Most recently, Bottega Veneta shot Kendall Jenner and A$AP Rocky, a brilliant peak for this strategy altogether, along with GCDS, Poster Girl and Priscavera. Gucci released a pap-style campaign with Dakota Johnson in January of last year (pre-Sabato De Sarno), and, before all of them, came Balenciaga in 2018 — who even styled its 2023 Los Angeles runway show in a way reminiscent to that of a celeb paparazzi walk — and Jimmy Choo, Moschino and many more. The source inspiration, for those unaware, is Richard Avedon’s 1962 spread with Suzy Parker and Mike Nichols for Harper’s Bazaar of the actors being chased by paparazzi, which was inspired by the frenzy surrounding Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor after Cleopatra.
With this in mind, it makes sense that Gucci would lean into the current popularity of candid imagery for its campaign. The public sees Sinner as a star on the court, and given that the tagline for this ad is “Gucci is a feeling”, what we’re being sold is…