Kerala, India: East of Eden

Kerala, India: East of Eden



For
thousands of years, traders and invaders – from the
Babylonians to the Egyptians, the Romans and the Greeks – have
sailed across the Arabian Sea and arrived on the Keralan Coast,
seduced by the commercial potential of spices.

For Volume 15 of
SUITCASE Magazine, The
Good Life
, we too were allured by Kerala, said to be India’s
happiest and most liberal state, where centuries of ethnic,
cultural and religious diversity have left a legacy of
multiculturalism and open-mindedness.

Photographer Grant Thomas began the shoot in the rolling hills
of Munnar in the Western Ghats mountains, where SUITCASE’s Fashion
Director Tona Stell styled Wayne Booth (at Tess Management) in
earthy colours.

From there, we travelled to Marari Beach, where palm trees
provided a Club Tropicana backdrop for swimwear and cover-ups,
before finishing our shoot in the Kumarakom backwaters, where an
ethereal feeling of calm is reflected in flowing dresses of crimson
and white.

Bunny Hazel Clarke (at Sarah Laord and Good Company) was on hand
throughout the shoot to keep Wayne looking fresh using Tom Ford
Beauty products.

Discover More
A Love Letter to Kerala