I'm not really familiar with Blake Lively, I don't even think I've seen her in anything to be precise. But this is more than enough for me. The TVC for Cucci Premiere was shot by director Nicolas Winding Refn and features one of my favorite remixes of M83's Midnight City (Eric Prydz Private Remix). I really like the locations and the serene feel of the whole clip.
Back in 2005 when I was in Chicago and was drooling over imaginary scenarios of me being employed by anyone who would be even the least related to the world of media and/or fashion (funny how things turn out ain't it?) I was looking around to see what most of the mega-brands were doing in terms of communication/branding design so I'd get a bit acquainted with the whole concept.
It was around then when Dolce & Gabbana had designed the limited edition Citroën C3 D&G and had released an ad for it featuring a song called "Come Baby" sung by a Dale Arden. The track was a very catchy bubblegum pop song which -of course- impressed me, being the pop-junkie I am. Some time later in the same year, D&G launched the ads for their timepieces, featuring a new (even catchier and better) track by the same artist, titled "Gimme More". (ads & songs at the end of the post)
Googling this Dale Arden (named after a Flash Gordon character) lead absolutely nowhere. She was, and is, one of those ghost-singers who release two things under a pseudonym and cease forever (or maybe move to a totally different direction and record under another alias).
Anyhow, I'm guessing she must be italian; a conclusion to which I arrive after taking the following into consideration in a very CSI-ish light: She worked with D&G on more that one occasion, I've noticed a couple of slips in her accent very common amongst italians, and -last but not least- the type of music pulls references from Italo-House.
Of course if anyone knows anything more on Dale Arden hit the comments section.
In the not so distant past, certain choices made by the italian brand have been frowned upon by the majority of the fashion industry "savants".
However, one thing that can never be frowned upon or dismissed, is Domenico Dolce's and Stefano Gabbana's persistence in referring to the italian traditions and to iconically italian concepts.
For the promo of their "Matt Silk" eyewear line they drew inspiration from the past of the italian cinema -comedy, to be more specific- and created a 90-second short film reminiscent of a glorious, trendsetting era in the history of italian cinema.
"Italiana" was directed by Luca Finotti and features model Bianca Balti and actress Anna Orso. Convertible, scarves, the italian coast: Can't get any better.
Last weekend the AK and AP creative spirits united once again for a new shoot.
The new annakoumoushi collection goes into exploring the path the previous one started. The SS 2012 line does that by introducing new shapes and volumes to what one would expect to be uneventfully small: accessories. The new rings, necklaces, earrings, broaches and headpieces are re-introduced in beautiful, organic-like constructed volumes and are delivered through amazing textures and color schemes.
Back to the shoot; the material was great to work with and the new face of annakoumoushi, yet to be revealed, was refreshingly great to work with. So, once again, I was challenged to take the new campaign to a different direction. Still working on it, let's see where it will go.
The above is one of the mini-teasers, head over to the annakoumoushi website to check out the other one.
While we're on the topic of florals (and prints), Mary Katrantzou is the person we should be talking about. Her latest collection is stunningly good, I mean, I envy the designer (or is it Katrantzou herself?) who put the designs for those prints together, the tessellations and the color combinations. Somehow, her prints (and cuts and designs for that matter) manage to make many of the "established" designers' work look… well, pale.
A while back I had posted about Daria Werbowy becoming a staple in the industry (and I mean that in the best possible way) and how good it was too see her in more and more stuff.
She recently teamed with Inez & Vinoodh for a February Vogue Paris fashion editorial, and most importantly a promo video shot in Las Vegas. The photos are amazing, but the video is excellent! I really like the flashing editing, plus Jessica 6 provide the soundtrack.
So, here -in this post- we have H&M, Marni and Sofia Coppola. Too bad that by the time I go to Milan -in the beginning April- absolutely nothing will be left, since the Marni/H&M line will be available on March 8.
The ad, filmed in Marrakech-Morocco, showcases the multitude of prints in the line and has an impeccably classy 80s feel and hue. The result is as fitting to the line, as was the choice to go with Coppola for such a collaboration between the Italian fashion house and the Swedish retailer.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 11:50 PM 
