24 July 2025

Californian Hot Summer

For its fourth Carte Blanche, A.P.C. invited creative studio AMILE to shoot a selection of Summer collection pieces in a setting as evocative as it is iconic: California. Based between Los Angeles and London, the studio brings a visual approach that is both precise and sensitive, at the crossroads of photography, design, and storytelling.

Along the California coast, the light, heat, and landscape set the pace of the shoot. “The blue horizon, the hot sun, and the intimate moments of summer in California are the specific glimpses we aimed to capture for this Carte Blanche. The feeling of the sun on your skin while ocean side are the scenes we aimed to portray. A familiar and nostalgic memory.”

The series unfolds like a sensory journal — a Californian summer’s day at the beach, captured through textures, details, and shifting perspectives. “We set out to capture the simple notion of a Californian summer’s day at the beach through granular moments and perspectives. We created a multi-sensory series of images that felt
perfectly intertwined with the pieces from the collection that allowed for these moments to feel timeless and effortlessly aligned with each scene.”

Light plays a central role in the visual narrative. “California’s warm light and timelessness of the ocean became a central thread in our visual story. The pieces from the collection mimicked this same sentiment and allowed for the body to feel and move throughout the landscape while remaining refined yet effortless.”