Shooting the Dhow: A Mungo Morning in Misty Cliffs

As you leave Cape Town, on a journey towards Cape Point, you leave behind any signs of the commercial world. 45 minutes from Cape Town’s city centre, Misty Cliffs has no booming shopping centre, no restaurants and just a smattering of coffee shops. A popular surf spot for its barrelling waves, the beachfront is immaculate – stretches of white sand against a tempestuous azure sea.

This is where we set out to conduct the shoot for our new flat weave towel range.

The tranquil hamlet of Misty Cliffs is exactly what its name suggests. As cool air hits the shores, a lingering, hazy fog arises. A nebulous creation, it clings to the mountain, whispers over the beachfront and spills over the precarious cliff face. With this gothic landscape to inspire our lookbook, we set forth early on a Friday morning in July, hoping to capture the hour of golden light – a time when the sun bathes the landscape in a warm glow.

With this is mind, as soon as our beautiful model, Qiniso Van Damme, arrived on set, we rushed down to the beach – chasing the light to shoot our first product of the day: The Dhow Towel.

We had chosen our location with care – a retro, open-planned house bordered by a sweeping wooden deck that spilled out onto what was, essentially, our own private beach for the day. Once we’d set up shop inside – organising and styling the products to be photographed – we took off our shoes, rolled up our jeans and plunged our toes into the icy sand.

Mindful of the many bluebottles that scattered our path, we scuttled along the beach, playing with the variables of wind, water and winter sun. Shivering in the frosty air, we timed our shots with the ebb and flow of the waves, and hugged cups of coffee in between takes to keep warm (narrowly avoiding a Game of Thrones-esque disaster).

We wanted to capture the movement of the towel – its airiness and breathability. And so with photographer, stylist and assistant in tow, we wove shapes across the shorefront, playfully allowing the Dhow-el to weave its magic in the morning light.

A Mungo classic, you might be familiar with the Dhow – a pure linen bath and beach towel with a unique handle. We’ve revived this towel, now woven with a thicker linen yarn in the weft (the horizontal yarn that is woven over and under the warp strands). This has made the Dhow of even better quality; improving its absorbency and lengthening its longevity. This is the perfect towel for those who prefer the slightly rougher texture of linen (great for a bit of gentle exfoliation). But on top of this, we launched two sea-inspired colours, Sea Foam and Deep Sea, which were perfectly offset against the cerulean waters and crashing surf.

With expert photographer, Adel Ferreira and stylist, Joanita Cillie at the helm, we became braver, venturing closer towards the sea… Perhaps it was at this point that we had the grand idea to perch our model on top of a dramatic rocky outcrop. As Adel started snapping, we felt we were off to something good – until whoosh! A large wave roared up, knocking our model off the rock and leaving her soaked. Shock turned into fits of laughter as we scrambled away from the waves and onto the safety of the shore.

: Shoutout to Qiniso for being such a trooper!

After a quick change into something more cosy (perfect time to have the Mungo Linen Gown at hand) and another hot cuppa, we moved to our indoor scene.

It was at this point that we also started focusing a bit more on our second featured product of the day. But this is where we must leave you with a bit of Mungo mist-ery. Although our lips are sealed, we can drop a hint – there could be another very exciting addition to our range coming soon. Watch this space!