Timothy Schaumburg — Breaking Vuitton in the Caribbean

Shot across the sunburnt calm of Palm Heights in the Cayman Islands, Timothy Schaumburg’s LV special L32 for Lampoon 32 – SOAP blends raw island edges, sharp light, and an offbeat tension

Reimagining Louis Vuitton through the sensory landscape of Palm Heights

For Lampoon issue 32, SOAP, photographer Timothy Schaumburg travels to the Cayman Islands to reinterpret Louis Vuitton through the luminous, sculptural atmosphere of Palm Heights, the island’s cult design hotel on Seven Mile Beach. The resulting editorial is a meditation on light, material, and presence—an encounter between the rigor of luxury design and the quiet sensuality of the Caribbean.

Schaumburg lets the island’s sensory world lead the narrative: saturated marine blues, limestone warmth, and the deep clarity of Caribbean light. A model holds a conch shell to her face as if listening to an inner tide; gold jewelry vibrates against sunlit skin; Palm Heights’ minimalist architecture becomes a frame that elevates Vuitton’s forms.

The alternation between color and black-and-white adds rhythm. Monochrome moments isolate sculptural detail—the curve of an earring, the texture of a boot on dry grass—while color images carry the heat of the afternoon. Schaumburg treats place as an emotional vector, allowing Cayman’s atmosphere to shape the visual language.

Turning the Cayman Islands into a narrative stage for contemporary luxury

Palm Heights is a key character. Known for its soft brutalism, sun-washed palette, and modernist lines softened by coastal light, the location becomes an architectural partner to the Louis Vuitton story. The tones of the island—sand, coral, mossy green, lagoon blue—echo through the collection.

Schaumburg expands the shoot beyond the resort: roadside curves, tropical vegetation, and secluded corners introduce a raw, lived-in dimension. Luxury is not remote or polished—it is absorbed into daily island rhythm. The result is a form of storytelling where fashion, landscape, and body coexist in a single cinematic breath.

How Timothy Schaumburg blends cinematic precision with emotional immediacy

Based in Berlin, Timothy Schaumburg has developed a visual language rooted in tension—between staging and spontaneity, clarity and ambiguity, intimacy and distance. His path began in graphic design, but photography soon became his preferred medium for narrative and emotional exploration. His images are structured, geometric, and sharply lit, yet they vibrate with human presence.

Collaborations with Kenzo, Diesel, Adidas and features in publications like Dazed have refined his capacity to merge conceptual storytelling with fashion’s visual codes. Schaumburg’s signature lies in his ability to let characters inhabit a space rather than simply pose within it. In Lampoon SOAP, this translates into a tropical palette without losing the introspective quality that defines his work.

Photography by Timothy Schaumburg, styling Niki Pauls, grooming and creative direction Janina Zais, casting Kianna Alexander, talent Roshni Mango @LuluManagement. Special thanks to Palm Heights Cayman Islands

All looks from Louis Vuitton Fall Winter 2025 collection