Maris Van de Roer at Our Campaign Shoot
While it's a rare occasion to spot our team in front of the lens, we wanted to share the careful attention to detail - and conscious collaboration - that goes into the making of our brand storytelling. That's where Maris Van de Roer comes in. Maris has been a longtime collaborator and friend of the brand and has helped us hone the look and feel of our visuals through her graphic design work and art direction. Her thoughtfulness and distinct creative perspective carried through in our recent campaign shoot in Long Island City. Here, we're showing highlights from our day on-set with Maris who shared more of her process and experiences in working with our team.
Meet Maris
Hi, I'm Maris, I am a Graphic Designer and Art Director. I have a small agency in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a neighborhood that has been my home since 2000. My clients are mostly boutique-sized companies and start-ups based in NYC, many of which have some sort of social/environmental/advocating component to them. Also, like me, many of my clients are working mothers, so we have similar routines of leaving our desks during after-school hours, and popping back online after bedtime.
On Partnering With Coclico
I've been working with the Coclico team since 2013 when Coclico's Brand Director Diana Haber, and Founder Sandra Canselier, asked me to start art directing campaigns and designing emails and other brand collateral. Diana and I go back 25 years, so we knew we'd make a great team and the circumstances were right. Coclico was a great fit, I've loved their shoes since way before I started working with them. It also happens that Sandra and I are neighbors, so it feels cozy and intimate working with them - we often get to discuss upcoming projects over drinks!
Her Mood Board
This shoot concept came together with a mix of circumstance and inspiration. The (amazing!) space we shot in was the first component to fall into place, so I thought we should use the features of the space as a jumping off point for the concept, great natural light, beautiful high ceilings, all white industrial cement walls, and the beautifully patinated floors. A perfect complement to Coclico's pared-down, modern shoes.
Then after some inspiration hunting on Pinterest (where all good inspiration comes from), and a bit of batting ideas around with Diana, I thought it would be nice to use building materials, but in the same tonal palette as the season's shoes. Using them, plus the architectural features of the space and light and shadow to create geometric "stories," with large negative space components for each shot. This is when we called a mutual friend and old roommate of both Di and mine, Sandra, who is an amazing interior designer. She allowed me to raid her studio, Cl-oth, for samples (I took literally ALL of them).
The last touch was adding the big geometric leaves and a few other natural items, rocks, sticks, etc., to contrast with all of the hard angles, to add a subtle natural component, and give a nod to summer.
Post-Shoot Notes
In true form, the shoot was classic Coclico in that it was very geometric, simple and had lots of white space; it also took seasonal cues from tones and textures from the current line.
Conscious Collaboration
When putting a campaign together, we like to keep it lighthearted, and in the family, it makes for a fun atmosphere and great results. Dan McMahon, our photographer, is a Coclico veteran and he has done six campaigns for us now. The stunning location in Long Island City belongs to a good friend of Sandra's, and as I'd mentioned, the set elements were on-loan from our friend's design studio. Our lovely model, Zopi, is a good friend of mine (in fact, Dan shot our Spring '18 lookbook at her beautiful lakehouse!). The stylist was the multi-talented Chelsea who wears many hats at Coclico. The apparel and accessories were all on loan from our pals at Christine Alcalay, Vert & Vogue, and Odette. So it's all about love, timing, and getting good people in the same room.
Photos by Phoebe Cheong for Coclico
