Giorgio Armani is calling for consumers to share Instagram pictures of themselves wearing their favourite sunglasses, as part of its spring/summer 2012 Frames of Life eyewear campaign.
Frames of Your Holiday, as it’s called, invites users to upload shots of an unforgettable moment, place or scene using the #framesoflife hashtag. The pictures will then be included in a digital photo gallery on the armani.com/framesoflife site.
The aim is to create an “entertaining visual diary”, reads the write-up. It suggests pictures that signify life at its fullest, ranging from holiday shots on the beach or in town, with friends or in total relaxation, immersed in the pure enjoyment of nature and sport, or surrounded by the charm of some distant city.
A handful of brands in Milan and Paris have been using their fashion week shows as an opportunity to release campaign videos for their current collections.
First up is Giorgio Armani with a three-minute spot based on its spring/summer 2012 campaign called “One Plus One”. Directed by Luca Guadagnino in Italy, the narrative follows the “story of a suspenseful and unsettling love triangle”, reported WWD.
“Today, fashion needs to open itself to new languages,” said the designer. “Cinema is the form of expression I have always felt the closest to. Working with Luca Guadagnino, I have had the opportunity to transform the atmosphere of my collection into a story, and it has been a stimulating experience.”
Nina Ricci has similarly unveiled a new film based on its latest campaign. Directed by photographers Inez & Vinoodh, and shot in Old Westbury in Long Island, New York, it stars model Raquel Zimmermann.
The spot will be showcased during the designer’s autumn/winter 2012/13 show at Paris Fashion Week tomorrow. It is also being broadcast in Nina Ricci stores.
And finally, Dolce & Gabbana has released a video that depicts its spring campaign “in motion”. Monica Bellucci and Bianca Balti alongside their pseudo Italian family are seen dancing, playing, talking and laughing as they pose for Giampaolo Sgura’s camera.
Alexander Wang’s spring/summer 2012 campaign video is being shown as an installation under the High Line in the Chelsea Gallery District in New York.
Starring model Liya Kebede, and directed by James Lima, it’s inspired by arcade video games and racing cars. The installation itself sees the video projected on the windows of fabricated crashed cars (as the above picture shows) using Spyeglass rear-projection film.
It was produced by Matthew Shattuck of Dissident Industries Inc. and creative director Christopher Simmonds.
A short, teaser version of the video can be seen here:
Despite a lot to live up to following the success of its Pitbull-backed dancing short last season, Lanvin has managed to outdo itself in the video stakes for spring/summer 2012, this time with a stop motion spot shot once again by Steven Meisel.
It stars models Aaron Vernon, Angus Low, Aymeline Valade, Johannes Schulze, Marte Mei van Haaster, and Othilia Simon.
Set around a somewhat debauched dinner table complete with snakes, it ties together images of the group by animating them to the tune of Maxine Ashley’s ‘Cookieman’, produced by Pharrell Williams.
First up is Marni’s H&M spot, shot by none other than Hollywood director Sofia Coppola. The ad stars actress Imogen Poots, and was filmed in Marrakesh, Morocco, at a house that Coppola once went to with friends. It is set to the soundtrack, Avalon, by Bryan Ferry:
There’s a great behind-the-scenes video here, too, in which Coppola says she wanted to do something artful that would represent Marni.
Directed by Stephanie Di Giusto, it comes accompanied with a conceptual passage describing it to be about “a stellar girl, a radiant girl who clutches onto the moon and arrives in an unknown land, on unmarred ground, as immaculate as her white ensemble”:
There have been some great spring/summer 2012 video releases this week.
First up is Prada’s Steven Meisel campaign featuring Natasha Poly, Ymre Stiekema and Katryn Kruger. Based on a 1950s Americana-theme, it’s set in a gas station complete with retro cars, killer heels and oversized sunglasses. Thelma & Louise eat your heart out.
Prada calls it a “post-modern crossroads of new horizons and economic fulfilment, a stage set where fashion, fantasy and the promise of new discoveries collide”. The musical mash-up comes courtesy of Tobacco, Sleigh Bells, Duck and Cover, Tom Recchion, and Ariel Pink…
Victoria Beckham meanwhile has introduced her new diffusion line, Victoria, Victoria Beckham, with a quirky film by Quentin Jones.
The stop-motion spot sees a model darting between cute illustrations, paper cutouts and the odd nod to the feline friends featured in the collection…
And last but not least is that from T by Alexander Wang. It features South African hip-hop group Die Antwoord, and doubles up as a promo clip for the duo’s “Fatty Boom Boom” single from their new album, Ten$ion.
“I am part of a generation that grew up with MTV, and obviously with music, and having it all work together made it a really fun project,” said Wang…
Longchamp unveiled the first in a seven-part drama series called Heels, based on life at a fictional fashion magazine, today.
Three-minute webisodes follow the crazy life of young fashion editor at Shine magazine, Alice Valois, and her relationship with “number one enemy”, and new editor-in-chief, Trisha Barton.
Created by Nicolas Pier Morin and produced by The Makers Entertainment, the story, narrated from Valois’ perspective, never reveals the actors’ faces, rather focusing on items from the French luxury brand’s spring/summer 2012 line.
Marie-Sabine Leclercq, international communications director for Longchamp, said: “This collaboration is the ideal way for the brand to communicate its collection throughout the fashion world.”
The show is being streamed exclusively in France, Germany and the UK on aufeminin.com over the next five weeks, where fans can also shop each look seen. It will launch in Korea, Japan, China and the US in 2012.
