Kenny Germé captures island living for Filling Pieces SS22 Collection

Filling Pieces collaborates with photographer Kenny Germé to capture the Caribbean island Martinique, the inspiration for the SS22 collection Caribbean Rivera.

Travelling to Martinique with Filling Pieces, Germé planned the shoot around things representing island living, including a Bèlè ceremony, rooster breeding, sugar cane fields, fishing, and the craftsmanship and use of the traditional Coutelas Machete.

The Caribbean is often seen through a western lens, celebrated for its hot weather and beaches but not its people and rich culture, a perception that Germé wanted to counteract with this campaign.

“I wanted to show the cultural aspect of Martinique in a way that is authentic yet relatable on a universal level. So I blended these classic aspects of Martinique culture with something more modern and relatable, like streetwear, because I didn’t want to go so deep into traditional Martinique culture and references that no one would get it. At the same time, I didn’t just want to bring a bunch of models to a Caribbean beach and shoot them in the clothes. That’s too expected, and there is not really a story there, at least in my eyes. I tried to find a balance in order to be able to speak to the widest possible audience; so that people from Martinique would identify with it, and people from Europe would get it and be intrigued by it. With that in mind, I went ahead and captured an editorial that was inspired by five key aspects of Martinique culture.” said Germé.

You can see these images on show in Berlin and Amsterdam for Black History Month and hear Germé dive deeper into the inspiration behind the campaign.