Earth Day is a reminder to “invest in our planet” and act boldly in our conservation efforts. The ethos is one Philippe Chantecaille embraces each day in his own work at luxury botanical beauty brand Chantecaille to bring awareness to the earth and its animal inhabitants through photography and travel.
Philippe, the media director of Chantecaille, which was founded by his mother Sylvie and his sister Olivia, is tasked with overseeing the company’s video and photography, a role that entails shooting ad campaigns, models and products, and travelling around the globe to highlight some of the world’s most-threatened animals.
Ahead of Earth Day on 22 April, Philippe reflected on these experiences and about what it means to be able to raise awareness through his art in a conversation with his sisters - and colleagues - Olivia and Alex Chantecaille.
According to Philippe, who recalls growing up in the creative family “covered in makeup swatches,” his love of photography was instilled by their father Olivier, who he tells his sister Alex, Chantecaille’s chief commercial officer, he considers his “biggest inspiration and idol”.
“Our father has always been my biggest inspiration and idol. He was an avid photographer and his photographs mean so much to all of us,” Philippe says. “He’s such a talent, with an incredible eye and way of expressing a feeling, a scent, a sound, a texture. Giving sensory cues through photography, so you can revisit the moments whenever you’d like. Cherished hanging memories.
“It’s such a special thing that I get to share this same passion, and that a piece of him is within me.”
When it comes to incorporating his passion into his career, which sees him photographing both models and wildlife, he tells Olivia, Chantecaille’s creative director and fellow art-lover, that each requires “very different” skills, as he can manipulate the variables in model photoshoots in a way that he cannot do in the wild.
“One subject is in constant motion, where another often needs guidance. I go into a model shoot with an idea of how I want it to look, and can manipulate all the elements through light, lenses and colour-spacing,” Philippe explains. “When it comes to wildlife photography you are at the mercy of the elements in which the animal dwells. There aren’t controlled variables.
“I think that’s more exciting, capturing special moments.”
While a focus on wildlife photography may be surprising for a photographer of a cosmetic and skincare company, it is not when considering Chantecaille’s dedication to animal and wildlife conservation efforts.
In 2006, Chantecaille released its first conservation collection after Sylvie learned about the crisis of the disappearing Monarch butterflies. In the years since, the company has continued growing its conservation collections of both limited-edition and permanent product releases to 53 and counting.
As a result of the launches, each of which is inspired by, and benefits, an urgent environmental crisis or animal, Chantecaille has been able to donate $3m to conservation groups, in addition to the amounts donated privately by the family.
To raise awareness of the obstacles facing some of the world’s most-threatened animals through these conservation collections, Philippe captures them in their natural habitats, which means travelling to Virunga National Park in Rwanda to see the Silverback Gorillas or to the rugged, remote archipelago Svalbard to capture the polar bears and the melting glaciers.
According to Philippe, honouring and raising awareness of the animals through visual storytelling means photographing them “completely free” and “existing as intended”.
“I capture moments of the animal, in its element - completely free - existing as intended,” he tells Olivia, adding that his favourite photos are the ones “where you can sense that a connection is being made”.
“Our goal is to generate as much awareness of the animals that we have worked with and will work with in the future,” he says. “Through sharing the stories, and showing their worlds, we are striving to generate compassion, knowledge and understanding.”
Philippe’s work also means that he encounters animals in ways unimaginable to most, with the photographer recalling a moment in Svalbard when, at 2am, he and Alex were woken by a spotter who informed the group polar bears were nearby.
“As the icebreaker boat quietly approached, we could see a male polar bear savouring his fresh catch and just beyond that, a female polar bear and her two cubs,” he recalls to Olivia after she asks him to share some of his most memorable moments photographing wildlife. “The female polar bear approached the male and aggressively challenged him for his meal. It was something to see two polar bears fighting over food, and really awesome to see the female win.”
The question prompts Philippe to reflect on his unforgettable first trip to Africa as well, during which he stood within 20 feet of a herd of wild male bull elephants, and on the “epic and exhilarating” moment the oldest living silverback gorilla in the wild charged at him, an encounter he jokes he is still “a little pale from”.
While remembering his first trip to Africa, Philippe also admits to Olivia that he got a “terrible burn,” and that there are three products he would now never visit without: Chantecaille’s Vital Essence Serum, the brand’s Orange Flower Water, which he describes as his “new favourite, and the thing I consistently reach for and enjoy throughout the day and night,” and SeaScreen 30 Mineral Broad-Spectrum Sunscreen Mist SPF 30, a reef-safe sunscreen that can be used by all ages on the face and body and which benefits WildAid and the environmental organisation’s work preserving the coral reef.
According to the photographer, in addition to his family’s dedication, his commitment to conservation is largely inspired by the work of Taru and Roan Carr-Hartley, whose family operates The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an organisation in Kenya that protects African elephants and other wildlife. The siblings run the anti-poaching unit, which sees them responding to calls about injured elephants and providing all levels of medical attention, from air-lifting injured elephants to treating the animals.
“I’d love to have a little more of what they’ve got going on in the future,” he tells Olivia of the brothers, when asked who motivates and inspires him in the conservation space. “That is the ideal, and being able to see them work and move throughout those spaces has been exemplary. It’s really important work that they do.”
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s important work has also inspired the creation of multiple Chantecaille collections in support of the organisation’s efforts, such as the Future Skin Cushion Skincare Foundation, which feeds a baby orphaned elephant with each sale.
In response to a question posed by Alex about what Earth Day means to him personally, Philippe describes it as a “powerful day,” one during which we can “collectively think, and bring awareness to topics related to the health of the earth and its inhabitants”.
And while Philippe enthusiastically tells his sister that he fully supports the concept of Earth Day becoming a weekly celebration, it’s a dedication to the planet that he already fully embraces, and which is already evident in the work he and Chantecaille do each day.
“Nature is so very beautiful, we can gain constant inspiration by taking the time to appreciate and give back. Mother nature gives us everything we need in all forms and protecting our ecosystem is imperative,” he says.
