Vintage Advertising
Fashion insiders and fans from LinkedIn to Instagram are complaining about the current state of fashion advertising. And with good reason, since much of it is boring: Looking at a variety of houses, it’s the same top name photographers shooting campaigns on white backgrounds with no narrative and blank-starring models. Yes, as a marketing tactic, this keeps the focus on the product, but in the most uninteresting way possible.
Fashion brands and their creative directors are supposed to be visionaries, and with the variety of media outlets available to brands today, they have more ways than ever to connect with audiences. Which is why it is so disheartening to see creative directors and their marketing teams relying on unimaginative, formulaic campaign ideas. Creativity should once again be the driving force behind campaign development—after all, aren’t fashion brands supposed to help us dream?
Still from Chanel ÉGOÏSTE by Jean Paul Goode.
It’s time to return to the statement-making, imaginative spirit of fashion advertising from the '70s through the '90s. Think Benetton and Fiorucci’s vibrant, multicultural campaigns by Oliviero Toscani, or Mario Testino’s provocative imagery for Tom Ford’s Gucci. Commes des Garçons pushed boundaries with offbeat ads by artists like Cindy Sherman, Keizo Kitajima and Peter Lindbergh. Unforgettable black-and-white campaigns also redefined brand identity—Yohji Yamamoto’s 1993 campaign of children in oversized shirts (shot by Ferdinando Scianna), Diesel’s iconic sailor kiss by David LaChapelle, Moschino’s 1999 protest-inspired ads by Satoshi Saikusa, and Calvin Klein’s raw portraits of a young Kate Moss by Herb Ritts and Mario Sorrenti.
Beauty photography also explored new ground. Think of the great Victor Skrebneski who lensed classic visuals for Estee Lauder with Karen Graham and supermodel Paulina Porizkova. Or Serge Lutens’ graphic work for Shiseido and makeup artist and photographer Francois Nars’ stark portraits featuring his bold beauty looks.
And don’t forget commercials. While we all think of video as being the primary format for engaging social media audiences today, commercials were a major brand-builder during the TV era. I’m thinking specifically of the Chanel commercials directed by Ridley Scott and Jean-Paul Goude for No. 5 and Egoiste, respectively, that were surreal yet powerful visual statements.
Fashion advertising could be far more compelling than it is today—brands and creative directors just need to break away from the current wave of sameness.
Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle courtesy of Dmitry Melnikov / Shutterstock.
