Branding in fashion, particular high-end couture, is necessary and most of all, paramount. Advertising campaigns in fashion need to create a splash, need to make customers yearn for the products they represent and most of all sell the designer’s wares.
They are, after all, a direct reflection of the brand. They need to be cutting-edge and visually cool. Customers aren’t only buying a shirt or evening gown. They are buying into a perceived lifestyle.
The International Business Times has compiled a list of the best advertising campaigns in fashion for 2011. These campaigns represent a collaborative effort between designers, stylists, models and photographers. This list is comprised of some of the world’s top design firms, mainstream retailers and even an auto-maker.
Taking the top spot is Versace’s Spring/Summer 2011 campaign featuring reigning top supermodel, Gisele Bundchen. Clad in a two-piece white dress with gold studs, the Brazilian beauty is shot from a bottom angle on the edge of a pool, lengthening her already “up-to-here” legs.
Another Brazilian beauty, Adriana Lima is the model of choice for Donna Karan’s Haiti campaign, which was chosen as the second most-effective campaign.
Gisele makes another appearance on the list, this time for Givenchy in a dark and stormy pictorial. New York-based jean manufacturer, Rag & Bone/Jean received two nods for their innovative do-it-yourself campaign.
The company touts this as a true campaign. Explaining the parameters, Rag & Bones states “No stylist, no hair and make-up, no lighting. Just a girl and her camera.” The results have been extraordinary with top models like Miranda Kerr, Karolina Kurkova, Carolyn Murphy and Hanneli Mustaparta joining the DIY campaign.
Luxury auto-maker, Lexus, stepped outside the box with their newest pictorial. The automaker challenged four designers to come up with a new take on auto design. The results are stunning, with Lexus achieving effective branding without ever showing the actual product, namely a car. The list is rounded out by Ann Taylor featuring timeless beauty Demi Moore, Louis Vuitton’s campaign starring Angelina Jolie and Alexander McQueen’s autumn/winter 2011 campaign.
These fashion campaigns undoubtedly succeeded in creating iconic images which depicted a story that propped up the brand it represented.
Michelle Mayer is blogger at Mijo! Brands in Mexico.
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