AMI Alexandre Mattiussi Spring 2020 Ad Campaign

Taking inspiration from the theater, AMI Brand Creative Director Alexandre Mattiussi has teamed again with Creative Director Julien Gallico to art direct an ad campaign portraying a troupe of actors staging a show. Tapping into nostalgia for simpler times when theatre reigned supreme, the campaign has a conceptual similarity to Gucci’s vaudevillian, old-Hollywood-inspired campaigns. But rather than immersing themselves in retrospective recreations, Mattiussi and Gallico have created a hopeful reinvention of the theater for the post-Me-Too era of today.

Lensed by photographer Michael Bailey Gate, the images are sweet but not cloying, sensual but not obscene, and generally exhibit an innocent quality that is light and refreshing. The idea of photographing theater actors, both onstage and behind the curtain, provides a believable framework for gathering together a diversely inclusive group of attractive individuals and mixing them about in dynamic ways. Subsequently, the photographs don’t seem calculated or forced, and if perchance certain images do feel staged…well, this is the theater after all! In situations that hint at a narrative and yet avoids didacticism, each “actor” has their moment in the spotlight whether behind the curtain, in front of the marquee, or striking poses onstage (…in some cases, literally in the spotlight). The boys are allowed moments of tenderness, and though the girls may be cast as ingénue, they are never taken advantage of; rather they appear confident, happy, and supported by their youthful contemporaries.

It is important to mention the deft use of styling, color, and composition, which are all present in the photographs as well. Though obviously a lot of effort went into the campaign as evidenced by the long list of collaborators, it feels easy and breezy nonetheless. This is a further testament to the quality of the work, because when the work feels like play, you know you have captured something special.