Anthropologie Group will welcome an exclusive resortwear brand to the fold designed to offer vacation-ready styles year-round. Called Celandine, the brand is named for the bright yellow flower that is opened by warmth.
Celandine features a curated selection of vacation essentials from dresses and coordinated sets to swimwear, cover-ups, accessories, skin care and beauty.
Designed in-house and exclusive to Anthropologie, Celandine offers playful colors and prints, novelty textures, breathable gauze and linen fabrics that offer a range of sensibilities from preppy to sensual and reflect the spirit of adventure and relaxation.
“We’ve seen tremendous success in our vacation and resortwear categories, particularly in swim, which has shown double-digit growth year-over-year,” said Holly Thrasher, chief merchandising officer of Anthropologie Women’s and Weddings. “With travel on the rise, our customers are looking for pieces that help them look and feel great, no matter where they go. Celandine fills this gap, providing a curated collection that brings both everyday and getaway moments to life.”
Anu Narayanan, president of Women’s and Home, said that in the last two years, the company has launched one new label a year. “This is a big deal for us,” she said. She said Anthropologie had seen a lot of success in the resort categories, and within the market there was a white space for one-stop shopping for resortwear. “We were really trying to make it easier for the customer to pick up a curated group of assortment items, from swimwear, cover-ups to beauty items and beach towels all in one place so you can have that curated for you and ready to go,” she said.
A resort style from Celandine.
Courtesy of Anthropologie
Anthropologie has found that its customer “loves to travel.”
Over 76 percent of them cited travel as an interest of theirs, said Elizabeth Preis, chief marketing officer of Anthropologie Group. Fifty-three percent cited interest in international travel, and 40 percent are interested in domestic travel, she said.
The impetus for the resortwear collection comes from an increase in vacation-related queries on the site, resulting in 97 percent growth year-over-year. In addition, customer searches for resort-related items such as “swim,” “resort,” and “beach” increased by 29 percent, highlighting a growing demand for chic, yet accessible vacation wear. Celandine will be offered as a 12-month destination brand.
As swimwear and resort categories continue to outperform, Celandine is building on Anthropologie’s success, offering a complete lifestyle wardrobe from beach to dinner and activities in between.
“Celandine reflects a deep understanding of our customer’s needs,” said Richa Srivastava, Anthropologie’s chief creative director of design. “The label was designed with travel in mind as we know they are craving a curated collection that spans the entire vacation experience — from beach days to evening getaways — and Celandine delivers that in one place.” She said the collection features vibrant and optimistic prints and textures, running the gamut from preppy to sensual. “We essentially wanted to make sure this covers her entire vacation experience,” said Srivastava.
A resort look from Celandine.
Courtesy of Anthropologie
“We love playing with patterns and textures. One of my favorite pieces is this vintage postcard-inspired beach shirt we’ve done. There are lot of beautiful icons hidden into the prints. In terms of the pieces themselves, we have some incredible coordinated sets, beautiful dresses, incredible details baked into all the pieces that make them feel so unique,” she said.
Swimwear has consistently been important to Anthropologie, but now they are expanding it. “It has been a strong category for us. We are expanding swim in stores, which we have not had swim in stores in a very big way,” said Thrasher. There are a lot of novelty looks and different silhouettes. “It’s really about the specialness. We want her to find things at Anthropologie that she can’t find anywhere else,” said Thrasher.
Overall, retail prices range from $38 to $400. The versatile collection, which will go into 120 Anthropologie stores and online on Jan. 21, will have its own in-store shops. The tagline for Celandine is “Greet the Sun,” and the brand’s label features bright and happy colors. Sizes range from XS to 3X and 0-26.
The Celandine label.
Courtesy of Anthropologie
Beauty brands such as Supergoop, Kopari and Vacation will sit adjacent to the Celandine area.
For the debut of the brand, Anthropologie will roll out a robust and multifaceted marketing campaign designed to drive awareness and engagement through a variety of high-impact activations and partnerships.
Among them is a pop-up at the Faena Bazaar in Miami Beach for five weeks. Beginning Jan. 21 and running through late February, this immersive experience will offer an exclusive look at the new collection, while engaging customers, influencers and media. The pop-up will feature curated vignettes of Celandine’s bold prints and vacation-ready pieces.
Asked if Celandine could eventually have its own stores, Preis said, “We’re certainly open to seeing how it goes.”
Thrasher believes dresses will be bestsellers. “She [the customer] wears them on vacation for going out to dinner, but she also wears them as cover-ups. I’m also really excited about the sets. We’ve seen such a huge trend for sets, and we have great sets for vacation that I think she will really love,” said Thrasher.
Preis feels that this collection may skew a little younger than Anthropologie’s existing women’s customer. “We’re definitely shooting for a customer in her mid-30s but it can certainly span on either side of it,” she said.
They company will offer six full Celandine collections a year, and new pieces will drop every week.
Celandine has also partnered with United Airlines. Starting this month, the partnership will feature in-flight video content showcasing the new collection, airport activations and an email campaign targeting frequent flyers, ensuring that Celandine’s reach extends to the brand’s most loyal customers.
Anthropologie will also partner with Aubi & Ramsa Ice Cream to launch a limited-edition ice cream flavor, available exclusively during the Faena pop-up as well as in all Aubi & Ramsa shops. The 21 + ice cream flavor was created to evoke the indulgence and excitement of a tropical escape.
In addition, Anthropologie will amplify the Celandine launch with social media takeovers across their channels as well as robust Pinterest experiences designed to capture the essence of wanderlust. To maximize visibility, Celandine will also be featured through targeted CTV and out-of-home advertising across key cities such as New York and Miami.
While the executives declined to give a first-year volume expectation, Thrasher said, “I think it’s going to be great. The indicators that we’ve had in the last couple of years in our Anthropologie label have been significant for us to want to launch this brand.”
