Ten of our favourite campaigns from the Spring/Summer 2020 season
Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2020
“Each look tells its own story,” says Sarah Burton of her Spring/Summer 2020 collection for Alexander McQueen. “I was interested in clarity and paring things down, in the essence of garments – stripping back to the toile.” An accompanying campaign, photographed by Jamie Hawkesworth and starring models Vivien Solari, Felice Noordhoff and Imaan Hammam, captures the collection in similarly pared-down setting – a sunlit, white-washed room which gives way to dramatic beachfront views, backdropping Burton’s heartfelt collection.
Vivienne Westwood Spring/Summer 2020
Naomi Campbell first walked for Vivienne Westwood 33 years ago; in January, the legendary supermodel was revealed as the face of Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood’s latest campaign, photographed by Juergen Teller. “I believe things in life come along when they are meant to,” Campbell said. “It’s taken 33 years to do a Westwood Campaign and I’m so happy to be doing it in my 49th year. It’s meant to be when it’s meant to be.” Kronthaler and Westwood star alongside in the typically irreverent images.
Bottega Veneta Spring/Summer 2020
Bottega Veneta was 2019’s most-talked about label – in December, its recently installed creative director Daniel Lee took home a record-breaking four Fashion Awards. Earlier this year, the brand released its latest campaign, photographed by Tyrone Lebon. Starring models Mica Argañaraz and Edoardo Sebastianelli, the sensual images capture an endless summer onboard a yacht, replete with all the most covetable items from Lee’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection – mirror-ball pumps, intrecciato accessories and those monkey prints.
Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2020
Demna Gvasalia’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection for Balenciaga was shown in a EU blue-hued space which recalled Europe’s in-the-round parliament; the campaign which followed satirised another facet of the political process: the campaign trail. Accompanied by typically non-specific political slogans – ‘Love Is For Everyone’, ‘Power of Dreams’ and ‘We Vote For Tomorrow’ and the like – the various images are captured by Laurence Chaperon, known primarily for his political portraiture of figures like Angela Merkel.
Givenchy Spring/Summer 2020
In January, Marc Jacobs and Charlotte Rampling broke the fashion internet with a surreal viral video campaign for Givenchy, which saw them repeating one another’s names until nonsensical (it was apparently a satire of the Meisner technique, developed by theatre practitioner Sanford Meisner in which repetition is used to reveal an actor’s innermost feelings). An accompanying series of images, photographed by AnOther Magazine contributor Craig McDean, shows the unlikely pairing in Clare Waight Keller’s 90s-inspired collection, evoking the “liberated, self-assured allure that is so emblematic of Givenchy ready-to-wear and accessories”.
Dior Spring/Summer 2020
Maria Grazia Chiuri was inspired by the life and legacy of Christian Dior’s sister, Catherine, for her Spring/Summer 2020 collection. Catherine was a resistance fighter in the Second World War, and afterwards became a celebrated botanist and gardener; as such, the showspace in Paris recreated a wild garden, and floral motifs echoed throughout the collection. For the corresponding campaign, photographer Brigitte Niedermair captures the collection in what Dior describes as a “summery series of images”, honing in on wildflower embroidery, raffia details, and tie-dye pieces, all set against a suitably botanical backdrop.
Loewe Autumn/Winter 2020
A triptych of images make up Loewe’s latest campaign, which was previewed earlier this year with a Steven Meisel-shot portrait of American soccer player Megan Rapinoe. The athlete once again stars – “Rapinoe shouts, holding her head as in an explosion of madness, or hunger, inciting a gut reaction,” the notes describe – alongside a still-life image of the ‘Balloon’ bag and a trio of models in the Autumn/Winter 2020 collection, all photographed by Meisel. “Across the whole campaign, the fourth wall is constantly dismantled,” the house says. “The viewer is called in, looked right in the eyes and asked to react.”
JW Anderson Spring/Summer 2020
Following last season, American photographer Tyler Mitchell captures JW Anderson’s Spring/Summer 2020 campaign, alongside longtime Jonathan Anderson collaborator Benjamin Bruno, who styles. The carefree images see street-cast models shot on sunlit backdrops of suburban streets, bouncing on trampolines, or elevated high into the air above oversized tricycles, in the men’s and women’s collections. “In Mitchell’s signature style, the images feel young and carefree, aligning perfectly with JW Anderson’s playful ethic,” says the brand.
Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2020
Regular AnOther Magazine contributor and longtime Raf Simons collaborator Willy Vanderperre captures the Belgian designer’s Spring/Summer 2020 campaign. Shot on a minimal white background, the stark images see a group of models in the collection, which memorably saw ‘My Own Private Antwerp’ run as a motif in the clothing, in reference to the seminal Gus Van Sant movie and Simons’ own home city. The logo of R&S Records – the legendary 1990s record label based in Belgium, which famously brought Aphex Twin to fame – appears in the images, as it did across the collection itself.
Birkenstock Spring/Summer 2020
For the last few seasons, Birkenstock has released 'Personality Campaigns’, whereby the shoe brand has eschewed models in the stead of specially curated portfolios of creatives. Vogue legend Grace Coddington has starred in one of these campaigns, as well as AnOther contributor Jack Davison, among others. This season, the label has cast a fellow shoe-maker – or rather the shoe-maker – Mr Manolo Blahnik, alongside his niece and the CEO of his company, Kristina Blahnik.