Artclub and Friends have just launched their new Capsule Collection titled “Moved By You,” an ode to those who tell stories through movement. Moved by the campaign videos themselves, the 10and5 team sat down with Robyn Keyser, Founder and Creative Director, to talk about this unique approach to showcasing fashion.
Instead of the usual street-style fashion photography or styled studio shots, the Artclub and Friends team decided to launch their latest capsule using the language of movement. Three videos, each featuring a different dancer—Gaetan, Tayla, and CC Martinez—show the dancers, outfitted in the latest collection, sharing their stories about why they dance.
“This project hopes to amplify and support our dance community, who bravely show us that we can and should move freely in the world. As an art form that is so often placed in the background, we hope this project can bring it back into our focus. We are moved by them, and we hope that you are too,” says Robyn Keyser, Founder and Creative Director of Artclub and Friends.
In the videos, the dancers are wearing the new gear. The New Original Hoodie is cut wide and easy to wear, with a soft lining inside the hood and pocket, featuring two Artclub embroideries. The Cropped Cocoon Track Pants, designed to be worn as a matching set with the Hoodie, can be worn high or low-waisted. The tracksuit comes in three core colorways: Black, Royal, and Pebble. They will also be releasing a limited-edition custom-designed colorway, Apple.
Watch the videos to see the clothing in motion and read our interview with Robyn to understand what moved them to launch a new collection in this unique way.
10and5: What is the connection between dance and fashion, and why did you choose dance as the theme to promote the new range?
Robyn Keyser: All artistic mediums are linked in one way or another, and it’s really fulfilling for us to play between different mediums. In all honesty, we used the launch of our new opportunity as an opportunity to highlight and celebrate dance, as opposed to choosing dance to promote our collection. The campaign was a natural and authentic way for us to introduce our new capsule that promotes moving freely and authentically in the world by collaborating with dancers who live this out every day.
10and5: What inspired the videos and where did the idea come from?
Robyn Keyser: Artclub and Friends’ mission is to build a South African design studio that amplifies the work of artists from the African Diaspora, so that their hopes, dreams, and messages reach those that need to see, hear, and feel them. And dance is a medium that we feel we need to see and experience more than we currently do. This capsule helps us as a brand to truly action our vision for why Artclub and Friends exists.
10and5: What was your role in bringing this to life?
Robyn Keyser: Our role in bringing this to life really came down to putting the right team together, facilitating the process, but mostly creating a platform for each dancer to tell their own story from their own perspective. Nothing was scripted or choreographed, we feel that’s what’s really made each piece special and important. A huge reason this campaign was such a success was through collaboration with the up-and-coming creative agency and production company EVOLVE (@evolve_keepchanging) who truly put their heart into bringing it to life.
10and5: Was it easy to source/find the right talent for the video stories?
Robyn Keyser: One thing we will say with our chest is that South Africa houses one of the world’s most prolific creative youth communities, so we never struggle to find talented artists to work with. We do find that one of the main challenges our talent faces is a lack of resources and funding, so this is something we are always trying to find solutions for in what we do. We sent out a call for dancers about 48 hours before we held auditions, and our team faced a sleepless night trying to select only three.
10and5: What do you hope to achieve with these new video stories?
Robyn Keyser: This project hopes to amplify and support our dance community, who bravely show us that we can and should move freely in the world. As an art form that is so often placed in the background, we hope this project can bring it back into our focus. We have an incredible community of customers and followers that work and exist in various facets of the creative industry. Our hope is that by platforming these dancers, we may connect them with more opportunities and partners who can help them further share their craft, talent, and stories with the world.
* The ‘Moved By You’ capsule collection is now live online at www.artclubandfriends.com and in-store at the V&A Watershed and WE ARE EGG stores in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
