The coronavirus pandemic has forced the fashion industry to make some major adjustments when it comes to runway shows and marketing campaigns. For Italian fashion brand Valentino, that has meant taking a more personal approach for its Women’s and Men’s Fall/Winter 2020-21 collection.
Entitled #ValentinoEmpathy, the advertising campaign features 22 actors, artists and models (with more promised to come) photographed by their loved ones at home.
The star-studded campaign includes actress Gwyneth Paltrow, supermodel Naomi Campbell, actress Laura Dern, and ‘90s supermodel Christy Turlington alongside her model nephew and niece, James Turlington and Cameron Grace Carter.
Other familiar faces, including Gigi and Bella Hadid's younger brother, Anwar, and Jude Law and Sadie Frost's son, Rafferty Law, also appear in the campaign.
Naturally, they’re all wearing designs from creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli’s latest collection, but the portrait-style photos are meant to give a more personal look into who the individuals are.
“I thought I would ask my friends to ask the people they loved to take their pictures, to show them not as what they do, but who they are,” Piccioli told The New York Times.
To further cement that direction, many of the artists in the Valentino Empathy campaign did their own hair and makeup, with their photographers of choice (in many cases husbands, children and friends) using iPhones and the option to edit the photos themselves before sending over to the fashion house.
Additionally, the campaign’s models did not receive a paycheck for their appearance, with Valentino instead donating one million euros (nearly $1.2 million) to the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital.
Based in Rome, the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Disease has been the center for COVID-19 research in Italy. The funds donated will support the hospital’s long term projects in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
