bit of eBay ;P

The Shredded Vampire

“Made from shredded T-shirts from a collab between me and a business who tried to take my money, inspired by the idea that creativity is hard to kill.”

ZOOT: What does Halloween mean to you personally — is it a source of inspiration, nostalgia, or transformation?

Calum: Aside from the obvious connection between queer people and the villains in horror films, and that Halloween is the costuming gateway for most, I’ve always loved it for its celebration of the alternative. Horror is constantly underestimated and I love that. A horror film can be so smart and people just think it’s scary.

The Zombie Labubu

“Inspired by the small plastic doll – a cute way to negatively impact climate change.”

ZOOT: Tell us about the characters you created for this editorial — who are they, and what stories or emotions do they carry?

Calum: I wanted each character to bring a different energy to the holding cell, showing that all walks of life can end up in the same situation – whether you’re a raver-fairy on uppers or a regal prince who doesn’t think they should be there. The Zombie Labubu came about because I like the idea that those stupid bits of toxic plastic will one day kill us all so we should probably jail them now.