Ports 1961 Spring 2023 Ad Campaign Review

Review of Ports 1961 Spring 2023 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Karl Templer, Art Director Fabien Baron, and Photographer Steven Meisel with models He Cong, Julia Nobis, and Ida Heiner

Ports 1961 explores the drama of light and shadow with its striking new campaign for Spring 2023. The brand’s creative director and renowned stylist Karl Templer once again teams with his frequent collaborators, art director Fabien Baron and photographer Steven Meisel, and the trio continue to build on their vision of minimal sophistication for the brand.

Meisel’s portraits make use of his classic and elegant black-and-white studio style, but uses multiple lights at different angles to rhythmically multiply the silhouettes of his models and create a striking and dramatic play of shadow behind them. The approach is particularly potent in tandem with the collection’s graphic and linear prints and angular shoulders.

Subtly inspired by film noir aesthetics, the accompanying series of short videos – which are strategically timed and proportioned to make an impact on Instagram stories and TikTok – further push this approach of playing with light and shadow. Set to an angular and somewhat ominous piano soundtrack, the clips quickly stitch together a series of moving portraits, rapidly changing between lighting angles and editing together different shots to make an evocative and theatrical vignette.

While the visual elements and the names behind the campaign might be familiar, they are masterfully deployed to give Ports 1961 its distinct character of feeling both classic and original.