Gisele Bundchen stars in Givenchy’s new spring 2012 campaign, the darkest and broodiest I’ve seen of the season.
There seems to be some remnants of winter that still need shaking off in this advertisement. I’ve never seen a beach looking quite so menacing in an ad, particularly one that’s supposed to celebrate warmer weather. It seems as if storm clouds are brewing around Bundchen and her sexy surfer companions.
Riccardo Tisci’s explanation doesn’t really shed any light on the unusual creative choices he’s taken here. In fact, I’m even more befuddled. He told Women’s Wear Daily that the ads are “the expression of a love story between a surfer and a mermaid.” Yet Gisele has sexy long legs rather than a fishy tail. Color me confused.
Famed photographic duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott were behind the lens, and they’ve captured Tisci’s goth aesthetic beautifully. But this ad really doesn’t say spring to me. It’s also so dark that I can barely make out the outfit Bundchen is wearing, let alone the purse in her hand. And isn’t admiring the apparel and accessories the whole point of advertising? Needless to say, I’m perplexed. What do you think about Givenchy’s dark take on the season?
