Valentino Launches Ad Campaign Photographed in London
● Called “Portrait of a Generation,” the campaign will bow in mid-May first online and then in print.
MILAN — Valentino is launching a new campaign for the brand's "Promenade" fall 2022 womenswear collection and for its "After Club" fall 2022 menswear collection.
Called “Portrait of a Generation,” the campaign will bow in mid-May first online and then in print.
The photos by Michael Bailey-Gates were taken on the streets at Arnold Circus, East London, with models posing on furniture as if it were left on the curb for others to take.
The gardens at Arnold Circus are cared for and planted by volunteers from the community and Valentino has made a donation to the Friends of Arnold Circus for the shoot. “I love that the community takes care of the place,” said creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli. “It is an idea of a city that I like. You share something, you take care of something together.”
Piccioli involved fashion critic Charlie Porter, who lives in the same area of Shoreditch where the photos were lensed and is part of the Friends of Arnold Circus, to communicate the campaign.
The designer said this London area reminded him of Rome, which is "about all these layers of eras, people and cultures. It is the harmony of what is different, in an effortless beauty that comes from all layers together in balance. I always think my work is to take a new picture of something that you know already. I do it with new life and new shapes, so you view the landscape from my way of seeing.”
For the campaign, pairing the clothes in new ways was key for Piccioli. “When Mr. Valentino started designing, there were so many rules for how you wore clothes. Now, fashion is about selfrealization. This collection is shifting Valentino to this new world, giving new meaning to the codes and values.”
A floor-length dragon print silk shirt, for example, can be worn as a dress, a summer coat, “we don't need to define it,” said Piccioli, “wear it however you want.” A cropped striped sweater is seen worn with a utilitarian jacket, miniskirt and Valentino Garavani sneakers. This also contributed to conveying the message of diversity and inclusion dear to Piccioli, as he continues to build a community around the brand. “I like that these designs have a sense of freedom, forgetting rules and going into the next chapter in a very free way.”
Quotes by the models are superimposed on some of the photos to underscore their personalities.
For the menswear "After Club" campaign, Piccioli tapped Italian singer Blanco, who in February won the Sanremo song festival with Mahmood wearing Valentino — a go-to brand for the artist at several red carpet events.