After a year dominated by surrealism and mundane, now more and more brands are opting for campaigns that embrace reality and every-day life.
Pics from Bottega Veneta “Readymade” campaign
If you want to succeed you need to be different banal, as demonstrated by the most renowned fashion houses.
Bottega Veneta’s Pre-Spring 2024 campaign, titled “Readymade,” celebrates the ordinary aspects of life. Released on December 5th, the campaign captures mundane moments featuring celebrities like top models and singers. These images depict them engaging in everyday activities such as grocery shopping, refueling their cars, sipping lattes, and going for a jog, all dressed in Bottega Veneta.
Rather than resembling typical fashion photography, the images have a candid, paparazzi-style aesthetic—because they were indeed taken by paparazzi. In fact, the pictures used in the campaign were originally published by TMZ and People two months earlier, without the Bottega Veneta logo on them.
While the first half of the year saw extravagant marketing tactics such as Jacquemus’ life-size CGI floating handbags, recent trends indicate a shift towards subtler campaigns. An example is Gucci, which last September unveiled paparazzi-style photos featuring ex-couple Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner at the airport with Gucci luggage. According to Riccardo Zanola, the art director behind several of Gucci’s latest campaigns, the reason behind these choices is that “people want to be related to. We’ve been dreaming too much about other places, other spaces, other worlds.”
This shift reflects the ongoing dynamics within the luxury sector, from reduced demand and economic uncertainty to high interest rates and inflation. As a result of these factors, a more subdued mood has emerged, with “quiet luxury” becoming a prevalent theme on both runways and fashion campaigns.
The trend forecasters at the Pantone Color Institute predicted that in 2024 people will be looking for serenity and community, suggesting Peach Fuzz as the color that embodies these feelings. At the same time, Mario Ortelli, managing director at luxury advisory Ortelli&Co, believes that “fashion and luxury trends are always somehow linked to the spirit of the time. There are times which are more extroverted and there are times where things are more subdued and introverted […] It’s not the moment of the glittery image.”
Ortelli’s opinion perfectly represents the current trend in brand strategies for their latest fashion campaigns, from Bottega Veneta and Gucci, to Louis Vuitton and Tory Burch.
Bottega Veneta
The Bottega Veneta “Readymade” campaign originates from Matthieu Blazy’s vision to explore perverse banality and to elevate the ordinary. In a November interview, he expressed his fascination with the idea of clothes that are designed for everyday use and apparently look boring, but that at the same time “only the person wearing it knows it’s something very special.”
Blazy’s campaign helped to make an impact on the brand’s social platforms: in 48 hours, it drew in $2.8 million in Media Impact Value, as measured by Launchmetrics.
Gucci
Gucci is shifting towards a more relatable aesthetic following a period of slower growth. While the former creative director Alessandro Michele’s exalted kitschy maximalism, the brand’s first few campaigns under new creative director Sabato De Sarno emphasize practicality, wearability and functionality.
An example is the airport campaign, in which Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny wore clothes normally used for flying, like casual trousers, sweatshirts and trainers. In another campaign released last October, actor Paul Mescal appeared wearing a simple combination of a white t-shirt and horsebit loafers.
These pics perfectly reach Zanola’s goal to keep the campaigns straightforward and easily understandable, in addition to De Sarno’s objective of telling stories in real environments.
Louis Vuitton
In Pharrell’s first Louis Vuitton campaign, Rihanna was pictured carrying a coffee cup while holding her Speedy bag, giving the impression of being on a daily errand. The pop singer was selected for the campaign during her pregnancy because she is “a symbol of human empowerment and the quintessential everyday icon,” the house wrote.
Tory Burch
Tory Burch chose as a set for its Fall/Winter 2023 campaign the everyday setting of a train station. The set perfectly represents the idea behind the brand’s FW23 collection, thought to be an ode to strength, simplicity and confidence. Every item in the collection has been crafted with one purpose in mind: versatility. Whether it’s being mixed with another piece, layered, or individualized, the goal is to give wearers the freedom to express themselves.
All these campaigns are perfect examples of this new, relaxed and logo-less interpretation of luxury. Thus far, they have succeeded, as they managed to anticipate changes in people’s thinking and in social environment developments. Being pioneers has undoubtedly captured attention. But as we look ahead to future seasons, will this trend of simplicity continue, or are we in for a return to maximalism and opulence?
By Corinna Povia
Sources:
Why Banal Is Big in Fashion’s Latest Campaigns, The Business of Fashion
Rihanna’s Full Louis Vuitton Men’s Campaign Is a Stunning Portrait of Her Pregnancy, Elle
Strength & Simplicity: Tory Burch Fall Winter 2023 Collection, Design Scene
