Summer Swim 2023 Ad Campaign Review

Review of Zimmermann Summer Swim 2023 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Emil Vrisakis of Smile Agency and Photographer Benny Horne with model Cara Taylor

Zimmermann heads to Honolulu for its new Summer 2023 swimwear campaign by creative director Emil Vrisakis and photographer Benny Horne.

While the expected visual cues of golden sunsets and vibrant tropical foliage are still subtly present, the campaign imagery opts primarily for a flavor of nocturnal glam. Horne’s portraits find model Cara Taylor in moments of sumptuous solitude as she goes for a night swim or overlooks the ocean, the Pacific’s dark and powerful presence almost becoming the campaign’s second protagonist. The photographer’s use of a single camera flash lends stark drama to the model’s confident poses – as if she were the only one on the island – while mystically illuminating the cascading droplets of crashing waves.

In addition to being a timely play to the popularity of luxury resort drama The White Lotus (though this might mean they kind of missed the point of the show), the campaign dramatically captures Zimmerman’s swimwear offerings in their natural habitat of glamorous oceanside fantasy.