Here at Who What Wear UK, we’re all about bringing you the latest and greatest shopping edits, trend reports and cult beauty straight from the front line. But we’re also about inspiration and exploration, with a love of women who are unafraid of playing with their style. At the beginning of 2020, we launched a travel-inspired series called the Fernweh Diaries, wherein some of the industry’s most free-spirited, adventurous women travelled the world and reported back on what they found. Fernweh is a German word that means to have a craving for travel and adventure, something we relate to now more than ever. Instagram’s coolest sisters, Jordan and Loanne Collyer— the Collyer Twins— have a love for the lesser-known towns of Southern Spain, as this is an area their family has often visited and explored. These images were created before restrictions were put in place, and as we enter week eight of lockdown, we decided to share the story to allow you to experience some wanderlust from the comfort of your living room. Escapism has arguably never been so important.
For us, travelling is about feeling free, living in the moment, switching off and taking in your surroundings— immersing yourself in the sights and smells of a new place. We grew up living in both Portugal and Brazil so we’ve always had a nomadic spirit, which is one of the main reasons we felt drawn to Chloé’s new Nomade Absolu fragrance. We feel like it was made for us! All trips might now be on pause, and while we are lucky to be currently staying safe at home, we have found that we are feeling particularly nostalgic for our most-treasured travel memories. We keep looking back through images of our family trips, and with a glass of sangria, the London sunshine and a spritz of Chloé Nomade Absolu we can almost bring a holiday feeling to our sofa.
Our father was such a free spirit and avid traveller, so we have definitely inherited our love of adventure from him. He always took us to far off corners of the globe, whether that meant rock jumping in Byron Bay, mountain climbing in Greece or on the back of a moped in Thailand. One of our favourite places to explore, though, is the southern coast of Spain.
From a young age, we’ve had a holiday home off the beaten track in the small town of Torreguadiaro that always brings back childhood memories of sun-drenched summers and winter escapes, skiing in the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains. When we visit as adults, we spend most of our time relaxing on the sandy beaches, snorkelling, practising our Spanish and enjoying the fresh catch of the day and traditional paellas with the locals.
The south of Spain is a beautiful part of the country with rich culture and traditions. The unique scenery of winding streets and classic architecture, set into mountains and alongside the sea, works wonders for forgetting about the chaos of London life. For us, it’s the celebration of the simple things— nature, food and feeling the sun on your face— that we really connect with when travelling there. Even when we visited this February, we were able to sit out all day and watch the sunset from the seafront in the evening.
Even though we’ve been visiting the same place for years now, we’re still discovering new things about the area. This trip felt particularly special as we were inspired by Chloé Nomade Absolu to embrace our free spirits, leave our comfort zones and explore. We stumbled across a local fishing village, Castillo de la Duquesa— a scattering of white buildings just off the water surrounding the village square, Plaza de los Banos Romanos. There is a small, ornately decorated church, an 18th-century castle, a couple of bars and a few fish restaurants inhabited only by locals. How we had never discovered this little village before is beyond us as it is so close to our house!
We’re early risers, and the best thing about this area is watching the sunrise from the beach every morning. The light here is unbeatable— the sky illuminates with blood orange and pink whilst flocks of birds rise up. This is our place of discovery but also of peacefulness and reflection. We always try to stay active when travelling, so we usually start the day off with a run or yoga followed by meditation before stopping off at a local cafe for our morning coffee. We spent our days wandering around the area in search of hidden gems or switching off completely with a book in hand. Getting away from busy tourist areas is a must for us, which is why we love discovering the lesser-known towns like Torreguadiaro. They’re where you’ll find the most character.
As for what we packed for this trip, we’re usually fans of the throw-it-all-in mentality. If you don’t have a set plan, then you have to prepare for all eventualities! This time we knew the weather was starting to warm up, so we took loose, light clothes and sandals that fit with the relaxed atmosphere of the town and gym wear and trainers for our more adventurous excursions. We always carry books, sunglasses and a camera, too.
Of course, we also packed our Chloé Nomade Absolu fragrance. Just a spritz of this left us ready to take on the sunny days and balmy nights. Not only do we love the fresh floral scent, but we also really relate to what the fragrance stands for. It smells of new beginnings, and we see ourselves as being part of the empowered, travel-hungry females that inspired it. It will now always remind us of our favourite place, and although we won’t be able to revisit there for quite some time, we will always have those sun-drenched memories to transport us there.
