I don't have a TV, so I'm not exposed to many commercials--a great source for concepts. In order to come up with something for this post, I grabbed a copy of
Vogue. This month's
issue has Keira Knightley on the cover (who I absolutely love, but that's irrelevant), and--as is typical for the season--some incredible fall fashion spreads.
Now, please understand that I do love clothes but am not by any means a follower of haute couture (just as I'm not a follower of gourmet cuisine, high art, or anything so exclusive and pretentious). Some of the clothing is cool, but I can't afford any of it, the industry is generally awful, and all the severe-looking tautly thin supermodels drive me nuts. Despite all this, I find that I have an appreciation for ad campaigns that have a clear aesthetic thrust about them, especially those that focus on the style of bygone eras such as this early 20th century train-themed ad for
Louis Vuitton.
When I saw the spread for
Dolce & Gabana, I instantly fell in love with it. If I were to sum up the concept in 5 words or less, I would say it's timeless and classically Italian. The images smack of
Fellini's films,
8 1/2 in particular, as well as
Coppola's epic
Godfather II. I'm not talking about gangsters here, but the images are definitely about
la famiglia.
Although the sources of inspiration for this series of photos are easily identifiable, the old-world Italian theme is handled with such reverence and warmth and that it truly stands apart from many of the other spreads featured in the issue. The subjects in fashion photography are frequently
hard,
joyless, and
dehumanized (consider the Vuitton image, where the models' soulless eyes and expressions make them look more like ghosts than train passengers), so I love these D&G ads because they are full of life and energy: they are HUMAN.
The photos are beautifully arranged tableaux; they're theatrical, noisy, and I can almost hear people arguing animatedly in Italian. I also appreciate that the models represent a wide variety of ages and silhouettes, and the multi-generational tone is reinforcing a message that there's something for everyone at D&G (although you'd better have a fat wad in your wallet if you expect to walk away with anything other than a pair of socks). Please scroll through, click to enlarge, and enjoy,
che bellezza!
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