2015 has been a turbulent year for fashion, and a defining year for campaigns. Bored of generic beauty, high-profile designers have instead turned to unexpected icons to front ads – From Saint Laurent’s Music Project, which saw Slimane turn his lens to legends such as Eric Burdon and Joni Mitchell, to Phoebe Philo’s casting of literary hero Joan Didion as the face of Céline, this year campaigns have been defined by unconventional stars. 

Perhaps the most unexpected choice of them all was made by designer Jonny Johansson, the forward-thinking creative director behind Stockholm-based Acne Studios. When tasked with casting the face of the brand’s AW15 womenswear collection, he began to think about the next generation of fashion. Naturally, his thoughts turned toward the next generation of his own family, resulting in a campaign that starred his 11-year-old son Frasse in a series of looks including a dusty pink overcoat and statement facial jewellery. Then there was Givenchy, where Riccardo Tisci chose fellow designer Dontella Versace as the face of AW15, and finally Marc Jacobs, who invited a whole cast of his friends to feature, from Cher to Coco Gordon Moore and Winona Ryder.

Of course, there was a lot more going on – elsewhere, Kate Moss and Lara Stone were the faces of Steven Klein’s provocative AW15 Balenciaga campaign, Ruth Bell buzzed her hair for Alexander McQueen, and J.W.Anderson paid tribute to cult horror The Wicker Man. See the year’s most subversive, aspirational and downright beautiful campaigns in the gallery above.