Review of Louis Vuitton ‘LV Archlight 2.0 sneakers’ Spring 2023 Ad Campaign by Creative Directors Charles Levai and Kevin Tekinel with Photographer Carlijn Jacobs and Director Gordon von Steiner with models Jaden Smith, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Li, and Mona Tougaard
Louis Vuitton takes the chunky sneaker trend into the future – with all of its virtual insanity – in a new Spring 2023 campaign for its Archlight 2.0 shoes. The campaign features creative direction from Charles Levai and Kevin Tekinel, with film direction by Gordon von Steiner and photography by Carlijn Jacobs.
The campaign film is inspired by the legendary music video for Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity,” which was directed by Jonathan Glazer. The campaign takes a very similar moving floor format, finding its talented cast of Jaden Smith, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Li, and Mona Tougaard among spaces that reference Louis Vuitton’s Parisian heritage while the floor and walls move around them. While there was famously nothing virtual about how “Virtual Insanity” managed to do that, instead achieving the practical effect by moving the whole set itself with a camera attached to one wall, we suspect Louis Vuitton had a little more help in this 21st-century homage.
It’s a smart homage to make for this particular campaign too, as the need for the characters to constantly be in motion to keep up with the moving space puts a lot of attention on their Archlight-clad feet, creating a dynamic and propulsive energy as they step stylishly forward.
If you want to feel old, most of the people who see this campaign on Instagram and TikTok won’t even know who Jamiroquai is or get the reference. It’s a visually strong campaign either way, but it gets more fun to see how an iconic music moment that’s two and a half decades old is still just as relevant and futuristic now as it was then.
Louis Vuitton Creative Director | Nicolas Ghesquière
Creative Directors | Charles Levai and Kevin Tekinel
Photographer | Carlijn Jacobs
Film Director | Gordon von Steiner
Models | Jaden Smith, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Li, and Mona Tougaard
Stylist | Marie-Amélie Sauvé
Hair | Damien Boissinot
Makeup | Hiromi Ueda
Set Designer | Vincent Olivieri