№ 01
Vogue Poland
Creative Direction - NYC · Global
Creative Direction,
by Zara Akpan.
Zara Akpan is a creative director and producer working across editorial, campaign and brand. From Vogue covers to a category-defining relaunch for Bread Beauty Supply: image, concept, and the world it lives in.
Based
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn, New York
Practice
Creative Direction · Art Direction
Creative Direction · Art Direction
Sectors
Fashion · Beauty · Hospitality
Fashion · Beauty · Hospitality
Clients
Vogue · Bread · Equinox · Luar
Vogue · Bread · Equinox · Luar
Vogue ✦Bread Beauty ✦Teen Vogue ✦Equinox ✦American Express ✦Luar ✦K.NGSLEY ✦Highsnobiety ✦On Running ✦1 Hotels ✦Ace Hotel ✦TWP ✦Chambao ✦Kiin ✦Impressions ✦Vogue ✦Bread Beauty ✦Teen Vogue ✦Equinox ✦American Express ✦Luar ✦K.NGSLEY ✦Highsnobiety ✦On Running ✦1 Hotels ✦Ace Hotel ✦TWP ✦Chambao ✦Kiin ✦Impressions ✦
Featured Case Study
Bread Beauty Supply
Bread™ Sport.
A category-shifting relaunch for Bread Beauty Supply - repositioning textured hair care as a performance ritual. I led creative end to end.
+200%
Increase in editorial viewership post-launch
+3.4M
Organic impressions across campaign film & stills
+68%
Lift in DTC sessions the month of release
12
Global press placements incl. Vogue, Elle, Dazed
The Direction
We treated the product as performance gear - not a bottle on a shelf. Casting, styling, and light borrowed from sport photography; the result read as a movement, not a marketing beat.
Insight
Textured hair care lived in "problem/solution" territory. The audience wanted aspiration, not remedy.
Idea
Bread™ Sport - reframe the routine as ritual, the ritual as training, and the girl as the athlete of her own image.
Impact
+200% editorial viewership, DTC lift across the launch month, and a visual system the brand still uses today.
Chapter I
Fashion · Print
Editorial.
Covers and stories directed with Vogue Poland, USA, China, Hong Kong, Teen Vogue and the CFDA.
№ 02
Teen Vogue × Coi Leray
TV Moment.
№ 03
Vogue China
Go Big or Go Home.
№ 04
Vogue USA
Leather, Plaid, Park Ave.
№ 05
Vogue × CFDA
The American Set.
№ 06
Vogue × Swept Away
Rugged Chorus.
№ 07
Vogue Hong Kong
Two on the Ferry.
№ 08
Vogue China
Blue Room, Long Hair.
Chapter II
Brand · Campaign
Campaigns.
Creative direction for Equinox, American Express × Luar, Highsnobiety × On, K.NGSLEY and TWP - from concept to final frame.
№ 10
K.NGSLEY
Collection 3.
№ 11
Amex × Luar
The Ana Bag.
№ 12
Equinox
Want It All.
№ 13
Equinox
Want Others.
№ 14
TWP - Trish Wescoat Pound
Fall / Holiday.
№ 15
Now Now Noho
Live Now Now.
№ 16
Highsnobiety × On Running
Oyster Tennis Club.
Chapter III
Hospitality · Location
Travel.
Location direction across the Americas and Europe - hotels, beach clubs and restaurants shot on land, water and sand.
№ 17
Lake Club
Guatapé, Colombia.
№ 18
Impressions
Isla Mujeres.
№ 19
Kiin
Medellín.
№ 20
Mayan Monkey
Isla Mujeres.
№ 21
Dreamer
Palomino.
№ 22
El Hamaquero
Rosario.
№ 23
1 Hotels
Brooklyn Bridge, NYC.
№ 24
INO
Antibes.
№ 25
Chambao
Madrid.
№ 26
Melo
La Barra.
№ 27
Ace Hotel
New York.
The Practice
I direct image - print, film, and world. From a Vogue cover to a beauty brand's relaunch, I shape the picture and the story that carries it.
Creative Direction
Concept · narrative · world-build
Art Direction
Layout · type · image system
Campaigns
360 rollouts across film & print
Brand
Identity, tone & launch strategy
Bookings & Enquiries