Friendly Faces
Review of Ami Paris Fall 2026 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Jean-Baptiste Talbourdet-Napoleone and Photographer Karim Sadli with models Dara Gueye, Elliot Belot, George Anderson, Jingwen Jia, Mack Karpes, Mohamed Benhadda, Rebecca Leigh Longendyke, Saskia de Brauw
Ami Paris turns friendship into both subject and signature for Fall 2026, with photographer Karim Sadli capturing the people who form the extended circle around founder and designer Alexandre Mattiussi. Rebecca Leigh Longendyke, Saskia de Brauw, George Anderson, Jingwen Jia, Dara Gueye, Mack Karpes, Elliot Belot, and Mohamed Benhadda have all previously walked for the house and are also described as personal friends of Mattiussi. Considering “ami” means “friend” in French, it is a concept so natural to the brand that it feels less like a campaign conceit than a statement of identity.
Sadli photographs the cast with a deliberate lack of ceremony. Against spare white and gray studio backdrops, full-length portraits alternate with tightly cropped faces and more spontaneous gestures: a tie flies sideways, hands reach toward the lens, hair and a checked scarf whip through the frame. The straightforward setting keeps attention on both personality and clothes, while subtle shifts between color, monochrome, and warmer studio lighting prevent the portrait format from becoming overly uniform. Jean-Baptiste Talbourdet-Napoleone’s art direction completes the approach with an oversized “ami alexandre mattiussi” wordmark that changes color from image to image, becoming almost another styling element.
That styling is where the campaign’s sense of character becomes particularly convincing. Elodie David Touboul layers roomy tailoring, oversized coats, striped ties, collegiate knits, baseball caps, leather jackets, and deliberately generous trousers into outfits that feel assembled rather than prescribed. Traditional codes of Parisian polish are loosened through proportion and unexpected combinations: a formal suit gets a friendly blue cap, leopard outerwear meets bright red trousers, and an argyle cardigan is paired with an equally graphic scarf. Menswear and womenswear slip easily across the cast, reinforcing the sense of a shared wardrobe rather than rigidly defined archetypes.
The premise itself is hardly revolutionary – fashion has long loved turning a designer’s friends and muses into campaign stars – but Ami has more right to the idea than most. More importantly, the imagery actually communicates the warmth and individuality the accompanying language promises. There is enough consistency to establish a recognizable world without sanding down the distinctions between its inhabitants, and Sadli’s restrained portraiture allows small expressions, gestures, and styling choices to do much of the storytelling.
It is a simple campaign whose simplicity feels earned. Rather than inventing an elaborate narrative around community, Ami puts its friends in good clothes, gives them room to be themselves, and lets the name explain the rest. For Fall 2026, friendship isn’t just part of the brand story – it’s right there in the logo.
Ami Paris Creative Director | Alexandre Mattiussi
Creative Director | Jean-Baptiste Talbourdet-Napoleone
Photographer | Karim Sadli
Models | Dara Gueye, Elliot Belot, George Anderson, Jingwen Jia, Mack Karpes, Mohamed Benhadda, Rebecca Leigh Longendyke, Saskia de Brauw
Stylist | Elodie David Touboul
Hair | Benjamin Muller
Makeup | Adrien Pinault
Casting Directors | Marco Coretti, Piergiorgio Del Moro