Victoria & Albert Museum

The campaign features looks from three designers, Harris Reed, Nicholas Daley and Gucci by Alessandro Michele. Photographed by Julian Broad and choreographed by Russell Maliphant the subjects appear twisted, stretched and charged with energy, to create a series of dynamic compositions that celebrate both the performance of men’s fashion and its deconstruction. And thus revealing fashion at its best; alive and in motion.

Given the scale of the show – the campaign had to be expansive in its reach – both in print and digital. The variation in format was therefore wide ranging – from the side of a bus, a social post, digital banners, on site installations, or a digital underground display. Our response was to conceive one overarching idea that could flex across all these touchpoints.

In early conversations with Julian Broad and Russell Maliphant, we discussed the idea of choreographing a sequence which allowed the dancer to explore a range of contrasting shapes – extended horizontals and elongated verticals – all captured as motion and stills. In rehearsals Maliphant spent time defining a physical performance that transitioned through varying compositions. So that, although there are certain fixed elements at play which bring consistency – outfit, colour, typography – we also have fluidity of movement and form. This provided an image palette that could work across the campaign in a dynamic way, ensuring that we present the best pose or figurative composition for any given format. Taking this approach also ensured that the campaign would continue to evolve over the eight-month duration of the show.