ANTHROPOLOGIE's fashion crew jetted to sunny South Africa to capture scenes from safari to vineyards for the May lookbook. Under the production direction of 10-4 AFRICA, a behind-the-scenes video was made on location with breathtaking views of the wildlife at the Kingdom of White Lion sanctuary, the grapevines of Cape Dutch's farm Babylonstoren, and the sunset imagery on Cape Town's beaches.
The DOP was Ian Foster with of models Katryn Kruger, Candice Lee and Ajak Deng by styling Kelly Chaido. Make-up support came from Kat Sterrett with set design by Daryl McGregor, and the Creative Director was Whitney Critchley. Senior producer: Daniela Mazzamuto. And GoSee received the original statements from the ANTHROPOLOGIE team on the production:
“Babylonstoren was only established about five years ago, but everything already looked overgrown like it’d been there for centuries. The paths were winding and we kept stumbling on the most unexpected of places. The leopard and his trainer grew up on the reserve together, and when the leopard was tiny, the two would share a bed at night! You could see how close the two were—I saw him pick up the giant cat and hold him in his arms like a baby.
The ostriches were social and sassy. They followed us around and got so close that it was a little unnerving at times. They’re much taller in person than you’d think they’d be, and very prehistoric-looking up close. As we were driving through the reserve for the first time, we stopped to let a giraffe family cross the street. As soon as I saw those massive, majestic animals, I was overwhelmed by the sense that there’s something bigger out there that goes beyond us.”
And of course there was also feedback on the beach shoot: "Even though the air temperature was in the high 90s, the water was freezing on the Atlantic coast— anyone going in the water for more than three minutes needed a wetsuit. Surfing is a huge part of the culture in Cape Town. As we were shooting the beach party scene, we noticed a few dolphins frolicking out on the water. A bunch of the local production assistants grabbed our prop surf boards and paddled out to swim with them.”
And our final ANTHROPOLOGIE quote says it all: “We all fell in love with South Africa. There’s a beauty there that you just don’t see anywhere else in the world. The people are lovely inside and out—they’re all gorgeous and incredibly nice. I think it goes back to the fact that they live in this place surrounded by natural beauty. It’s happy-making!”