Fashion

How to plan for an uncertain future, according to fashion’s AW21 campaigns

09.09.2021

By Kelly Lim

How to plan for an uncertain future, according to fashion’s AW21 campaigns

It’s the middle of September, meaning we’re one week into (a largely in-person) fashion month and this season’s collections have hit the stores. With climbing vaccination rates and the rest of the world returning to an IRL environment, there’s never been a more confusingly hopeful time than now. It makes sense then, that the recent Autumn/Winter 2021 campaigns spoke to that feeling as fashion’s always had the propensity to reflect the zeitgeist. From Salvatore Ferragamo‘s positive optimism to Prada’s exploration of our deprivation of physical touch, what better way to ring out the final quarter of 2021 than to get inspired by what fashion had to say about our recent past and near future?  

Below, a round-up of our favourite campaigns of the season, and their main takeaways: 

Versace

Life can change at any age 

With a red-haired Dua Lipa at the helm, Versace says you can reinvent yourself anytime, anywhere and anyway that you desire––the power is in your hands! Lensed by renowned duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the singer takes her title as an official Versace girl in the brand’s latest campaign.  Accompanying her fiery hair transformation is an equally red-hot reinterpretation of Versace’s iconic 1988 Greek Key motif La Greca, which has been designed as a 3D print with sharp angles and bold colour palettes across a line of accessories and apparel. Dua moves through the La Greca labyrinth with a sense of dynamism and fearlessness that can only mean she’ll find her way out. 

Burberry 

It’s all a matter of perspective 

Opposing ideas and different viewpoints, combined with the freedom of expression to break with convention makes up the journey towards building a better future. 

“This season is very much about freedom of expression and the importance of exploring creativity,” says Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci in a statement. And so, for the campaign, he built upon those notions through the two different creative perspectives, juxtaposing raw, classical studio stills by photographers Mert and Marcus with the bold candids of photographer Chris Rhodes to celebrate an exploration of fluidity and the power of individuality. From enveloping fur coats and chequered capes to glittering high-neck party dresses that demand us to dance the night away in, the clothes came together to thread a tale of duality drenched in the brand’s affinity for the great outdoors. 

Prada 

Don’t be afraid to feel 

Feelings – emotions and senses, intimacy and tactility. The Fall Winter 2021 Prada campaign, showcasing the collections for women and men designed by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, is an exploration of the evocation of feeling.

To feel has connotations both sensorial and emotional – rather than intellectual discourse, it is about instinct, spontaneity. Photographed by David Sims, each image is implicitly a fragment of an independent narrative – yet presented in serial, laid side-by-side, these photographs form a new abstract story of their own, expressing emotion. Deeper than appearance, this campaign is about what feels like Prada.

This narrative will come to life through a variety of experimental activations during Fall 2021, spanning digital and physical – life, re-fashioned, through the lens of Prada. Real-world spaces and quotidian objects will be enveloped in tactile patterns drawn from the Fall Winter 2021 Prada collection, alongside building façades also featured in the campaign imagery – objects and places that can be touched, felt.

The Prada Fall Winter 2021 campaign as a whole is a proposition, a proposal – positing a vision of a brand, intentionally multi-faceted, to reflect its complex and ever-transforming nature. It is that which – always – feels like Prada.

Salvatore Ferragamo 

Tomorrow might just be brighter 

looks to the future –– film campaign by German filmmaker and three-time Academy Award nominated Wim Wenders

post-modern, multi-dimensional video to reflect the excitement of the futures potential and the myriad of possibilities that await us. 

futuristic narrative that becomes entwined in a sweet romance story ; tale within a tale 

24-image portfolio captured by Vito Fernicola accompanies the film 

positive optimism during a time that is generally bleak and dystopian 

The idea of the technologically advanced and conceptually futuristic collection is translated by Mr. Wenders into an exhilarating campaign that is simultaneously light-hearted.Salvatore Ferragamo stated that the goal of this campaign is to appeal to those who are determined to shape their own destinies in a positive fashion by promoting a progressive message.

marks the latest chapter that goes back to the starting point of founder Salvatore Ferragamo’s Hollywood Boot Shop in 1923

Louis Vuitton

Photographed in Normandy, France, Nicolas Ghesquière’s Fall-Winter 2021 collection pays reference to a different era, perpetuating the Maison’s Spirit of Travel. Reflecting on Greco-Roman antiquity, the collection incorporates the exquisitely illustrated world of Italian artistic design atelier Fornasetti, also putting forward rich embroideries that highlight the Maison’s savoir-faire and craftsmanship. Explore the selection at http://on.louisvuitton.com/6051y5YHH

For his AW21 campaign, Nicolas Ghesquiere has trundled his models – including Mona Tougaard, Clementine Balcaen, and Kris DeGirolamo – along the pebbly beaches of northern France. While they balance on slippery, shiny, plinths, the collection is illuminated by early morning light. Shot by David Sims, Ghesquiere’s autumn outing is soundtracked by Daftpunk’s “Around the World” – an homage to Louis Vuitton’s heritage in travel and tourism.

Jimmy Choo

Dare to live the life you’ve always dreamed of

Hailey Bieber titled TIME TO DARE. Hailey is the perfect embodiment of Jimmy Choo’s spirit – glamourous, sexy, alluring, daring and confident. The Autumn 2021 collection’s bold silhouettes and vivid colors talk to multiple facets of style, from day to night.

Captured on location in Los Angeles by Pierre-Ange Carlotti, the campaign explores exaggerated panoramas and intimate close-ups. Hailey’s gaze is confident, playful and magnetic. She’s on top of her world, living the life she dares.

This season marks a new chapter for Jimmy Choo. Hailey brings to life the modern glamour that defines our brand.” Hannah Colman, CEO

“Hailey is the embodiment of the Jimmy Choo spirit today – glamourous, sexy, alluring, daring and confident. She perfectly encapsulates the DNA that is the core of our brand. I love her energy, style and her innate confidence that comes through in each of the images. I am so thrilled we were able to work together to create such a beautiful campaign.” Sandra Choi, Creative Director

The Autumn 2021 Women’s collection is inherently glamorous, bold shapes and colors talk to multiple facets of style, from day to night.

Miu Miu

Be brave, be bold and on top of it all, be yourself 

exploring the power of clothes as a conveyance of character, an expression of strength.

The hero of this Miu Miu campaign is the actor Emma Corrin, captured in a direct and arresting series of studio portraits, her gaze in each an echo of female archetypes – joyful and reflective, serious or seductive – photographed by Steven Meisel with creative direction by M/M Paris.

Miu Miu celebrates bravery, boldness – it is rooted in and inspired by communities of women, in the power of the collective. Accompanying the print campaign, a series of five short films allow Corrin to reinvent herself once more – as different characters, within different personae. Corrin reads aloud a series of anecdotes, recollections, remembrances – recounting memories, true and imaginary, in her own voice and those of others. Again, lines are blurred: is Corrin acting, or actual – are these her words, or a script?

Giorgio Armani 

Coach 

We’re stronger together

Kate Spade

Stay on the move