on the campaign trail

>> Although Gap is having a little trouble these days —the brand just cut their entire European design team and were overtaken by Zara as the world's biggest retailer — all bets are still on executive VP of design Patrick Robinson, whose first full Gap collection debuts this Fall. It is he who chose the likes of Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Georgina Chapman, Cecilia Dean, and Scott Schuman to front Gap's Fall 2008 campaign, proving he really is trying to bring fashion back to the company. 

Can Mikael Jansson's shots of those four, Ryan McGinley, Karlie Kloss, Sean Avery, Jourdan Dunn, and more, plus Patrick's new designs, make the difference for Gap?  Only time will tell, but until then, enjoy the rest of the Fall campaign.

>> Steven Klein's obsession with horses continues — that Madonna spread from W two years ago just wasn't enough.  Over the weekend, he hosted an equine rescue benefit with Gwyneth Paltrow, and recently, he shot the Loewe Fall 2008 ads featuring — what else — but horses. Stephanie Stephanie commandeers the campaign, looking a little bit dominatrix, and a whole lot of woman.
*image: source

>> Now that Prada has released Sasha Pivovarova from her campaign exclusive, it's fun to see where else she pops up. The latest? She joins flower child Lily Cole, opera-going Liya Kebede, and a chic Shalom Harlow in the Fall 2008 Tiffany & Co. cast, looking like an updated Audrey Hepburn.  Word on the street is that Hye Rim Park also makes an appearance in the set, but we'll have to wait a little longer on that one.
*image: source

>> Almost exactly one year ago, Gap launched its Fall 2007 European campaign, featuring fashion figues like Pierre Hardy, Amanda Harlech, Coco Rocha and Elettra Rossellini Weidemann shot by Mikael Jansson. The ads must have been a success, because rather than going with the high-wattage stars stateside Gap campaigns usually feature, the black-and-white, fashion-figure concept has been lifted for the Fall 2008 American campaign.

Shots of a smiling Cecilia Dean, a pouting Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, and a coy Georgina Chapman are sprinkled among those of Clemence Poesy, Maryna Linchuk, actress Catalina Sandino Moreno, Chanel Iman, and Lily Donaldson (plus Liv Tyler, apparently star wattage couldn't be totally nixed). More shots are still to come — including those of Scott Schuman and Ryan McGinley.
*image: source

>> If you're going to spend a lot of time bored on the subway, why not do it for pay, and look fabulous while you're at it?  That must have been stylist Edward Enninful's concept for the Fall 2008 Alberta Ferretti campaign, which features Anna Maria Jagodzinska and new talent Magdalena Frackowiak, Siri Tollerod, and Viktoriya Sasonkina juxtaposed in jewel tones with jaded expressions affixed on their faces.  The best shot Steven Meisel captured has to be of Siri, slumped over in plastic chair.
*image: source

>> Linda Evangelista may not have landed that rumored fold-out September 2008 Vanity Fair supermodel cover extravaganza (fellow model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy does the honors instead) but she still has her Fall 2008 Prada campaign.  Out from the shadows she comes, to have a buttoned-up, laced-up go at this matronly Steven Meisel-photographed set that leaves me feeling . . . well, a little bit blue.
*image: source

>> Juergen Teller and his favorite Mariacarla Boscono have collaborated again, this time for the Fall 2008 Pucci campaign. The ads are similar to work Juergen and Mariacarla have done together in the past, especially the shot of her randomly standing on a chair, and the intermittently placed letters make the set seem a little like Sesame Street for high fashion.  But the full-on headlights shot is a bit of a shocker (you'll see what I mean), and generally speaking, it's an interesting experience to see the bright Pucci colors toned down with Juergen's harsh lighting.
*image: source

>> After going with up-and-coming models for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008, Olivier Theyskens has pulled out the big guns, making a splash for Fall 2008 with Natasha Poly.  The stop-action, hair flipping shots definitely help achieve Olivier's goal of transforming the romantic label into one with more edge. If these images by Mario Sorrenti don't sell the brand, I don't know what will.
*image: source