Ever since Anthony Vaccarello took over the reins at Saint Laurent back in 2016, he has favored a certain type of look for the brand’s advertising campaigns. The images are (more often than not) either photographed in the studio or in black and white and usually feature his favorite models and muses. The Italian-Belgian designer is trying his hand at something different for Summer 2019, opting to have photographer Juergen Teller shoot the campaign on location. Models Freja Beha Erichsen and Mica Arganaraz roam the grounds of Villa Serbelloni in Lake Como, Italy in looks styled by Alastair McKimm.
Our forum members were instantly reminded of something (or someone). “Always the first one to call out Juergen Teller but I am loving the look of this, especially that first shot of Freja with that Lake Como backdrop and the shot of all the legs… very Helmut Newton-esque,” admired vogue28.
“Loving the Helmut Newton vibes. I always thought Vaccarello should have leaned into the Newton look,” added forum member lelaid.
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“Lovely and fresh. Much better than their black and white campaign avalanche each season. I’m glad that Teller can still produce stellar work!” said russianelf.
Burbuja8910 agreed: “Amazing campaign, a beautiful tribute to Helmut Newton.”
However, HeatherAnne wasn’t here for the outcome. “I saw the leg shot and got really excited for the Helmut Newton vibes. But they failed to make the woman look sexy here, and that’s something Newton would have never missed his cue on,” she said.
“Bad copycat of YSL’s late 80s/early 90s Newton campaigns,” added kasper.
“Love Freja but I would rather see her back at Chanel than at YSL. Unfortunately, Teller is no Newton so, he cannot sell sex on a beautiful location. Nice try Anthony… but no,” Lola701 commented.
Also feeling slightly underwhelmed was Creative: “I love Teller and Freja, and this had a lot of potential, but I think the styling, hair and makeup kinda ruined it.”
A hit or miss for Saint Laurent? See more images and join the debate here.
