Review of Palace x Calvin Klein 2022 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Cedric Murac and Photographer Alasdair McLellan with Talent Joan Collins, Willem Dafoe, Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, Adwoa Aboah, Charlie Birch, Lucien Clarke, Tory Goodall, Savannah Keenana, Precious Lee, Lourdes Leon, Rory Milanes, Shawn Powers, and Lev Tanju
Calvin Klein and Palace jump across the pond with a star-studded and playful new campaign in celebration of their collaborative collection.
Reflecting the two brand’s respective homes of New York City and London, the campaign follows a big cast of stars through the two cities. With cast highlights including Willem Dafoe, Joan Collins, and Pet Shop Boys (whose classic “West End Girls” also provides the soundtrack), as well as a few members of Place’s skate team, the eclectic protagonists travel by day and by night through the cities, sometimes crossing paths or making long-distance phone calls to each other.
The off-the-cuff, documentary-style color footage of these metropolitan sections is juxtaposed with crisp studio portraiture that reprises Calvin Klein’s typical visual style.
The film also smartly champions the new fragrance that sits at the heart of the collaboration, finding a neat way to highlight its notes within the meandering storytelling of the campaign narrative.
Matching an impressive cast with a playful and sprawling narrative, the campaign is an exciting synthesis of two distinct brand identities and the energy of the city streets they call home.
Calvin Klein Creative Director | Cedric Murac
Photographer | Alasdair McLellan
Talents | Joan Collins, Willem Dafoe, Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, Adwoa Aboah, Charlie Birch, Lucien Clarke, Tory Goodall, Savannah Keenana, Precious Lee, Lourdes Leon, Rory Milanes, Shawn Powers and Lev Tanju
Stylist | Max Pearmain
Hair | Anthony Turner
Makeup | Diane Kendal
Manicurist | Megumi Yamamoto
Prop Stylist | Roxy Walton
