Prada has long been known for its dedication to pushing boundaries, a fact that is echoed once more in its fall-winter 2023 campaign for men. The advertisement explores universal human emotions: beauty, care, and love. In a unique twist, the emotions we often find difficult to express are depicted through the metaphor of flowers.
These floral figures, enlarged to a scale that matches the human form, bring to light emotions that feel otherworldly and familiar. The Italian fashion house has enlisted a roster of global stars to bring the campaign to life. The Power of the Dog costars Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee join Li Xian, bringing a dash of the cinematic magic Prada has always embraced.
As the actors interact with the larger-than-life flowers, an impossible sequence of surreal conversations unfolds.
Prada Fall/Winter 2023 Campaign
These flowers, classic symbols of beauty, are celebrated in this campaign in a way that’s far from conventional. Serving as a bridge between everyday life and the extraordinary, they become carriers of emotion, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers. Their expanded size further gives them agency as active participants, going beyond being mere visual elements.
The campaign’s visuals are the product of Willy Vanderperre’s lens, with each interaction between actor and flower artfully depicted. The visual narrative is complemented by a film where the actors converse with the enormous blooms, guided by a script penned by Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Cunningham.
The campaign’s narrative presents a dichotomy in the form of these flowers—they are fragile yet enduring, simple yet precious, and fleeting yet everlasting. Each is unique; through this, we find an interesting parallel with humanity.
Just as every flower is distinctive, so is every human, and the campaign plays on this comparison. As humans, we experience various emotions and go through unique experiences. The campaign evokes these very human emotions, making them tangible through the stunning visuals.
Ferdinando Verderi masterminded the creative direction, crafting a campaign that holds the magic of Prada, exploring the profound connection between humans and nature, and translating emotions into a visual narrative.
At its heart, the campaign brings forward the beauty in the simple and the every day, suggesting that even in the world of high fashion, there is a place for the profound exploration of universal human values.