Alaïa Spring 2023 Ad Campaign Review

Review of Alaïa Spring 2023 Ad Campaign by Alaïa Creative Director Pieter Mulier with agency Petronio Associates,
Creative Directors Ezra Petronio & Lana Petrusevych, Photographer Tyrone Lebon and model Kaia Gerber

Alaïa investigates a supermodel family legacy and the power of the fashion image with its new Spring 2023 campaign by photographer Tyrone Lebon and starring model Kaia Gerber.

While Kaia Gerber gets a lot of comparisons to her iconic mother’s looks, this campaign sees her looking more Cindy Crawford-esque than ever. Multiple points of reference to her mom’s famous modeling career can be detected: Lebon’s minimal but glamorous approach recalls the hugely influential fashion photographer Helmut Newton’s iconic portraits of the model. Crawford also walked the designer’s 1989 runway show, and wore an Azzedine Alaia dress on the cover of Cosmopolitan later that year.

In addition to these supermodel heritage references, Lebon’s images draw a lot of visual impact from designer Pieter Mulier’s slinkily sensual silhouettes, finding rhythm and echo in the long shadows cast by a late afternoon sun. He also creates a bold play of color via minimal but striking use of red against neutral and black tones.

The brief video that accompanies the campaign makes the Cindy Crawford connection especially palpable, thanks in large part to the hairstyling work by Anthony Turner that feels utterly late-80s.

Any campaign with Kaia Gerber is already sure to be very talked about, but the nostalgic references to some of her mother’s most iconic work put it over the top in terms of media impact and buzziness. Especially considering that the recently refreshed Alaïa feels very connected to the history and legacy of its founding designer, the choice is fitting for the brand. It’s true that there are some who may roll their eyes at the cookie-cutter nepotism of history repeating itself and lament the lack of newness in the industry, and they wouldn’t be totally off base.

However, Alaïa isn’t concerned with newness, but with timelessness: principles of sensuality and power. With its unmooring from the present moment and looking back through time for something solid and familiar, this campaign is a strong assertion of those principles.