GCDS Goes Paparazzi Mode In Latest Campaign, Too
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CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Fashion’s obsession with paparazzi-style images keeps going strong.
Following in the footsteps of the Bottega Veneta shots featuring A$AP Rocky and Kendall Jenner that went viral last month, GCDS revealed it leveraged the same concept for its spring 2024 campaign, but added its irreverent spin.
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Entirely shot and produced by celebrity paparazzi company Backgrid, the campaign nods to early 2000s tabloids and gossip culture, catching GCDS models in deceptively private moments, public day-to-day activities and even temper outbursts, all the while wearing the brand’s spring 2024 key designs.
While the collection was intended as a pop take on the Neapolitan roots of GCDS founder and creative director Giuliano Calza, the campaign was set in Los Angeles, considered by the designer the world’s entertainment capital and ultimate gravitational point for celebrities.
“’Baci from Capri, Napoli, Los Angeles’ has evolved into a communication format for GCDS, exploring cities connected to the brand — major cities where GCDS is adored,” Calza told WWD, referring to previous campaigns themed after the Italian locations.
“L.A. is the perfect playground to bring clothing to life, animating looks beyond the runway,” he continued. “It has long been in the spotlight as ‘the new real’ and the embodiment of the American dream as a global aspiration. However, we’ve chosen to craft a photo romance… offering almost tabloid-worthy images of an imaginary group of potential GCDS [people] in L.A.”
In a statement, the brand said it drew inspiration from the current hype culture as well as archival Vogue Italia imagery by Steven Meisel to recreate pictures that could “blur the line between reality and editorial.”
“This campaign is set to redefine the role of paparazzi in fashion, a realm where they have long existed in a fascinating limbo between lowbrow and highbrow culture. Our collaboration with GCDS celebrates this intricate relationship between paparazzi and fashion, marking a new chapter in this ever-evolving story,” said Backgrid cofounder Alex Kantif.
On social media, the images will come with ironic headlines, ranging from “Girls day out” for the photo of two friends walking out and about in Beverly Hills with groceries tucked in their GCDS-logoed maxi tote bag to “Trouble in Paradise” for a shot of a young couple looking tense at Sushi Park.
Other images portray talents caught skinny-dipping in a pool or friends pushing away paparazzi by flipping smoothies — or flipping them off, directly. While close-up imagery spotlights the main accessories of the season — including the Heart bag, the home phone-shaped Call-Me Comma bag and the new asymmetric rendition Comme Notte bag – a picture taken outside Chateau Marmont also highlights the theatrical gown in silver Lurex and deep opening on the back that closed Calza’s fashion show in September.
Although rooted in the same idea, Bottega Veneta’s execution of its pre-spring 2024 campaign was different, as the Italian brand sourced images of A$AP Rocky and Jenner running errands or facing fan frenzy in its head-to-toe looks directly from wire image services such as Backgrid as well as Getty Images.
That wasn’t the first time Jenner fronted a paparazzi-themed campaign in 2023. As reported, a few months before the Bottega Veneta images, the model made her relationship with Bad Bunny official via the Gucci Valigeria campaign. Yet in that case the images set around an airport had a more ‘90s-inspired jet-set vibe and were taken by photographer Anthony Seklaoui. The concept was replicated in a new iteration of the campaign released earlier this month and starring the stars of Chinese television series “Love and Destiny” Ni Ni and Chang Chen.
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