Zara Woman Fall 2021 Ad Campaign

Review of Zara Woman ‘Studio’ Fall 2021 Ad Campaign by Director Fabien Baron with Photographer Steven Meisel, Director of Photography Stuart Dryburgh, Creative Director Christophe Derigon, and Art Director Jieun Lim, with models Marisa Berenson, Meadow Walker, Raquel Zimmerman, Rianne Van Rompaey, Amar Akway, Precious Lee, Sasha Pivovarora, Chiharu Okunugi and Yumi Ni

Blurring the line between parody and pastiche, the new campaign from Zara Woman is a self-referential ode to the diva drama of fashion film and photoshoots. For the Fall 2021 campaign, Zara once again works with mastermind director Fabien Baron with Photographer Steven Meisel, as well as creative director Christophe Derigon and director of photography Stuart Dryburgh.

The campaign is anchored by an impressive cast of ten models – including Marisa Berensen, Precious Lee, Amar Akway, Rianne Van Rompaey, and more – who both support each other and vie for the spotlight. Styled by Karl Templer, the cast wears tailored outerwear, embellished dresses, and suiting pieces. For accessories, leather gloves and wide belts stand out. Guido Palau also deserves commendation for his bodacious hairstyling work, which lends to each persona’s sense of glamor and drama.

The film leans into the almost mythological narrative of a bombastic, demanding, and commanding female lead: each star seems to be in the midst of a manic diva freakout, at one moment elegant and poised, sharing wisdom from their years of stardom, at another moment scolding a production assistant for bringing them the wrong latte – but always reveling in the spotlight.

Dynamic black-and-white cinematography and camerawork stitches the vignettes together at a brilliant and breakneck pace, as well as bringing a strong sense of spatial depth to the all-white studio space.

The photographic side of the campaign channels a similar energy, pairing up glamorous headshots of each star on one side with emotive, expressive portraits on the other. Taken all together, the film and images form a joyous celebration of independent womanhood, exploring its various facets of power, performance, vulnerability, and much more.

Zara continues to make strong moves with the high-level narrative concepts and visual execution of its seasonal campaigns. By working with a director like Fabien Baron and top talents and models such as these, it puts itself on a competitive level with leading luxury brands from a communications perspective, while also still using its much wider accessibility to its advantage.

This campaign is another strong example of the brand’s versatility and strength, combining style and subversive humor with a genuine message of empowerment.