East Africa by way of Anthropologie: The Legend & Song collection

As it so often does, Anthropologie has sought out original designs from far flung places to bring a touch of the worldly to its stores. This time around the spot is East Africa, where Anthro collaborated with several local artisans to create the Legend & Song Collection. Think: bold prints, beautiful beaded jewelry and texture-rific bags.

Inside, a closer look at the collection.

From Anthropologie’s blog:

The Legend and Song collection began with an inkling: what if we were to collaborate with artisans from Africa in a way that showcased and modernized the crafts we have so long admired?

And then, as so often happens at the Home Office, the stars aligned and we took a trip.

We weren’t alone.

With the help of Bhavana World Project, a social enterprise that links stateside companies with East Africa entrepreneurs and USAID, the lead U.S. Government agency developing trade and social programs in Africa, our design and production teams traveled to Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, making connections with designers, artisan collectives and cooperatives that practice the kind of traditional craftsmanship and of-the-moment aesthetic we so craved. The reality of the trip was far more special than we could’ve imagined; it was a downright magical, lighting-in-a-bottle confluence of collaboration and kismet. Come along with us and see. 

The complete blog post has spectacular photos and vignettes on many of the artists — well worth checking out. It’s easy to fall in love with the results too! Below is the complete collection.

It’s great that these pieces are making it to stores though I’m guessing it’s select stores rather than fanning out across all of Anthropologie’s locations.

As a fan of bolder prints it’s hard for me to pick favorites. I love the Leather Peplum Top/Wax Pencil Skirt combination — seems I’m not alone as that skirt is going fast. The Dutch Wax Blouse ($128) also looks beautiful though the shape will be a challenge on me. The piece most likely to find a spot in my closet is the Wax Dawa Dress ($228) in blue. Though good lord, what is the model doing in that product shot??? We’ll just ignore it.

Have any of the Legend & Song pieces made it to your wishlist or closet? What pieces jump out at you?