Review of Roksanda x Fila Fall 2022 Ad Campaign by Photographer Viviane Sassen with models Adhel Bol and Ayak Veronica Bior
Roksanda and Fila share a gorgeous campaign in celebration of their new collaborative capsule masterfully shot by photographer Viviane Sassen.
The latest in a string of unique luxury fashion collaborations for Fila – which has recently included Y/Project and Haider Ackermann – the capsule sees creative director Roksanda Ilinčić bring her penchant for elegant yet whimsical gowns in flowing volumes to Fila’s signature retro sportswear aesthetic.
Growing up in Serbia, I cherish personal memories of how much we all loved Fila pieces coming from Italy. This collection allowed me to give a new point of view on such a beloved heritage: one that merges my shapes and colors with a sense of performance and the outdoors. The soft, enveloping message is perfectly timely, I believe.”
– Roksanda Ilinčić
Sassen’s photographs beautifully pick up on this design theme of enveloping softness. Set pieces and props like pool noodles echo the styling’s fluidity, softness, and color palette, while pink and red parachutes fill the space and wrap around the subjects with an almost womb-like embrace. Against these backdrops, Sassen captures her models alone or in pairs in moments of intimacy and connection, the expansive silhouettes blurring the borders of the body and calling into question the assumption of individuality. Some of the images are finished with abstract washes of paint that respond further to the fluidity of body and form and deepen the photographs’ sense of harmony.
Responding to Roksanda’s heartfelt Fila riffs with empathy and ingenuity, Sassen, along with set designer Ibby Njoya, creates for the collaboration an enthralling and emotive body of work that serves as an invitation to let go of defensiveness and ego and to embrace togetherness and vulnerability.
Photographer | Viviane Sassen
Models | Adhel Bol and Ayak Veronica Bior
Stylist | Robbie Spencer
Hair | Mari Ohashi
Makeup | Niamh Quinn
Casting | AAMO
Set Designer | Ibby Njoya