Love Stories with Zippy Seven and Terence Connors

A scroll through ZippySeven, the Instagram account of model and content creator Zippora Seven, immediately has you immersed in her nostalgic charm. And while these days you’re more likely to find life imitating art, it seems it’s art imitating life with Zippora – with the free-spirit casual nature portrayed through her feed seemingly to be no elaborate planned set-up. Instead, you’ll find genuine carefree captures by her filmmaker and photographer American-French boyfriend Terence Connors.

These two appear to have an idyllic existence that resonates with the bohemian soul. When they’re not found aboard their sailboat ‘Starbound’ or at home in their Montauk abode, Zippora and Terence are more than likely travelling the world – often working as a duo to capture content for various brands and companies.

With their latest project seeing the couple fly to Sydney’s Avalon Beach to shoot content together for Cotton On Body‘s February campaign, we decided to use the occasion to pull Zippora aside to find out a bit more about the story behind the coming together of these two creatives…

How did you first meet?
I met Terence in Paris when he was still in school there and I had just moved there working as a model. [We met] at an art gallery opening outside the show. We had friends introduce us to each other.

What was it that originally attracted you to each other?
I have no idea… magic?!

Did you start dating immediately after meeting or was there some delay?
We met a few times and would always end up kissing after a few hours, but it never lasted more than 24 hours – we were both very young.

Can you talk me through your first date?
We bumped into each other on a rooftop in New York. We had both moved there and had friends in common who invited us both to their house party. We didn’t talk to a single other person that evening and woke up in the morning together on their couch with our shoes on.

I love the way he sees the world and others.

And what about your most romantic date?
I had two close friends visiting from NZ. They liked the sound of Terence, so we invited him to play pool. He came with his friend – who my friends thought was the most handsome guy. I wore a red skin tight bodysuit with silver beading and sequins all over and looked like Ziggy stardust. We danced all night that the place we were at stayed open for us after they had closed.

From the looks of things, you two get to travel around quite a bit. What’s been your favourite trip to do together and why?
New Zealand, because it’s my home.

You recently shot a campaign with Cotton On Body together. Do you like working on campaigns together?
Working together with Cotton On Body was so fun. I loved shooting this campaign because we had a really classic Australian summer day wearing easy, breezy clothes. We woke up early to a hot sunny day shooting at a house right on the beach and spent the day watching the surf and then had a good lunch. I could have kept shooting after the sun went down. It reminded me of summer days I miss now at home.

Does it ever get uncomfortable working on a commercial shoot with Terence – or does it make it more fun having your partner involved?
Not at all, I love working with Terence. I feel comfortable in front of his camera as I love the way he sees the world and others.

You both look like you’re very creative people. Do you ever have a clash in creative vision?
Well… Terence loves analog, like he loves 60’s French cinema, and sometimes I fall asleep.

When you’re not working, what would we most likely find the two of you doing together?
Surfing, walking our dog on the beach, sailing, taking photos.

How would you describe your favourite characteristics of Terence in three words?
Overflow of energy, fun, and funny.