It seems there are two sides to contemporary advertising imagery: one pushing posed, airbrushed perfection to the idealised extremes of Soviet propaganda, the other taking a decidedly lo-fi, low-key - dare we say wonky? - approach to commercial imagery. Band Of Outsiders' campaigns, shot by creative director Scott Sternberg himself on traditional, unretouched polaroids, epitomise the latter approach. As with Juergen Teller's work for Marc Jacobs, the focus is placed resolutely on the clothing, and occasionally on the names wearing it. The latest Band Of Outsiders campaign features boldface Hollywood name Michelle Williams in a pastel, pastoral flower-strewn frock sat on a river bank. Far from her acclaimed turn as Marilyn, or indeed tradition Hollywood cameo appearances in advertising campaigns - cue preening to the nth degree, alongside idealising and idolising in equal measure. By contrast, the simplicity of these shots reminded me of a twenty-first century take (well, more twentieth-century circa 1968) on Marie Antoinette's hameau, or Les Demoiselles des bords de la Seine by Courbet. Fine art references feel very appropriate, as the other campaign star is a less well-known face, but a very well-known name - American Pop artist Ed Ruscha, dressed in the understated, classic garments the Band Of Outsiders label is known for. Playing Sudoku in a nylon windcheater or cracking open a fridge/freezer in cotton pyjamas and bathrobe are hardly conventional representations of the Great Artist at work, or indeed conventional fashion imagery. It's advertising, yes, but it doesn't advertise it.
00:08 11 Feb 2012
where is the picture of LL in undergarments and a fur coat then??!!!!
you tease.