Marni Museo Bag Spring 2020 Ad Campaign

The latest campaign from Marni sees the handbag from a new perspective.

The Italian house enlisted photographer Idan Barazani to capture the Spring 2020 incarnations of their Museo bag. The resulting series of images is an exhilarating exploration of perspective and level. Barazani positions his models in elaborate and enigmatic poses, and chooses unexpected angles to lens the shot. In one image the camera is near the ground while we look up at a model reaching skyward; in others the positions are reversed. These elements work to make up an interesting visual language, and it speaks to us: but its meaning remains obscure. The attitudes and expressions of these human beings are emotionally powerful, but impenetrable.

And while they are impeccably dressed, the star of this campaign is the bag itself. Its position in each of Barazani’s shots feels intentional and eye-catching. The physical expressions of the characters feel more purposeful and evocative by being focused on or related to the bag, and the bag in turn takes on a suggestive, monolithic quality.

This campaign subverts the expectations of what an accessories campaign should be, and what it means to accessorize. By focusing sensitively on a single piece, the campaign allows the handbag to transcend its status as an accessory, an ornament, and be seen as an almost spiritually essential object. A smart choice of photographer brings the abstract concept to gorgeous life. Marni has again shown us how to see the ad campaign from a new angle.