Gucci travels to Tokyo, to shoot its campaign for fall 2016, as shot by Glen Luchford. The British photographer is clearly well regarded by new head designer Allessandro Michele who has worked exclusively with Luchford on the label’s major campaigns, starting with his first with the label for pre-fall 2015.
The latest campaign once again sets off Michele’s signature bold looks against a busy city backdrop, showing a skill for blending the statement making pieces and busy backdrops for an overall look that is both decadent and dreamy with sub-titles underscoring the cinematic quality. Rightly so, the campaign repeatedly has been compared with the 2013 film Lost in Translation, known for its look at Tokyo as seen through the eyes of travelers detached from typical dictates of everyday schedules, and indeed the video short that is part of the campaign further reminds of the Sofia Coppola-directed film.
The crew of models including Petra Collins, Lia Pavlova, Polina Oganicheva, Mae Lapres, Sofia Friesen, Jack Chambers, Chistopher Paskowski, Joep Van de Sande and Yan Kumra are shown making their way around the city via a Japanese party bus, making stops in an arcade, a tea house and in a case of perfect timing, a garden full of cherry blossoms, in full bloom at the time of the shoot.
It’s a great campaign but the all-white cast is problematic, and especially tiresome given that the one Japanese person featured front and center is wearing a traditional costume. There are Japanese civilians going about their everyday life, but their look is so black and white and basic, it’s clear they’re meant to serve only as backdrop props heightening the fashion worn by the models. And looking back at prior campaigns led by Michele, it looks like he’s used a grand total of one black model, featured in his pre-fall 2015 campaign. It depressing because Michele is doing some really fun things, and yet for all his creativity, it appears he like many of his peers still suffers from the misguided belief that beauty is somehow limited to those with white skin.
Glen Luchford’s video campaign below:
