Vivienne Westwood Pre-Fall 2024 Ad Campaign

Review of Vivienne Westwood Pre-Fall 2024 Ad Campaign by Art Director Joshua J P Davidson and Photographer William Waterworth with models Anna Cleveland, Arnaud Lemaire, Axel Gay, Emily Bennett, Jadi Wegener, Saul Symon, and Tass Sarr

Vivienne Westwood leans into its aristocratic inspirations without losing any of its punk edge in the brand’s Pre-Fall 2024 campaign. The campaign was lensed by photographer William Waterworth.

Captured among the British countryside, the imagery draws a soulful and earthy energy from the way its historic architectural elements – an old wooden barn, a brick manor, a wrought-iron gate – blend into the greenery of nature.

These provide a fitting backdrop for the collection’s synthesis of experimental tailoring, archive revivals, and references to historic British dress codes from kilts and hunting jackets to corsetry and ballgowns. Not many brands can make one look that will please fans of Bridgerton, The Sex Pistols, and 80s avant-garde fashion all at once while still looking fresh and forward – but that’s Vivienne Westwood.

Waterworth’s beautiful photographic compositions draw on formal portraiture, yet still uplift the spirit of idiosyncratic individuality expressed by each member of the eclectic cast. The accompanying short film deepens the sense of spiritual communion – with the earth, with a lover, and with one’s chosen family – through delicate cinematography, smart editing, and an emotive string soundtrack.

The campaign is simply beautiful. When taken together with the lo-fi London grit of its Juergen Teller-shot campaign the brand released just last week, however, it becomes even more emblematic of the house’s understanding of the layered complexity of contemporary beauty. This campaign is a gorgeous way to slow things down and show a more soulful side while never losing that signature spirit of liberated individuality.