From Gucci recreating Noah’s Ark to Violet Chachki channelling Marilyn Monroe for Prada, these are the campaigns to remember from the past year
1. Gucci, Cruise 2019
I’ve always been a firm believer that if there’s one thing that can improve any fashion image, it’s the inclusion of animals. Case in point: Gucci’s Cruise 2019 campaign which, in addition to the house’s latest wares, featured lambs, chickens, bunnies, elephants, llamas, kangaroos, raccoons and one (presumably CGI but we may never know for sure) tiger. Alessandro Michele has done it again. Oh Noah she better don’t. TS
2. Celine, Summer 2019
Hedi Slimane began his tenure at the Parisian house of Celine earlier this year by removing the accent and fly-postering a pre-show campaign in cities around the world – photographed, of course, by Slimane himself. His S/S19 campaign – following a show which drew on the decadent after-dark activities of Paris’s youth – is shot in similar style, with Hannah Motler (who also opened the show) captured in a series of square-shaped diptychs. Velvet sofas, ruffled satin sheets and an abundance of sequins set the tone, marking an entirely new era for the house. JM
3. Vivienne Westwood & Burberry
“She was one of the first designers who made me dream of becoming a designer myself,” said Riccardo Tisci of British designer Vivienne Westwood, who he collaborated with in his new role as chief creative officer of Burberry earlier this month. Cue a capsule collection of Westwood’s most memorable pieces – including lace-up platform boots, kilts and supersized-collar shirts – reimagined in Burberry plaid. The accompanying campaign, photographed by David Sims, has an equally memorable cast, numbering Kate Moss, LadyFag, Andreas Kronthaler and Dame Westwood herself. JM
4. Victoria Beckham Celebrates Ten Years
To celebrate ten years of her eponymous label, Victoria Beckham got meta: in September, she recreated her iconic 2008 Juergen Teller-shot campaign for Marc Jacobs, which involved the now-designer, then-songstress, clawing her way out of a human-sized Marc Jacobs carrier bag. This time, the human-sized bag was from her own eponymous label, proving quite how far she’s come. “When Marc Jacobs featured me coming out of a shopping bag a decade ago it really was just the beginning of my journey into the fashion industry,” she said on Instagram when she revealed the campaign. “So what better way to illustrate the story of the past ten years?” JM
5. Prada, Autumn/Winter 2018 starring Violet Chachki
Come through! Prada’s Autumn/Winter 2018 film shot by AnOther contributor Willy Vanderperre starred none other than drag artist and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season seven, Violet Chachki. In it, Chachki, who has previously modelled for Jeremy Scott for Moschino and London-based designer Dilara Findikoglu, serves Marilyn Monroe realness in a blonde wig and cinched white dress alongside model Amanda Murphy and actress Sarah Paulson. The combination of Prada, Willy, Violet and a Marilyn Monroe reference was more than enough to land this campaign in our top ten of the year. TS
6. Woolrich Autumn/Winter 2018 starring Lauryn Hill
While her daughter Selah Marley has become a regular fixture on both the runway and in campaigns, this year Lauryn Hill herself starred in an advertisement – Woolrich Autumn/Winter 2018. Shot by AnOther contributor, Essex-born photographer Jack Davison, the queen of hip hop appears in the ad wearing a red plaid jacket and a crystal-encrusted parka – that, and some dramatic blue eye make-up. Arriving on the 20th anniversary of her seminal album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, this campaign was especially timely – we loved it. TS
7. JW Anderson, Autumn/Winter 2018
Instead of enlisting an established photographer to shoot his A/W18 campaign, Jonathan Anderson opted for upcoming international image-makers in an open-to-all initiative called Your Picture / Our Future. Of the 1,800 18-to-30-year-olds who submitted samples of their work, 50 were shortlisted to take part in an accompanying exhibition, while three winners – UK-based Julie Greve, Simons Finnerty from the US and Yelena Beletskaya from Russia – were selected to shoot the campaign. From romantic portrayals of girlhood, to playful self-portraiture and abstract, smoke-filled shots, the three photographers created distinct visuals to accompany the brand’s A/W18 offering. EP
8. Loewe, Spring/Summer 2018
Jonathan Anderson looked to the art world for Loewe’s Spring/Summer 2018 campaign, and offered a modern interpretation of the storied tradition of fruit in art. Italian model and former AnOther cover star Vittoria Ceretti features in a series of photographs by Steven Meisel – with whom Jonathan Anderson has long collaborated with for Loewe’s campaign imagery – holding halved fruits in her mouth, from a melon to a mangosteen. Graphic make-up by Pat McGrath to match each fruit’s characteristics – glossy eyelids, red blush and pithy white lashes for the pomegranate shot, for example – makes for a delectable series of images indeed. BH
9. Balenciaga, Spring/Summer 2018
To showcase its S/S18 collection, Balenciaga debuted a paparazzi-inspired campaign shot by French press photo agency Best Image and styled by Demna Gvasalia’s longtime collaborator Lotta Volkova. In the images, captured in front of the brand’s Paris store on Rue Saint Honoré, models are portrayed hiding their faces with Balenciaga’s S/S18 bags while being escorted to black vans by assertive-looking bodyguards. Releasing the campaign on Instagram, one image every hour, Balenciaga left followers refreshing their feeds like they would do for an unfolding news story. EP
10. Tippi Hedren for Gucci jewellery and timepieces
Earlier this year, Gucci transported us to a mysterious world of tarot cards and palm reading, at the centre of which was a fortune-telling Tippi Hedren. For the Italian house’s jewellery and timepiece campaign, the legendary actress looks into her crystal ball to read the futures of models adorned with Gucci gems (“all your dreams will come true,” she concludes). Shot by Colin Dodgson, this eccentric universe is exactly the kind of elusive and mesmerising decadence we’ve come to expect from Alessandro Michele’s Gucci. BH