In honor of Black History Month, Banana Republic celebrates people, style and community through the lens of black artists and visionaries like Koto Bolofo, Melodie McDaniel and Campbell Addy. At the heart of the campaign, BR PRESENTS two films showcasing artist profiles on Jon Boogz – dancer, movement artist and director – and Chinaka Hodge – poet, screenwriter, spoken word artist and TED Talk speaker. Both Boogz and Hodge use their creative mediums to break boundaries and share poignant messages of persistence and hope. BR PRESENTS films, which were concepted and directed by in-house Creative Director Len Peltier, launch on BananaRepublic.com and then extend across Instagram, Facebook and Blavity on February 3, 2020.
True to the spirit of Banana Republic’s mantra of living a life with no boundaries, Jon Boogz’s film is an abstract interpretation of his journey as an artist. His voiceover explains the difficulties, obstacles and inspirations he’s experienced to get to this point in his career. Chinaka Hodge delivers a strong feminist poem dressed in the brand’s empower suit. She begins, “don’t let me put words in your mouth,” and goes on to say, “hear this: every woman near is a monument to persistence” and “pack your punches with unrelenting love.” Both films were shot in the iconic Million Dollar Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
“This campaign was such a special project for us,” says Banana Republic Creative Director, Len Peltier. “We were able to collaborate with inspired creatives, whom we’ve worked with in the past and consider friends, to authentically share our brand ethos through their personal stories and craft as artists during Black History Month.”
In complement to the films, February’s COLOR-FULL campaign celebrates the bold vision of Melodie McDaniel’s self-curated cast and crew dedicated to shining a light on her community of friends. Spring’s vibrant collection bursts to life through McDaniel’s incomparable lens. Koto Bolofo and Campbell Addy build on this kaleidoscope of color. Bolofo’s abstract study of textures and colors, and Addy’s studio interpretation of fashion and trend, bring added dimension to the body of work.
“Our spring campaigns came to life with purpose as we highlighted real voices and personalities of modern boundary breakers that are representative of our brand DNA,” reflects Banana Republic Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Alderete. “Together, we continue to shape our ‘no boundaries’ narrative by connecting authentically with the community.”
Spring also introduces new styles and colors to Banana Republic’s True Hues capsule – an inclusive range of nude necessities proudly designed for every skin tone. Originally launched during Diversity Month in April 2019, True Hues is a result of the work of its Color Proud Council – Gap Inc.’s first product inclusion initiative, with the mission of bringing diversity to the bottom line of the business by improving product education and pipeline, as well as talent acquisition and retention. Color Proud works hand in hand with brand and Gap Inc. leadership and key employees to address inclusivity on all fronts — through tackling bias in the way designs are sketched to the creation of actual products in stores. True Hues and the February collection are now available in-stores and on bananarepublic.com.
