Nostalgia is the essence of the new video created by designer Brandon Maxwell for the advertising campaign of his 2016 Autumn/Winter collection. The film shows models lying in a bed of the Standard Hotel in New York, and includes a voiceover featuring messages of love, encouragement, and admiration.
Brandon Maxwell designs.
The acclaimed designer recorded voice messages on his phone from his family, friends and couples celebrating his fashion shows, awards nights, and events when he felt proud accompanying his top models and recognized movie stars wearing his designs.
This short film is loaded with emotions, shot and edited in a simple manner and with a single angle, focusing on the bed from the room’s ceiling, presented in several slow motion sequences in which we see five different models. One at a time, they toss and turn in bed, with a languid expression on their faces, showing that intimate moment when they are left alone after the euphoria of the flashes, the adoration, and the glamor of the catwalk. They move back and forth between the sheets for about five minutes. The video ends with the image of Maxwell rising from the same bed.
This is how the designer presents his new designs, an avant-garde collection of dresses in monochrome tones—white or black—with impeccable cuts that bear the signature of this young creative director who is positioning himself as one of the fashion world’s stars in record time.
Maxwell, born in Texas, United States, is very attached to his family; at least it is what we gather from countless photos with his mother on his Instagram account.
Kaia Gerber, Miu Miu’s new shining star
The fashion industry has found a new avenue of expression in short films. One that complements their fashion shows and photo spreads. Some of the leading brands only use models and actresses on the rise, as is the case with Miu Miu from the Prada group, which supported emerging talent like Elle Fanning, Lea Seydoux, and Lupita Nyong’o at the right moment. Their latest darling is Kaia Gerber, the 14-year-old daughter of Cindy Crawford, who was hired to launch Scenique, the label’s new model of sunglasses.
The concept here is different from Brandon Maxwell’s video. In this five-minute short, what transpires is the peace and quiet of a sunny day, showing Gerber in slow motion gracefully walking and swimming in a pool. It also showcases a selection of objects from the Italian brand strategically placed.
Miu Miu takes its name from the nickname of Miuccia Prada—the company’s founder—when she was young. The brand was established in 1992 and—since its inception—has been famous for colorful and extravagant collections aimed at a young audience and presented with ad campaigns that stress a naif feeling, like this one for Scenique. ■
