Gucci has teamed up with Spanish illustrator Ignasi Monreal to bring you the first fashion campaign to be entirely painted, albeit digitally. This photography-free venture has produced some of the most striking imagery that combines old masters with fashionista attitude and the result is flawless.
‘Utopian Fantasy’ was released earlier this year for Gucci’s latest Spring Summer 18 campaign, It features 70 hand-drawn images with photo-realist depictions of the latest Gucci line in mythological, fanciful and surreal scenarios. Iconic artworks are flipped on their head, with pop references of our favourite Disney Characters, a commercial buy now carry-all to the classical Greek myths with appropriations of John Everett Millais’s Ophelia in play. It is truly a Renaissance revival with a Gucci twist.
Gucci was the first fashion-house to secure a collaboration with Monreal, producing a series of animations for the festive season with Gucci Gram and Cruise 18. This latest project is bigger than ever. Where the old masters had years to perfect their work, Monreal had strict deadlines and he did not disappoint. In an interview with Format Magazine Monreal reveals how the campaign came about:
” It’s all thanks to Alessandro, of course. The first thing I did for Gucci was a couple of animations for their #GucciGram, a collective online exhibition with digital artists.] [It was a marathon project with more than 120 artworks to celebrate the festive season. We did a book, windows, two art walls in Milan and New York City, a VR experience with The New York Times, and much more. When Gucci does something they do it big.] [Just the fact that it (the new campaign) was going to be painted was a big innovation in itself. No other fashion brand had relied entirely on illustration for their main campaigns”.
Alessandro Michele is Gucci’s current Creative Director and has steered the brand to new heights with his digital media strategy. The designer’s penchant for instagram worthy campaigns and memorable media stunts are geared up alongside Monreal’s ability to produce provocative photo-realistic imagery with the novelty that they are hand-drawn. The campaign, transcends beyond just print and digital platforms; the artworks are up-scaled for large murals on buildings between Milan and New York City. Monreal himself introduces the collection in a live-animation of his work, with this piece entitled Gucci Hallucination:
In an age where the digital image has taken over, it is easy to see why these modern masters from Monreal are making a huge impact. Let us know your favourite piece below!
