LOEWE taps on musician Omar Apollo and actor Jamie Dornan for its FW23 Men’s campaign. It mirrors the Women’s campaign – both turning the idea of reduction into uncanny image-making.
For this season, LOEWE adopts a new storytelling approach, using “the psychology of silent communication as a way to depict a strange reality,” explains the brand. Echoing the reductionist spirit that informs the LOEWE aesthetic, its newest men’s campaign, shot by David Sims, explores the possibilities of using the gaze and body gesture to express feelings and sensations.
“Opting for the language of reduction: the sole protagonists of the images are singer and songwriter, Omar Apollo, Golden-Globe nominated actor Jamie Dornan, the clothes and accessories they wear, and a few symbolic objects,” LOEWE highlights in a press release.
The images happen in blurred ambiences: one can feel the volume of the room, but the spatial features are indistinct thanks to rubberised sheets that act as screens. The velvet, leathers, and felts of the clothes and accessories come to the fore, bluntly, in pictures that ooze an almost tactile quality. The surreality of the compositions alludes to classical allegoric painting: an aspect that becomes apparent in the group shots featuring a trio of models with wings in copper and paper, reclining with their arms on a table in poses that recall Renaissance art.
The campaign pays homage to artist Julien Nguyen, whose work inspired the collection, and reflects his interest in old masters, creating a circle of references. The still life images in the campaign are surreal in their directness, capturing bags and shoes, including the Puzzle Fold tote, Terra Chelsea boots, and derbies, in their sculptural and textural presence.
