Advertising or real life?

A remarkable project requires a remarkable ad campaign. But how much brainstorming exactly is needed to come up with a gallery of brand ambassadors that includes Andy Warhol, Carla Fracci, Vivienne Westwood, Luciano Benetton, Franco Moschino? Fashion personalities who agree to pose for another label – now, that’s unusual, generous and extraordinarily forward-looking, for it reflects the idea that the industry is also a collective effort, not merely the crowning achievement of a few lone figures.

Photographer Oliviero Toscani masterminded the advertising strategy from1980 to 1986. And while today celebrity endorsement is par for the course, back then the concept took the scene by storm. With Steven Meisel behind the lens, in the 1990s the ads featured the likes of Farrah Fawcett, Sofia Coppola, Iggy Pop and Isabella Rossellini; in 2000, rather, the hot young female rapper Lil’Kim made an outstanding appearance.