Gird your loins! The AW21 campaigns have landed

Chanel gives Lady Gaga and Adam Driver a run for their money, Burberry heads for the Great British countryside, and Louis Vuitton takes on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

21September 2021

It was the third season since lockdown had begun and although designers were trying their hardest to offer solutions to (or distract us from) our misery, very little could have been done to offset the gloom and sheer boredom which had assumed the nation. Fashion does not reflect our times so much as it refracts them – with the runways of AW21 predicting a crisis of sequins, salopettes, and sleepwear. And though we may not feel it, our situations have changed quite considerably since then.

Vaccinations have been rolled out, clubs have been opened, and that pinging app – which never quite worked – has been deleted. It makes sense then, that autumn’s advertising campaigns should speak to this newfound, slightly confused, sense of optimism. While Ambush laid the scene for a lakeside house party and Charles Jeffrey reproduced the tension of teenage bedrooms, Prada delivered textural tableaus made up of bungled bed sheets, knitted buildings, and faux fur bags – as if to compensate for a whole year without touch. Below, we round up the rest of the fashion campaigns of the season, as and when they drop.

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Courtesy of Burberry

BURBERRY

Featuring a bunch of Burberry faves including Khalil Ghani and Mona Tougaard, Burberry’s latest campaign pays homage to the Great British outdoors (which plenty of us have seen a lot more of this summer, since foreign travel is still largely out). Brought to life by a team including photographers Chris Rhodes and Mert & Marcus, make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench, stylist legendary stylist Katie Grand and Dazed’s very own editor-in-chief IB Kamara, Riccardo Tisci explained this season’s series was all about celebrating “the freedom of expression and the importance of exploring creativity.

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ECKHAUS LATTA

This season, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta wanted to “play with sex, rawness, and grit”. Not that they haven’t done so before, though. See our round-up of fashion snogs for more on that. Shot by Talia Chetrit, this campaign features Cole Mohr, model and long-time friend of the brand, posing in AW21’s split-leg quilted trousers, button-up knit dresses, and cow print two pieces – with a slick of red lipstick and a Taylor Swift wig. “We were thinking of Helmut Newton images but wanted to flip the script,” Eckhaus explains, “superimposing a male identity in what would classically be the role of a woman, and having the images shot through the lens of a woman.”

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DIOR

Shot by Rafael Pavarotti and styled by Melanie Ward, Dior’s winter campaign puts an onus on AW21’s Peter Doig collaboration. As such, the Scottish painter’s unbalanced use of colour is reimagined as graphic backdrops, while accessories and knitwear have been put through Doig’s swirling, camo-like motifs. “Pavarotti used Peter Doig’s paintings to set the tone, image colour, and inject a contemporary atmosphere,” Kim Jones said of this season’s advertising. “It’s a masterpiece that blends modernity and melancholic poetry.”

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DSQUARED2

Rising models Iris Law, Georgia Palmer, and Lila Moss all feature in Dsquared2’s super-cute, sun-dappled AW21 campaign, as shot by Alasdair McLellan.

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FENDI

Shot beneath the marbled arches of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome, Kim Jones’ first fringe-accented Fendi collection comes to life. Clean and supple, as is the work of photographer Craig McDean, the campaign stars Rianne Van Rompaey, He Cong, and Tianna St Louis, who stride, stoney-faced against the vaulted colosseum – its cool facade given warmth by all the buttery creams and tan neutrals within Jones’ collection.

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LOUIS VUITTON

For his AW21 campaign, Nicolas Ghesquiere has trundled his models – including Mona Tougaard, Clementine Balcaen, and Kris DeGirolamo – along the pebbly beaches of northern France. While they balance on slippery, shiny, plinths, the collection is illuminated by early morning light. Shot by David Sims, Ghesquiere’s autumn outing is soundtracked by Daftpunk’s “Around the World” – an homage to Louis Vuitton’s heritage in travel and tourism.

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LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S

Tim Walker’s at it again with his fisheye lens, this time taking Virgil Abloh and his crew to Gwrych Castle in North Wales, which is actually where I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! was filmed this past year. Styled by Dazed editor-in-chief IB Kamara, the cast included model, poet, and activist Kai-Isaiah Jamal. Presumably inspired by TikTok’s mockery of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Abloh and Walker maneuvered models across a giant chess game.

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Photography Inez and Vinoodh

CHANEL

Giving Lady Gaga and Adam Driver a run for their money is Chanel’s AW21 campaign, which transports us to the slopes and a fur-lined aprés ski soirée. Shot by Inez and Vinoodh, models wear pink tweed suits, belly chains, and hot pants on the snow, saving the Chanel monogrammed salopettes back for the chalet. Wouldn’t want them to get ruined, after all.

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LES GIRLS LES BOYS

Shot by T-Bone Fletcher, underwear brand Les Girls Les Boys unveil their latest campaign – all snuggly, cropped sweaters, velour tracksuits, and delicate vest tops. Set in what could be just about anybody’s back garden, the campaign’s models make up an inclusive, motley crew of faces, both street and agency cast by Emma Mattel.

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COACH

It goes without saying that Jennifer Lopez is having a summer to remember. And now, the singer-actor has been cast as the protagonist of Coach’s AW21 advertising, alongside Michael B. Jordan, Koki, and Jeremy Lin. Shot by Renell Medrano, the images are deliberately candid – this campaign is all about “new things, big plans, and impromptu celebrations.” “I don’t know about you,” J. Lo admits “but when I'm with my friends we don't always know what will happen next.” A life lived on the edge!

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COACH

Okay, one more – because Coach also dropped a campaign for its camo capsule, starring Michael B Jordan, Quincy, and Debbie Harry. The New York label first introduced the military print into its 2015 collection, having been inspired by its subversive potential: what if camouflage was used as a way to stand out, rather than disguise? Alongside a specially-rendered TikTok filter, the campaign features the Coach crew in a sweep of global locations, which have been splattered in the brand’s neon-flecked print.

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JIL SANDER

Jil Sander’s AW21 campaign is channeling liminal space TikTok, placing lone models in uncanny, though comforting and somehow nostalgic, surroundings – among them an abandoned petrol station, a dimly lit staircase, and an empty Tuscan street. Shot by Joel Meyerowitz, the images keep to Jil Sander’s filmic house style.

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MARINE SERRE

Fashion soothsayer Marine Serre, the designer who brought face masks and post-apocalyptic apparel into the mainstream long before COVID and the IPCC climate report, recreated the lookbook which debuted her AW21 campaign. Featuring the same cast, styled in exactly the same clothes, these images still reflect the quotidian lives of everyday people. The difference, however, is that these characters have been taken from the studio to the streets of Paris, where they have been shot by Louis Baquiast – a happy reflection of our slow, collective reemergence into society.

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MIU MIU

Emma Corrin stars in Miu Miu’s AW21 offering, beaming in yeti boots and crocheted snoods. It’s as straightforward as studio set-ups go, lensed by the legendary Steven Meisel. In an accompanying video, The Crown actor tells the story of two young girls, one of whom is mistaken for a boy, falling in love. “Lines are blurred,” Miu Miu says, “is Corrin acting, or actual – are these her words, or a script?” The brand adds: “Miu Miu celebrates bravery, boldness – it is rooted in and inspired by communities of women, in the power of the collective.”

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MCM

A$AP Nast steps in front of the camera for MCM’s joint AW21 and 45 year anniversary campaign, which celebrates the concept of home as a feeling that “resides within and represents the connections we have with the world around us,” global creative officer Dirk Schönberger said. Dubbed M’ETAVERSE it’s all about honouring the brand’s history, while propelling itself into the future. “I had a grand time collaborating with MCM and being involved in the brand’s 45th anniversary celebration. I’ve always respected MCM’s commitment to being bold and inclusive and I can’t wait for everyone to discover this work,” the rapper said.

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MOSCHINO

Having already walked the red carpet in an AW21 Moschino collection, drag race’s Symone now gets her covergirl moment in Jeremy Scott’s autumn campaign. Flanked by Gigi Goode, The House of Avalon sisters have absorbed all the bravado of the 80s, posing for Marcus Mam in peak shoulder, peplum skirt suits, and matching mother of the bride hats. “Excuse we! Excuse this beauty!,” Symone captioned the images on Instagram. Read more about the reigning queen’s fashion faves (and faux-pas) in our interview here.

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ZEGNA

As the codes of formality continue to wax and wane, Zegna is questioning “what makes a man today?” Catalysed by the pandemic, creative director Alessandro Sartori is on a mission to re-tailor the notions of contemporary dress under a new banner of “Luxury Leisurewear”. This Autumn’s campaign, shot on two models, a dancer, a fashion buyer, and a photographer, recasts the Italian label’s signature pieces for the modern, hybrid wardrobe – blurring the sartorial and the utilitarian in wool overshirts and generously-cut, cashmere tailoring. “A new aesthetic is needed,” says Sartori, “fluid, ageless, adaptable, where comfort matches perfectly with style.”

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LOUISA BALLOU

Shot by Marili Andre, Brazilian model Kerolyn Soares fronts CSM grad Louisa Ballou’s AW21 collection, which is full of bias-cut mini-dresses, marbled, landscape-printed caftans, and slinky, floral-stamped slips – inspired in equal parts by Rothko, Georgia O'Keeffe, and James Turrell. With Soares’ fringe swept over her face, Ballou says she “embodies the mystery and allure of the Louisa Ballou woman; she exudes confidence and sensuality.” This is high-octane resort wear for girls that just want to have fun – that is, on a yacht, or at a tiki bar.

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GIVENCHY

Matthew William’s AW21 runway saw models slice their way through shallow water as they emerged from the bowels of a 50,000-seat concert venue into the light of a thousand flashing LEDs. Givenchy’s accompanying campaign attempts to capture that same mood, lit in chiaroscuro style by emerging photographer Thibaut Grevet. With Adut leading the pack eyes have been replaced with pixelated squares, whilst other faces have been obscured entirely, personifying the austere if not slightly sinister collection itself.

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Courtesy of Jack Bridgland

GCDS

Feverish Looney Tunes and Hello Kitty characters come together under the sweat-slicked and neon-tinged GCDS banner for AW21. Shot by Jack Bridgland in London, a tungsten-hazed Cup Kase, Lucas Wright, and Cynthia Arrebola bare their flesh between Guiliano Calza’s Y2K-indebted crystal bikinis, double-strapped thongs, cartoonish yeti boots, Tweedy Bird berets, and fuzzy ombré sweaters. Not all of it makes total sense – globs of extra-terrestrial slime float into view, as do giant rabbit heads, and gnarly branded grills – but that’s just the point. After all, this is a collection which had the words “big carrot energy” emblazoned across its hoodies.

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MOOSE KNUCKLES

Featuring Pete Davidson, Emily Ratajowski, and Adwoa Aboah, the AW21 campaign for Moose Knuckles puts its technical outerwear to the test. Lensed by David LaChapelle, we find ourselves in a frozen, apocalyptic metropolis – otherwise known as Canada. Aboah is trapped within a snowglobe while poor Ratajkowski has been forced to fish within the city’s sewer systems. Davidson is also happy to be there! Though the campaign has been billed as surreal, as the ever worsening climate crisis rages on, perhaps Moose Knuckles have created the most realistic vision of our future to date. It’s not a threat, it’s a (global) warning.

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Photography Johnny Dufort

DIESEL

Concocted by photographer Johnny Dufort, art director Christopher Simmonds, and of course, Glenn Martens, Diesel’s AW21 campaign is a garish take-down of consumerism. In what looks like an everyday corner shop, shelves are stacked high with Diesel-branded perishables, while kitsch promotional posters call out “low prices”. The irony of these images being created for an advertisement is, perhaps, implicit. Or maybe it’s explicit – given that one shopper has been painted in head-to-toe red paint and the shop’s cheese is delightfully labelled as “Toe Jam”.

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MARSÈLL

Titled First Comes Last, the Italian footwear label Marsèll is presenting a collaborative exhibition with Californian techno producer Rrose. The show consists of six abstracted videos of organic, material textures – from swampy, golden bubbles, to crunchy foam, to strobe-lit cells – which have been put on a continuous loop, soundtracked to a specially-commissioned score by Rrose. The installation will be staged at Marsèll Paradise in Milan until September 3.

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LOUIS VUITTON

Virgil Abloh’s latest capsule collection, a Piece of the Rainbow, conjures the creative director’s early forays into Louis Vuitton in a puffed-up blaze of technicolour. Showcased with a series of woozy images shot by Thibaut Grivet and styled by Imruh Asha, monogram, floral-padded down jackets come in royal purples, sporty blues, tangerines, lemon, and cream. The collection also comprises cashmere separates as well as quilted tracksuit bottoms. See more here.

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