ShopDiary

Louis Vuitton to Run Ads on TV and in Movie Theaters

Coming soon to a TV or movie theatre near you: the very first Louis Vuitton commercial. The fashion house founded in 1854 as a leather luggage company wants to reinforce its travel heritage and reach out to potential new customers. The commercials were filmed in four cities in China as well as in India, Spain and France and will feature artsy and dreamlike images of people in exotic locales as questions like “What is a journey?” flash on the screen. They will air on February 15 in 15 countries and run in select high end theatres and cable and satellite channels.

Hhmm, will this move even lower the stature of Louis Vuitton as a luxury brand? Not content with dominating the lion’s share of global sales among luxury labels, Louis Vuitton is seeking even more customers, possibly in new markets like China, India and Russia.

[via WWD]

Prada S/S 08: Sasha Pivovarova by Steven Meisel

What is a Prada ad without Sasha Pivovarova? The Russian model has fronted Prada ad campaigns for several seasons now, can you imagine one without her? In fact, Miuccia Prada loves Sasha so much that they’ve used multiple images of her for their Spring/Summer 2008 ad campaign shot by photographer Steven Miesel. And I think it works! While I was unsure about the collection when I first saw it on the runway, I absolutely adore the ads. The artwork on the walls by Los Angeles based illustrator James Jean complement the prints on the fabrics and bags. Is that Sasha’s face painted on the wall? And the printed bags! I didn’t notice them on the runway (Update: They weren’t seen on the runway) but now I almost have a yearning to have one, although I have a self imposed ban on buying Prada bags after reading Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster. Those bell bottom pants four photos down look fascinating too. Sure, they won’t look good on me and I don’t have any desire to buy them but I just love looking at them.

Anyhow, enough of the gushing. What do you think of the Prada ads?

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Dolce & Gabbana S/S 08 Women’s Ad Campaign

Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring/Summer 2008 Women’s Ad Campaign features models Jessica Stam, Gemma Ward, Lily Donaldson with photography by Steven Klein. The campaign follows Dolce & Gabbana’s vision for the season - a perfect fusion of fashion and art - with hand painted dresses shot in an artist’s studio setting. Unlike previous seasons, the statement wasn’t about sex, which is what one would expect from the fashion house, but about refinement. What a visual extravaganza!

Click through for more high resolution photos.
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Miu Miu S/S 08 Ads: Kirsten Dunst by Mert & Marcus

Kirsten Dunst is the latest celebrity face for Miu Miu and she appears in their Spring/Summer 2008 ads. The campaign was shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott in Los Angeles from November 19-21, 2007 in the duo’s signature slick, saturated colors.

Miuccia Prada has always liked having celebrities front for Miu Miu campaigns, using stars such as Kim Basinger, Selma Blair, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Lindsay Lohan. Miu Miu is set to expand even further in the US this year with new stores planned for New York and Los Angeles, so having a Hollywood actress front a campaign makes sense.

And while celebrities can sometimes have a polarizing effect on the public, it’s great that, like Lindsay Lohan before her, Kirsten’s face is not the focus of the photos. That way it doesn’t turn off those who dislike her. You focus on the products, not the celebrity. Love how Kirsten’s reclined position makes her look taller than she actually is.

Mert and Marcus did a fantastic job with this campaign!

[via TFS]

Gisele Bundchen for Versace S/S 08

Speaking of Gisele Bundchen, here’s an ad that she shot for Versace’s Spring Summer 2008 ads with photographer Mario Testino. The ad campaign is still slightly raunchy minus the tackiness of Versace’s previous seasons. It’s simple and sexy yet classy. What an oxymoron for Versace which is usually known for tacky! We’re not big Gisele/Versace fans but we give this ad a thumbs up. And look at those mile long legs. Love those shoes too!

[via TFS]

Jennifer Connelly for Balenciaga S/S 08

Jennifer Connelly is a beautiful woman and the silhouettes of the dresses seen on the runway for Balenciaga’s Spring 2008 are amazing but we feel that this ad campaign was a major miss. The photos look straight out of an editorial for Instyle Magazine. Boring! They could have chosen a long legged model like Gisele Bundchen, who would have rocked those lace up boots that look ill fitting on Jennifer. Or Daria Werbowy who shot an editorial for British Vogue’s February 2008 issue. Big difference, no?

More photos from the Balenciaga Spring 2008 ad campaign are here.

[Images via TFS/BlueJeans]

Burberry Spring 2008 Ad Campaign

Burberry throws in a punch of color for its Spring 2008 ads. There’s still the usual neutral shades of grays, blacks, whites and creams but with a jolt of teal and a sprinkling of purple mixed in. The ad projects an energetic if a bit disjointed vibe and is supposed to represent a “new young Brit regime.” Shot by Mario Testino, it features models Agyness Deyn, Lily Donaldson, Coco Sumner (Sting’s daughter), actor Eddie Redmayne and members of the British rock group Blondelle.

[via Fashion Weekly Daily]

The Making of Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2008 Ad Campaign

The full video of the making of Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2008 ad campaign is now up on louisvuitton.com. The campaign brings together six of the twelve supermodels who walked the catwalk in September carrying Richard Prince monogrammed bags. Bombshell type models Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour, Eva Herzigova, Angela Lindvall and Natalia Vodianova evoke the Louis Vuitton woman who, according to creative director Marc Jacobs, “is glossy and glamorous regardless of what the trends are.” The campaign, which WWD likened to an issue of Hot Rod magazine, was photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot with Richard Prince volunteering his 1970 Dodge Challenger for the shoot. Zoe Cassavetes directed the video shot at Spring Studios in London. Watch it here. Screen captures from the video are below. My favorite part is when Marc Jacobs leans in with the six supermodels for a shot. Priceless! Now, I’d pay to see THAT photo.

[via LouisVuitton.com]

Gossip Girl Gap Tidings Ads

How cute are they? Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley and Ed Westwick of Gossip Girl recently posed together wearing colorful Gap scarves for a fun photo shoot in the Gap Tidings Mobile Studio. This isn’t for an official Gap ad but you can bet that this subtle tie in was a smart move by Gap. The mobile studio/truck will be at designated New York City locations until mid-December. So you too can take pictures with friends and family and create your very own GapTiding video greeting. What a fun idea!

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer

Sasha Pivovarova, Daria Werbowy, Lily Donaldson, Lily Cole and Du Juan

Join Fashion Targets Breast Cancer in battling breast cancer by purchasing this limited edition polo shirt designed by Ralph Lauren available exclusively at Net-a-Porter for $75. FTBC is a worldwide charitable initiative of the Council of Fashion Designers of America/CFDA Foundation Inc. Since its launch in 1994, FTBC has raised over $40 million for breast cancer charities in 13 countries. WWD reports that “more products will be unveiled in the coming months from designers including Rachel Roy, Diane von Furstenberg and Oscar de la Renta. The net proceeds from all items purchased, whether in the U.S. or abroad, will stay in the customer’s country. The goal, according to a spokesman, is to raise more than $2 million after one year.”

If the photo above reminds you of this shot from the 90s, it’s because both were shot by Patrick Demarchelier. View the behind the scenes video from the day of the photo shoot here. Sasha smiles but does not speak!
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