Poetry’s Summer collection has an overarching narrative routed in African travel with a fresh, modern and feminine aesthetic. This storyline is dressed in the different destinations the Poetry woman will visit on her African adventure.

From a safari in the Masai Mara, relaxing on a boat on Lake Victoria, enjoying a beautifully dressed-up dinner on the train as you make your way across the vast Kenyan landscape, enjoy the buzz of the city in Mombasa at cocktail hour and relax on the beaches of Lamu, reading a book under dappled light.

Moving away from the typical European Summer aesthetic, our buying team has made a conscious decision to create a collection inspired by the beautiful African continent. We sat down with our incredible buyers, Natasha Holmes and Lindsay Swart, to peek behind the curtain and learn more about how our summer collection came to be.

When asked what inspired this season’s collection, Natasha said “Summer collections in recent years have been heavily influenced by Europe and dressing for summer over there. We wanted to do something different, so we took a step back and realised that we live on such a beautiful continent, why don’t we explore that? The idea grew and we were married to the idea of the Poetry woman travelling through Africa, and being inspired by the cultures, landscapes, and patterns that the continent is known for. We’re a design-led brand and we conceptualise a range by finding inspiration in unique places like a painting and putting it together in a way that feels natural to Poetry.“ 

The idea is that the pieces in the range will reflect where she is on her journey across Africa. She starts her adventure in Mombasa where she spends time soaking up the city life, trying out local food and immersing herself in the culture before heading off to Masai Mara National Reserve.

Here she embarks on a safari to connect with majestic wildlife and takes in an ariel view of the grasslands in a hot air balloon. The final leg of her holiday is spent waterside, starting at Lake Victoria to take in one of Africa’s Great Lakes and reconnecting with herself before heading to Lamu Island to enjoy endless beach days, refreshing cocktails and invigorating spa treatments. 

“Using her diverse itinerary as a jump-off, we translated this into the collection not only through storytelling, but also through incorporating prints, colours, textures and even the fit of the pieces. This season, we’ve focussed on using woven fabrics that are reminiscent of indigenous weaving, and earthy colours that speak to the diverse African landscape, while remaining true to our Poetry legacy.” says Lindsay. 

The range subtly nods to emerging trends like bold, conversational prints, metallic fabrics that reflect the sun beautifully and key silhouettes like off shoulder tops, drop waist dresses, and front tie waistcoats will be dropping later in the season but it’s important that each piece gets a Poetry spin. A big highlight of the season is using our exclusive prints on various pieces that create stunning matching sets that are easy to wear and easy to style. 

“We’ve always been known for our textures, our embroidery, our beautiful botanical prints and floral designs. This collection speaks to some of our core pillars and represents the heritage of Poetry in a way that makes every woman feel beautiful and confident when she wears our pieces. We’ll always touch on trends, but it’s important to us that a piece has longevity and can be worn beyond the trend’s lifespan. We pride ourselves in thinking about the product from start to finish and work with our suppliers closely to ensure that perfect end result that you see in store.” Natasha says.

One thing that the Poetry team never compromises on is fabric. That means working hard to secure the best possible fabric that complements the season and silhouette of the piece. Our in-house designer creates all the designs exclusively for the brand that elevate the pieces with the unique colour combinations and fabric pairings, while tying back to the theme for the collection. From beautiful cotton poplins that soften as it’s worn, to luxe linen fabrics and lightweight cotton knits, these fabrics were selected with the customer top of mind. 

“Styling this collection is simple. Ballet flats are obviously very big with different fabrics especially mesh. The sandals will have rope details and this ties in beautifully with the incoming straw hats, and bags.” Lindsay says.

The Poetry 2024 Summer Collection is live, with new pieces added every day. Be transported with us as we find that place where sun meets soul.