Marni 'Tulipea Bag' Fall 2025 Ad Campaign

Review of Marni ‘Tulipea Bag’ Fall 2025 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Madeline Sadowski with Director Hala Matar & Photographer Alessandro Messina with talents Natasha Lyonne , Gavin Matts

Marni continues to blur the boundaries between fashion and cinema with “Who is Marni?”, a noir-infused campaign that introduces the Tulipea Bag not as an accessory, but as a central character in a game of shifting identities.

Directed by Hala Matar with creative art direction by Madeline Sadowski, the short film leans into the intrigue of 1960s New York and the smoky suspense of 1940s Hollywood noir. Natasha Lyonne anchors the narrative with her singular charisma, slipping from persona to persona with wigs, notes, and aliases until the Tulipea Bag emerges as the campaign’s final enigma. “My heart belongs to Marni,” she declares in voiceover, like a femme fatale leaving only mystery and a handbag in her wake.

The Tulipea itself holds the screen with sculptural confidence. Its gathered sides recall the unfurling of a tulip bud, balancing architectural precision with organic softness. Crafted in calfskin and suede, the design exemplifies Marni’s ability to make elegance eccentric and eccentricity elegant. The bag isn’t just styled into the film; it is woven into the story as a code, a key, a symbol of transformation.

Lyonne’s dry wit and enigmatic presence are perfectly matched to Matar’s cinematic approach, while Sadowski’s art direction ties the fashion house’s playful surrealism into a language of noir mystery. It’s one of the rare campaigns that doesn’t just place an actor in designer clothes, but instead builds a role around them—making the handbag itself the plot twist.

The only drawback is the campaign’s still imagery, which shifts to more straightforward product shots without Lyonne. They’re polished, but miss the electricity of the film, leaving the print side feeling more like a catalogue insert than a continuation of the cinematic narrative. One suspects contractual boundaries, but the absence is nonetheless felt.

As Marni prepares for the debut of new creative director Meryl Rogge later this year, “Who is Marni?” plays like the perfect cliffhanger. Lyonne may exit stage left, Tulipea in hand, but the real suspense lies in what happens next. If this was the prologue, Rogge’s arrival promises the next act—one we suspect won’t just ask who Marni is, but boldly rewrite the answer.