A City Of Women
Photographed by Willy Vanderperre on the day of the Prada Fall/Winter 2017 show in Milan, the latest chapter of Prada’s 365 visual stream of advertising marks the final chapter of A City of Women, a new view on Prada F/W 2017.
A City of Women portrays the Prada woman today, yet this is not woman as singular, but legion, presented in multiple incarnations to reflect the many facets of contemporary femininity.
As in a city, these different walks of life, different visions of women, co-exist, intermingle, contrast and compliment. The Prada woman is never static, nor easily defined.
A study of different characters and different moods, emotion and narrative is evoked through the clothes and the women themselves, photographed in a space stripped to bare concrete. Removed from context and distraction, these become pure portraits of women, each an embodiment of a part of Prada.
Persona
The new chapter of 365 centers around the actress Jessica Chastain. Enigmatic and ever-changing, seamlessly segueing between fantasy and make-believe, she is the ideal representation of the multi-dimensional Prada woman.
A series of still and moving image portraits, captured on set by Willy Vanderperre, encapsulate Chastain’s inimitable persona, and the concepts of honesty, simplicity and intimacy integral to the Fall/Winter 2017 collection. The images blur the line between the real and imagined, juxtaposing classic monochrome portraits with shots that betray the construct of the image.
These different portraits in turn reflect different facets of Chastain’s own personality - public and private, inward and outward, her different incarnation, different identities - different persona.
Reflecting both the fiction of Jessica Chastain’s roles, and the fantasy of fashion, these images paradoxically represent both a search for truth and its discovery. It is found here in a reflection of Chastain not as a character, but as herself. Her own multi-faceted persona, recognizable in all her assumed identities. She is always and never the same.
Dialogue
One woman, a multitude of identities - reinvented again and again through fashion. Willy Vanderperre captures the magnetic presence of Kris Grikaite in six different states, inspired by key Prada handbags for the Fall/Winter 2017 season.
The inspiration is a conversation, a dialogue, between the different images - each showcasing both the woman and her bags, in luxuriant close-up. A portrait of both femininity, and of fashion, these photographs are striking in their intimacy; they are personal, honest.
The different identities assumed by Kris Grikaite are underscored by her accessories; each represent a different side of not only Prada, but the Prada woman.
The strength in using a single model to encapsulate these myriad identities proves the true transformative power of fashion. The ability of clothing to express deep desires and needs. These images, in turn, become a dialogue - a dialogue between the different facets of a woman, between her different identities and incarnations.
A woman, and the women she wishes to be.
365
Pièce De Chambre
Affiches
Chiaroscuro
Mise-En-Scène
Viewfinder
Denouement
Prada does not represent a universe, but a multiverse - of parallels, others, alternatives. The depth of creativity defies simple categorisation. Prada exists on multiple plains, with multiple interpretations.
365 reflects this diversity and thematic richness - it is fashion advertising as metaverse, each campaign presenting a microcosm of Prada. Each is honest, each is true, each is real.
For the latest evolution of the 365 campaign, six new Prada realities - Pièce de Chambre, Affiches, Chiaroscuro, Mise-en-Scène, Viewfinder and Denouement - are unveiled, photographed by Willy Vanderperre, his viewpoint a thread drawing all the realities together, alongside the distinct seasonal identity of Prada.
Credits
Video Credits
Films by Willy Vanderperre
Persona film featuring Jessica Chastain
365 film featuring Joaquim Arnell, Clément Chabernaud, Thibaud Charon, Freja Beha Erichsen, Sija Jure, Imari Karanja, Kris Grikaite, Kaissan Ibrahima, Amanda Murphy, Kerkko Sariola, Mia Brammer, Manuela Sanchez
Photo Credits
Photographer: Willy Vanderperre
Models - A City of Women: Kris Grikaite, Natalie Westling, Amanda Murphy, Freja Beha Erichsen, Mia Brammer, Saskia de Brauw, Kiki Willems, Cara Taylor
Model - Dialogue: Kris Grikaite