If you let fear take hold, if you let it own you, your life ceases to be your own. ― Blake Crouch, Snowbound
from my 2007 book: a Bella Mafia: Looks Can Kill. Fashion by Nikki Blaine.
With snow pounding the East coast of the United States right now, and cold generally being the state of things most everywhere else across North America, we thought this might be a good time to offer up a distraction by looking at some of this Spring’s more promising ad campaigns. Of course, not everything made it through our sensors, but since you may likely be snowbound and possibly not ready to dig into your Netflix cache just yet, we thought we’d at least give you a taste of what’s coming to store shelves once all this white stuff gets out of the way.
Balmain
All hail Olivier Rousteing as he manages to pull off the casting coup of the season, bringing a campaign not littered with blank-eyed 16-year-old, but rather women who set the standard for being a supermodel: Naomi Campbel, Claudia Schiffer, and Cindy Crawford. These ladies continue to demonstrate how modeling is really done and make this, by far, the most visually appealing campaign we’ve seen this season. No one else really comes close.
This is really a different look for the DKNY, which is to be expected. Much more street, much more in touch with their base audience. This is the first campaign since Donna Karen left the brand and creative directors Dai-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne definitely leave their mark and let it be known that the brand is moving in a very different direction. Not expecting to see any khaki jumpers here anytime soon.
Equipment. Photo by Daria Werbowy
There are so very many campaigns hitting at the same time that it really can be difficult for a lesser-known brand to stand out. Equipment found a way around that little problem by letting models Kate Moss and Daria Werbowy take off for some remote island in the Carribean. They gave them a couple of silk button down shirts, a camera, and … uhm … that was about it. So, of course, we’re guessing there are some outtakes that didn’t make it past the US censors, which is too bad. The campaign is fun, especially since neither model bothers wearing much … makeup.
Givenchy
When I first saw this collection by Ricardo Tisci hit the runway last September, I couldn’t help thinking that there was something slightly familiar about the all-white ensembles. Oh yeah, Nikki Blaine did that back in 2007! Okay, so Tisci’s designs are a little more racy, a lot heavier on the lace, and in some cases may not be suitable for public exposure. Still, what caught my eye in this campaign is the sheer number of models he pulls together. Trust me, I know how very challenging that can be. I counted twelve models through the entire campaign, and will admit that I might have missed a couple. Adding the poems is a nice touch as well. Of course, for those who are snowbound, white may not be your favorite color at the moment.
Kenzo
I’m not really sure whether this campaign is pouring salt in the open wound of every snowbound soul or if it is an accurate description of your desire to be somewhere else. There are only a few of these photos  out at the moment, most of them for media use, not paid ads yet. An accompanying film by director Sean Baker (Tangerine) hits February 3 and if you’re still snowbound by then and haven’t completely lost your mind then it might be a respite from looking out at all that white. The old trailer park with the bohemian styling is interesting, to be sure, and splashing “snow bird” across the top of the picture is definitely timely. Yes, we all wish we’d bought tickets for Florida two weeks ago.
Those are the best of what I’ve seen this week. There will be more, I’m sure. For those of you along the East coast, just try to stay away from the windows. Watching the snow fall won’t help your depression any. Think Spring. Think warm. Don’t go out without a coat and boots.