The trio go under the lens of Parisian photographer Hugo Comte, with a unique photographic story that aims to transcend fashion, distilling the essence of the brand into a moment of pop culture.
Creative director Charaf Tajer was keen to find someone who could embrace his artistic values while reaching a wide range of people. Someone as universally iconic like Nicolas Cage was a natural fit. He had recently purchased a Casablanca shirt at the Maxfield LA pop-up store and developed a true love and understanding of the brand, a quality that is imperative when casting talent for Casablanca. It has to be authentic.
“Los Angeles is an important city for me, and I wanted to create a Hollywood moment between models I love, like Alton [Mason], who is a dear friend of mine, and Anok [Yai], who I truly love and think is one of the most beautiful women in the world. Then there’s the icon that is Nicolas Cage. Hugo and I are also good friends and we’ve wanted to work together for a long time, so this felt like the perfect time and place to do it.”
–Charaf Tajer, Creative Director
The creative concept was inspired by the early paintings of American artist Eric Fischl and was shot in Los Angeles, California. The imagery specifically speaks to the American pursuit of dreams in a hedonistic, satirical manner. The casting is the perfect accompaniment, using fashion stalwarts alongside long-lasting lead actor Nicolas Cage, famous for cult movies such as David Lynch’s ‘Wild at Heart.’
“We revisited the Hollywood heritage with our own life stories, mixing opulence and romance to create timeless images out of the fashion scope, with a universal vocabulary of pop culture.” – Hugo Comte, Photographer
The brand’s iconography and inimitable artistic identity draw from its three main pillars of architecture, nature, and travel – which each serves as the concept’s core foundation. The distinctive use of colour and composition convey Casablanca’s strong visuals. From this starting point, drawing upon the artwork of Eric Fischl was a natural part of the creative journey. Hugo Comte’s work merges cinematography, architecture and fashion; a creative approach that mirrors the ideology of the Casablanca brand, resulting in these three elements becoming central reference points for the shoot.
CREDITS: Creative Director – Charaf Tajer Photography – Hugo Comte Art Direction – Olivier Leone Styling – Helena Tejedor Talent – Nicolas Cage + Anok Yai + Alton Mason Casting – Rachel Chandler NC Groomer Hair – Errol Karadag Makeup – Sara Tagaloa Nails – soji Set Design – Heath Mattioli Production Co – 360PM Producer – Serie Yoon Post Producer – Abi Bickley Retouching – Numérique
