Photo from my good friend GoogleThanks a ton to Anon @ 4:10 PM in this post who found out some more information about the setting of Anthropologie’s March 2010 catalogue. It turns out the sculptural shots were taken not in a country like Cambodia or Thailand like I first thought but somewhere much closer: Mexico. Specifically at Los Pazas in Xilitla, a tiny town a few hours north and east of Mexico City.
Photo from Lucy Nieto’s flickr setThe gardens are a creation of English millionaire Edward James as a tribute to surrealism. Here’s some more information Atlas Obscura, the online curiosities compendium:
Construction on Las Pozas began in 1962, and carried on for the next 20 plus years until James’ death in 1984. Las Pozas means “the pools” in Spanish, named for the 9 pools on the property created from waters that flow naturally through the property. The gardens feature more than thirty structures, ranging from plant sculptures to winding staircases to nowhere, and cathedral inspired screens – some ornately finished, others seemingly incomplete, although it is unclear if they were ever intended to be “finished”. Most of the construction was done by Plutaco Gastelum, James’ friend and co-designer, who was described in Smithsonian magazine as “part Yaqui indian, part Spanish aristocrat and a swashbuckling former rancher, boxer, telegrapher and amateur architect”. Gastelum’s home is now an eclectic hotel near to Las Pozas.
The full article is fascinating. Truly amazing stuff — I can’t believe that I knew NOTHING about this place before. I am going to Mexico in June and all of a sudden I want to take a detour up to this beautiful garden! I am such a sucker for architecture and sculpture. Here’s an amazing flickr set with tons of great pictures from the garden, and below is a video from the BBC series “Around the World in 80 Gardens” with Monty Don. Thanks again to Anonymous for the tip, and to Joyce James in Anthropologie’s customer service department for all the great info!
I had no idea such a place existed! This is totally right up my alley. Thanks Roxy and Anon! I'm going to check out the links and put it high on my places to visit.
Wow, gorgeous, gorgeous place! I have to rec this from my friend who will be studying in Mexico for the fall quarter!But now I'm really upset that Anthro catalogs never get around to my place @ school.
Extraordinary! Thanks so much for sharing with us…I was intrigued by the location as soon as I saw the new Catalogue…whimsical and beautiful at the same time.
Thanks for the information. I was browsing through the catalogue last night and honestly the backgrounds were so breathtaking I almost didn't pay attention to the clothes!
This is amazing! Thank you for sharing, I look forward to seeing the new catalogue!
thanks for this Roxy,very interesting stuff. love it that us anthro girls are interested in arty things beyond clothes.
That is so beautiful. I never would have guessed from the catalogue alone that it was in Mexico. Thanks for sharing this with us!
thanks for getting the scoop, roxy! i too thought it was thailand or for a brief moment, angkor wat–realized it looked way too modern and well kept to be that old though! looks like a beautiful destination!and on a slight tangent–love the name joyce james…not sure if it was a total coincidence or her parents intended the clever twist, but the reverse is my favorite writer!
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Roxy, first of all I love your blog, I visit it everyday.I'm originally from Mexico, and Xilitla is located in my home state: San Luis Potosi. The gardens are indeed gorgeous and if you get a chance to visit Mexico you should definitely visit SLP, it is located in a very humid region and nearby there are tons of waterfalls, lakes and rivers where people practice white river rafting.I'm glad Anthro chose it as a location for the catalog.
Roxy-Thanks so much for posting about this! I loved watching the video and discovering where this gem is located! I SO want to go there. (and recreate the picture on pg. 3 of the catalog.) Love your blog. Thanks for all of your hard work!
i love the braided perimeters bag but the price–not so much. i hope this one goes on sale.roxy, the bretonnes blouse is at the rock center store (second floor, near these gold sequin cardi things (!)) and it is adory in person. i had just left the fitting room and couldn't bring myself to go back to try it. :/
Thanks Megha! I didn't make it to Rock Center this past weekend but maybe one night this week…
I just googled Anthropologie and Xilitla and came upon your site. When I opened my March Anthro catalog yesterday, I was so excited because I recognized the location because Xilitla is about 1 hour from the place I lived in in Mexico. It is definitely worth the trip to see it. It is located in the state of San Luis Potosi. There are also a lot of beautiful waterfalls that are worth checking out there also.
Check out the Amanda Pearl Fall 2009 Collection inspired by Las Pozas!https://www.amandapearl.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=85&zenid=ifm9h0lqihqh88slenncpgj777
When I saw the March catalog, I thought it was shot on location at Las Posas, but I wasn't totally sure. Thank you for clarifying. Two or three years ago, New York Times Magazine (it may have been a Travel issue) ran an interesting article about Las Posas and Edward James. I'm definitely going to visit Xilitla.
For those interested in more reading, there's currently a holiday offer on at Amazon for the book "Surreal Eden: Edward James & Las Pozas," now $28 through Dec. 24th! (20% Amazon holiday discount off regular price) New & perfect condition, lavishly illustrated with photographs of Sally Mann, Lourdes Almeida, Graciela Iturbide, Michael Schuyt, Man Ray and others ….http://amzn.to/gT9UIg