Not every fashion campaign is worth talking about, but there is a handful you’ll want to watch.
As we’re keeping a careful eye on all things fashion in advance of next month’s fashion weeks, we’re into that time of year when a flurry of new campaigns are hitting and, as usual, the greater majority of them are boring and non-expressive. There is a handful, though, that are significant, sometimes as much for who as for what. Let’s run them down, shall we?
Anyone a fan of actor Jude Law? Meet his 15-year-old daughter Iris. Just a few days ago, she appeared in her first ad campaign for London-based Illustrated People‘s collaboration with stylist Violetta Thalia Kassapi, along with a couple of other new youngsters, Evangeline Ling and Charley Munro. The campaign is for a limited three-look pyjama line, one of which has already sold out according to Illustrated People’s website.
Why should we pay attention? Well, on one hand we can talk about the ethics of putting 15-year-old in adult sleepwear, or using children in adult campaigns at all. This one comes with its fair share of sexuality (though nowhere near as bad as some we’ve seen) and the poses of three young girls on a bed doesn’t look anything like an innocent sleepover.
Iris Law’s entrance into modeling may be the bigger story, though. Not only have her parents been dragging her to fashion shows for quite some time, back in 2012 there was a bit of a fuss over the dress she wore to Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label show. The mere fact that her mother took her to a Westwood show at that age says something about the fashion-conscious way she was raised, but the dress she wore was covered in candy hearts with less-than-friendly sayings, such as,”blow me,” “please drown,” and “I hate you.” Mom tried to blame Dad, but I’m willing to bet the child chose the dress with full knowledge of what she was doing.
Where’s this going? Iris is part of a new breed of model that comes equipped with plenty of knowledge about the industry and a hard-edged attitude that knows how to play it to their advantage. They’re in, they get what they want, and they’re out. Don’t be surprised when we see a lot more of Iris over the next year or so.
Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge, & Joan Smalls for Stuart Weitzman SS 2016 Campaign by Mario Testino
They’re naked. Nope, this is not the first time for any of those models, but it underscores a strong trend that we saw blossom in 2015 and may well grow even more into this new year. More and more, labels are willing to risk a bit of nudity to draw attention to their campaigns. In this case, Stuart Weitzman is using the technique to, hopefully, draw attention to a new sandal he calls, “Almost Nude.” The company says they were going for a “distinctively minimalist aesthetic.”
The company says they were going for a “distinctively minimalist aesthetic.” Nailed it. I suppose, strictly speaking, they could have gone even more minimalist with just a picture of the show, but then, would we even be talking about the campaign at all? Probably not.
Here’s why the campaign is important: Prudish attitudes that once dominated fashion advertising in the US and UK are gone, having been on their death bed for years and now completely buried. No one is going to lose any endorsements for being naked. In fact, if being nude creates a bit of a scandal, that might be an even better thing as it brings more eyeballs to a campaign. Now that Playboy is no longer an outlet for nudes, don’t be the least bit surprised when fashion not only picks up the slack but does a better job that Playboy has in the past 20 years.
Photographer/director Glen Luchford takes Peyton Knight & Polina Oganicheva into some dream where it’s the 1960s again and everyone’s apparently forgotten how to dance. The video is more interesting than the stills, though what one sees in magazines is not exactly boring. Luchford has done an excellent job of capturing that late 60s/early 70s sense of boredom and a time old people like me look back upon with some fondness.
Why this matters, though, is because it is the first campaign where we get to see Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele really starts to show the direction he plans on taking the fabled fashion house. The cruise collection is typically a strong indicator of what we’ll see on the runway in February and in stores in March (if not already). Michele is riding a trend we saw last September and may indicate that the designer is going to continue riffing off the house catalog for a moment. Is that a bad thing? Probably not, but it’s not quite as exciting as we’d hoped.
Lou Schoof for Blumarine SS 2016 Campaign by Inez & Vinoodh
If you’re not on board the Blumarine train yet, now’s the time to grab a ticket. Anna Molinari has long been one of my favorite Italian designers and I especially loved this collection on the runway last September. What she’s done here is bring a young, up and coming German model, Lou Schoof, into the house and given her a quiet, understated sensuality with an elegant sense of desire.
This is important because it’s the strongest campaign we’ve seen Blumarine mount with a US focus. Shot in New York, there’s little mistaking the North American feel to the campaign with its warm tones and plenty of gently curved lines and a not-quite-level frame. The ten image set is all shot in the same corner of the apartment, moving a modern-designed sofa back and forth as needed, though I can’t imagine that made the downstairs neighbors all too happy. Schoof’s look is an every-day, obtainable elegance that plays well in social media; she’s not too anything, but enough that you’ll remember the look. This could be a breakout campaign for the label when it comes to grabbing a larger share of the US market.
Lucky Blue Smith, Pyper America Smith, Hailey Baldwin, & Ajak Deng for Philipp Plein by Steven Klein
When I first saw the images from this campaign I did a double take. The photos say Philipp Plein, but the look says Balmain. At least, that’s what I notice as a photographer. Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing has used this dark-toned blue-hued look in his campaigns since he became Balmain’s creative director in 2011. The high-process look has been more than a bit controversial and one that no other brand has tried for more than a season. Mario Sorrenti typically shoots the Balmain campaigns, and I’m more than a little surprised to see Steven Klein attempt to copy the look.
My primary question, for a campaign that honestly is more than a little creepy (check the video on their website), is this an attempt to steal a little of Balmain’s thunder? While the photographic looks are similar, the styles themselves are not. Plein, a former attorney, takes a much harder edge than does Rousteing. Rather than romantic, Plein’s campaign gives off a cold, fearful, metallic feel that ultimately attracts a much smaller audience. Plein has had difficulty breaking out of the Europen market and a bold step like this may get him a lot of attention. But will people actually like what they see?
I expect to see even more campaigns popping up next week. We’ll keep an eye out and let you know what’s worth our attention.
12/13/2016: 5 Things You Need To Know
Ready Or Not, Here Comes Winter
https://youtu.be/eGn8i6W1AYI
Hey there! I hope you’re ready for some white stuff falling from the sky today. The jet stream has dipped and not only are we going to see snow across most the Northern states, the temperatures over the next few days are going to get dangerously low. Those of you who have pets will want to be especially careful to limit the amount of time they spend outside. Be sure to check paws and get them nice and dry when they come in.
This is one of those days where we’re waiting to see how things develop before getting too involved in stories such as who might possibly be the next Secretary of State and just how serious the Russian hacking scandal is. We don’t want to get involved in speculation and end up delivering wrong information. We do have 5 things we’re sure about, though, so let’s take a look at those.
1. One Step Closer
This painfully long election cycle came one step closer to being over yesterday as the whole vote recount situation came to an end in all three states.1 While the numbers in Wisconsin shifted ever so slightly, the outcome remains unchanged. Efforts in Pennsylvania and Michigan were effectively blocked by federal court judges, clearing the way now for the final step of the electoral college vote next week.
Yes, there have been some rumors of rogue electors possibly changing their vote, but don’t expect much from that hullabaloo, either. First of all, it is illegal in most states for electors to change their vote. Secondly, it would require a massive defection of more than 70 electors to align the electoral college vote with the popular vote. That’s never happened in our country’s history and I’m not seeing anyone with any authority suggesting it can happen now.
The bottom line is we’re tired of this whole election process and whether we like the outcome or not we all want it to be over. The electoral college votes on Monday and that should end this election for good.
2. Death Comes Quickly
Republican members of Congress campaigned long and hard that they would overturn and replace the Affordable Care Act as quickly as they could under the new administration. That issue alone has had a number of low-income families worried about the status of their health care going into the new year. I tried making an appointment with my own doctor yesterday and was told they’re full until mid-March except for emergencies. Everyone is trying to get care in before they lose whatever coverage they may have.
Initially, Republican leadership said they would replace the ACA as they dismantle it. However, comments yesterday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicate that the replacement might not come as quickly as initially promised2. Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, is expressing some concern that the system could collapse if a replacement doesn’t accompany any repeal. He told NPR: “I don’t think the Republicans have come to grips yet that it’s going to be their responsibility to keep the wheels on Obamacare.”
America’s Health Insurance Plans — the trade group that represents health insurance companies— seems to agree. Last week they circulated a statement saying, “Making sudden, significant changes now, or mid-year, will jeopardize the coverage [those insured] depend on.”
Any move Congress makes could potentially leave upwards of 20 million Americans uninsured. Let’s hope they use the upcoming winter break to think through this matter a bit more.
3. Bickering In The Fashion World
We typically don’t get a lot of serious fashion news this time of year because everyone is focused on getting the most out of holiday sales as possible and ending the year on a high note. However, Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) reported yesterday that there seems to be a kerfluffle between Italian powerhouse Dolce & Gabbana and German designer Philipp Plein3. Plein posted a copy of a letter he received from Dolce & Gabbana’s attornies to his Instagram account on Sunday. In the letter, D&G accuses Plein of trying to “steal” at least ten Dolce & Gabbana sales associates from the label’s flagship store in Milan.
Timing is part of the issue here. Phillip Plein is opening his own new store in Milan before the end of the year. Understandably, he would want sales associates who are well connected with luxury buyers in the city. Plein already has two former D&G employees working for him and the accusation is that they have approached their former colleagues about jumping ship.
Plein said on his Instagram post: “This is a free country and everybody can choose by themselves who they want to work for!!” To a large extent, we expect he’s correct. Unless Plein’s employees are trying to solicit Dolce & Gabbana employees inside the D&G store, there’s not a lot D&G can do to stop the employees from leaving unless there is already a non-compete claus in their employment contracts.
Nothing like a little drama to end the year.
4. Golden Globe Nominations Are Out
Nominees for the diverse Golden Globe awards were announced in Beverly Hills yesterday4 and, unsurprisingly, Hollywood is all abuzz with talk about who’s in and who’s out. Best actor in a drama nods went to Casey Affleck, Joel Edgerton, Andrew Garfield, Viggo Mortensen, and Denzel Washington. Meanwhile, Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga, and Natalie Portman took the nominations on the women’s side.
Of course, with every list of nominations comes the talk about who didn’t make it5. This time, it’s Hollywood legends Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Warren Beatty who get to sit this one out. There was, apparently, expectations that all three would get nominations for their directing efforts this year, but they didn’t and that makes all their fans very sad.
What we need to remember is that the Golden Globes are “feel good” awards. Many of their categories are divided between drama and musical/comedy so that the two disparate forms don’t have to compete with each other. The list of awards and nominees is long and while some pundits like to claim these awards might be an indicator of who gets the Oscar nods early next year, there’s no real evidence to support that theory. The Oscars have their own idiosyncracies that no one actually understands.
Still, the nominations remind us that there were some really fantastic films released this year and I didn’t see most of them. Let’s hope they make it to Netflix quickly.
5. And Finally …
Speaking of largely useless lists, AdWeek has released their list of the top 10 ads for 20166. Again, this has been a good year for some very creative ad work. I’ve been very impressed with the social messages that many companies have put into their ads. Not only are the ads encouraging us to buy a product, but they’re also forcing us, in many cases, to stop and think about what we’re buying and why.
While there is plenty of reason to comment on all the ads in the list, it’s Under Amour’s ad featuring Michael Phelps that takes the top honors. The quality of the filmography plays a lot into the decision and it’s difficult to argue against such a powerful 90 seconds. The ad ran frequently throughout the Olympics and well represents the struggle, the pain, and the training athletes go through to be the best. Here’s a look at the winning ad [Note: due to player limitations, the video may not play well on some mobile devices]:
You can take a look at all ten of the winning ads on AdWeek’s website.
That’s all we’ve got for today. If you must go out, please bundle up and be extremely cautious. Don’t forget to subscribe to our posts and the videos on YouTube. Take care. We hope the rest of your day is enjoyable.
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