What happens when the world goes into a lockdown during the time where most fashion brands are busy working on next season’s campaign?
You get creative.
At the first peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in April this year, many fashion creatives found themselves stuck at home due to countrywide movement restrictions and travel bans. And while this was good news for baking goods suppliers and home fitness instructors, it meant that the fashion industry’s biggest names had to find another way to get their Autumn/Winter 2020 campaigns shot.
So rather than put together a mega production like they normally would under usual circumstances, several brands got creative with the concept of a selfie.
Once deemed as perhaps the simplest and easiest form of photography, selfie-driven ad campaigns were born out of a necessity to create branding images that responded to the mood and the times.
First, there was Jacquemus, whose ad campaign featured a lithe Bella Hadid striking poses in front of her FaceTime app. Shot entirely on the two-way video chatting app that comes with most Apple products, Hadid worked with photographer Pierre-Ange Carlotti and designer Simon Porte Jacquemus to create a series of intimate photographs within the confines of a white room in Hadid’s home. Aptly called “Jacquemus At Home”, Hadid dons everything from a soft blue bodysuit to an oversized white suit with lilac sunglasses.
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Bella Hadid stars in Jacquemus’ A/W20 campaign, shot entirely on FaceTime.Image: Jacquemus -
Bella Hadid stars in Jacquemus’ A/W20 campaign, shot entirely on FaceTime.Image: Jacquemus
Following this, Valentino’s A/W20 campaign brought out the star power in a series of self-photographed shots that featured the likes of Shu Qi, Christy Turlington and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Titled #VALENTINOEMPATHY, the collection traversed the globe into the different homes of the campaign stars for a surprisingly candid and humanistic collection of images. Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand stands in her outdoor shower with a massive feathered hat, while Naomi Campbell stands poolside in an embroidered black coat.
“We are always connected through empathy, as we are all made of emotions”, says creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli. “We have become stronger through the connections within our own community.”
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Gwyneth Paltrow lounges at home for Valentino’s A/W20 campaign.Image: Valentino -
Shu Qi poses for Valentino’s A/W20 campaign.Image: Valentino -
Christy Turlington is joined by James Turlington and Cameron Grace Carter for Valentino’s A/W20 campaign.Image: Valentino
Rounding out the trifecta of self-shot campaigns is Gucci’s A/W20 campaign. Typically involving a huge production that builds fantasy worlds around the collection, creative director Alessandro Michele decided to lean on the creative instincts of his model-muses by entrusting them to shoot the collection in the safety of their own homes.
The result? A series of raw, expressive photographs that saw models climbing up on rooftops or showing off freshly-harvested produce in their kitchens. It’s imaginative, whimsical and everything that we know and love Gucci for.
