Kiwi photographer Constance McDonald has a knack for turning chance encounters into something a little bit magic (something we learned early on about the photographer when she was profiled for our November 2025 issue). Whether she's heading to the other side of the earth to photograph a Lithuanian long hair competition, or tracking down Shell Grottos in the countryside of England – she's attracted to the strange, the mythic and the eccentric in equal measure.

And McDonald's latest collaboration with fashion designer Catherine Boddy feels exactly like that. What began with a spontaneous phone call over crispy pork belly in Thailand quickly unraveled into a sun-drenched image-making adventure across the country, one that eventually became SOUVENIR, a book and subsequent collection of headbands, underwear, lighters and stickers; a kind of love letter to travel mementos.

Together, the pair chased nostalgic fonts, kitsch interiors, and reptilians, building a world that feels both nostalgic and strangely untethered from locus. To mark the book's publication, we caught up with McDonald to talk about the origins of the project, the joy of shared vision, and why sometimes the best ideas begin with abandon.

1. What sparked this collaboration between yourself and Catherine Boddy? What was that first conversation like?

My crispy pork belly had just arrived at my table. I was in Thailand. Catherine called me and asked, “Where are you? What are you up to?” I told her (crispy pork belly, Thailand). “Can I come?” she said. “Can we shoot these clothes I’ve been making?” One week later, she arrived.

2. What drove the direction of this book visually? What was on the mood board and was there a specific vision you had for it?

We were hyper-responsive to our environment. Catherine would carry a couple of her garments in her bag each day (alongside some impractical shoes, like her diamante Manolo Blahniks) in case we saw the perfect backdrop. I’m always looking out for the typeface Curlz MT in the wild. I saw an alleyway sign with a hotel’s name in that beloved font and thought: if they're into Curlz MT, this'll probably be good. Catherine changed into one of her dresses so we could be picture-ready the moment we entered the lobby. They showed us three of their rooms and (unprompted and unrequested) stepped outside so we could take photos (angels!). The print output, with its plastic coil binding, is a reference to the 1970s travel photo albums I’ve found in op shops.

3. Why the name SOUVENIR?

We stayed in hotels with really bad reviews. If a review said the decor was dated, we were all in. We hung out with LARPers and snakes and ate ripe mangoes the colour of the sun. In French, souvenir means "to remember." I love looking up hundred-year-old sterling silver charm bracelets on eBay and imagining the weight of them on my wrist. Somehow, making SOUVENIR felt like that. Alongside the publication, we also made thick headbands (à la Bardot, Andress, and Schneider) and screen-printed deadstock 1990s underwear. Oh, and stickers! And lighters!

4. Tell me a bit about the location scouting for this project.

Sometimes I’m struck by a place’s name (Crystal and Virgin Beach). But mostly, I like locations that feel slightly unmoored… as if they could exist anywhere or belong to a different timeline.

5. What was it like collaborating together with Boddy on this project? How did you find sympatico?

The Venn diagram of Catherine’s interests and mine sometimes feels like a circle. We will both cross the road just to see a red rose. In that way, it was easy, but also exciting. Originally, we were taking these photographs for Catherine’s website. Once we got the film back, she said, “Con, let’s make something with this.”

6. Was there a particularly special memory or moment from the creation of this book?

The guy who screen-printed the deadstock underwear mentioned he was uniquely qualified for the task. The last time he printed on "smalls" was in 1990s Australia, emblazoning budgie smugglers with the word "Speedo."

7. How can people get their hands on a copy?

The publications, headbands, underwear, and stickers are available for Northern Hemisphere dwellers via Catherine’s website (catherineboddy.com). For the better hemisphere (AU, NZ, etc.), slide into my DMs (@princess.constance).