Ad campaigns

The culture of fashion: Yayoi Kusama x Louis Vuitton goes mass for Cruise 23



Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama Vogue Netherlands by Koto Bolofo - model Rokhaya Fall

This week we’re starting to see the first coverage of the latest Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama collaboration as the Cruise 23 collection prepares to drop in early January. It’s a huge collection and its design and execution are the embodiment of joy, artistry and artisanship.

It’s also super clever.

Yayoi Kusama is one of relatively few fine artists who can be considered almost as brands in themselves. (more…)



From the desk of… Joan Didion



Joan Didion auction

Everyone’s talking about Joan Didion’s stuff.

The late writer’s personal effects are going up for auction at Stair Galleries this month and as is usual these days, there’s a forensic unpicking of the icon’s possessions as an insight into her mind and creative genius.

As a writer she was lauded for her minimalist prose and sharp cultural observations. As a woman she was admired for her self-assured independence and also a cool aloofness. That enigmatic quality no doubt adds to the interest in her possessions; a promised glimpse of ‘the real Joan Didion’. As Rachel Tashjian observes in Harper’s Bazaar, these vignettes present the “warmest portraits ever painted of her”. (more…)



Quote of the day: Michael Bise on 90s Gap



Gap quote Michael Bise

“Being at Gap in 1998 and 1999 was like being Tina Turner at the 1985 Grammys. She won everything that year. She was the most celebrated. The most eyes were on her. Everyone was looking at her and following her every move. And that’s what it was like at Gap.” (more…)



Not your mother’s Tiffany?



Tiffany ad campaign 2021

Love, love, love the clean and classic styling on this Tiffany silver campaign.

The copy is a bit confusing though. It implies classic Tiffany is old fashioned with its “Not your mother’s Tiffany” strapline (which has riled its Instagram followers), yet then suggesting ‘mother knows best’.

Anyway, it’s always interesting to see heritage companies go back to basics; they all seem to do it. It’s a sort of way to reinforce their power, to show new customers their worth (these Elsa Peretti cuffs are iconic after all). (more…)