Freelance Art Director, Stylist, and self-confessed magazine lover, Roxanne Robinson speaks to us about her love for storytelling, her latest trip to Japan, and how her candy pink Flora Bag became the unsung hero of her travel wardrobe. From Durban to Kyoto and back again, Rox shares the creative rituals, fashion gems, and philosophies that guide her unique style journey.
Read the full conversation below...
Roxanne, how did your journey into art direction and styling begin?
Was it something you always gravitated toward, or did it find you along the way?
I just really loved and still really love magazines. I love telling stories through images and working with a team to do so. I started as an intern at Cleo magazine and then Glamour and GQ and eventually became fashion editor at Sunday Times Fashion Weekly working under Tiaan Nagel. Still my absolute favourite job to date. Magazines started shutting down / changing, and I had an offer to join the trend team at Mr Price - so I did. And then I moved into marketing as an art director in their shoot team. Now I work as a freelance art director and whatever else is needed of me, I love what I do very much, that sometimes it feels like a made up role. But I think it all comes back to magazine editorials.
You’ve worked on some incredible projects, is there one that stands out as a favourite?
Tell us about a moment or shoot that felt especially meaningful or creatively exciting.
I think my aesthetic has always leaned toward the more junior market; I dreamed of working at Teen Vogue or Seventeen magazine and still have a soft spot for that happy, shy, awkward, coming of age moment and the style that comes with it. Anytime I get to really lean into that, I get really happy. I know that’s not a specific moment, but rather an umbrella of many, and hoping for more of.
You recently travelled to Japan (dream!). What were some of the visual or cultural details that stuck with you most? Any unexpected inspiration?
Oh my goodness, the list is forever long! The use of colour and illustration in public spaces had me gasping every day. Why can’t our street lights be mint green? Why not have artists work on our public signage? They use a very good shade of pink - similar to the candy pink you use, in the most unexpected places. A public toilet door, the bench in a post office. It absolutely feels like a dream. Someones gran will outdress you, the kids in school uniform are more chic than most of us, its amazing. The Japanese have a really great sense of proportion. It’s very clear that while they buy into a moment (everyone was wearing band tees and Asics) they have a strong sense of style that is consistent, and a lot of it is about the shapes and proportions of a look, it feels like something they’re born with and don’t try at. That is very cool.
You travel a lot for both work and pleasure. What’s your favourite part of travelling? Are there any rituals or comforts that ground you no matter where you are?
I love that I can fly for a couple hours and see something/someplace I’ve never seen before. I think it’s what keeps me in Durban, the privilege of being able to get a hit of new restaurants, cafes, design and art and then come back to the laid back no fuss tropical paradise of Durban. I don’t think I’m that “put together” to have grounding rituals, I often leave my toothbrush behind. But I mostly travel to Cape Town where most of my family lives, so I try to always see one of my sisters, my nephew or my parents, and that’s the best comfort.
You took our candy pink Flora Bag along for the ride. How did it hold up on your travels? We’d love to hear how you styled it and what made it a good travel companion.
I’d love to say I planned all my looks around it, but I actually took along a very minimal suitcase space saving wardrobe. I wore a pair of black wide-leg cropped pants almost every day, with my Nike Air Rifts and I had a couple of tee/top options. I didn’t want to override what I would find and see and experience there with what I wanted to look like while doing it. So the Flora bag was kind of carrying the whole show. She could fit an egg sarmie and an onigiri plus my instax or two beers and a parka for the rain. I wore her while riding bicycles around Kyoto and carried her as a clutch at the end of the trip when we stayed in Joburg to watch my big sister perform in Chicago. I like that the flora feels slightly cartoonish in shape, with its folds and curves so it feels like an unserious accessory.
You're from Durban, a place we don’t hear about as often in the fashion and creative scene. What are your favourite hidden gems or go-to spots in the city?
I’m “from Somerset West” actually. Born in JHB, and lived there after studying for 5 years, and then came to Durban and swore I’d be here two years tops. But I’ve been here almost 10 years because this city is such a genuine, no frills, sweet, hot and sticky gem. I like that it’s so underrated - the underdog of the cities. My favourite places in Durban are Humble, run by my friend Amy and her team of all women. The Glenwood Bakery for its beans on toast and pizza on the sidewalk in the evenings, Spice Emporium where a table of snacks and curries will cost you less than a matcha plus parking in CT, and then love the novelty of a masala pineapple on a stick on the promenade.
Top styling tip you swear by?
I struggle with it myself sometimes, but I try hard not to get too ‘influenced’ by what the current thing is. Inevitably, it makes me more confused about my own style and I’ll end up selling that thing on Yaga 5 minutes later. So it’s better to figure out what you like and build into your own story. But a styling tip I think I actually use is to juxtapose the hard and soft - borrow bits of a feeling and pair them with the opposite so it feels like your lived experience and not “I bought the window display”. Sneakers with skirts, heels with wide leg crops, oversized proportions with small clutchbag . We know this, but its good stuff - It’s basically Jenna Lyons for J Crew and it works.
Is there a treasured fashion piece in your wardrobe that holds special meaning?
My wedding look! A top and skirt made by Anmari Honiball and made possible via many couriers / friends who hauled fabric across the world, final fittings were done by my friend Brendan in Durban. A small consolation prize to her not being able to be at the wedding. I wore the top in Japan!
Do you remember your first handbag?
Not sure it was my first, but I remember my sister and I having micro backpacks that we would keep our Tinkerbell nail polish, a notebook (with a lock, obviously) and probably something else we thought adults kept in their bags. That and the plastic toiletry/makeup box we got for Christmas - according to the internet the original brand was Caboodles - I feel like many of us had them, they were lilac and pink and we filled them with sweets.
What book, podcast, or music are you loving right now?
Book: I joined the library not so long ago, which means I’m pushed to read more. I take out three books and then read one and have to retake out the other two and the cycle continues. My most recent rotation is ‘Dont Lets Go to the dogs tonight’ - Alexandra Fuller, Dance Dance Dance - Haruki Murakami, Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer and an Apartmento magazine from ages ago I haven’t finished yet.
Podcast: I only recently started paying for Recho Omondi’s The Cutting Room floor on patreon, so I’m making my way through her interviews. The Karla Welch and Brendon Babenzien episodes are my faves so far. I also regularly listen to the Shameless media podcast, The Wellness Scoop and Good Hang with Amy Poehler.
Music: I watched Perfect Days on the plane ride back from Japan, so I’ve been alternating between that soundtrack, 70’s Japanese funk/jazz and I’m trying to learn the lyrics to Gracie Abrahams ‘That’s so True’ because I like listening to it in the car in the mornings.
Finally, what’s next on the horizon for you, work, travel, or just life-wise?
In this very moment I just want to go back to Japan, which I suspect I’ll sit with for a long time to come, but for now I’ll be in Durban until December when I’ll be home in the Cape for Christmas with my family. I’m planning to host another apartment cafe soon which is where I make cakes and nice things to eat and sell them to friends and they come and hang out in my tiny apartment. Also always dreaming big and small with Robyn for Eat Nice, which is our space to play and make mistakes and do things for no reason but fun.