MILAN — Conversations have been a key driver of Prada’s creative output over the years, frequently mentioned by co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons when discussing their joint design process.
For the fall 2024 ad campaign, the concept is embedded quite literally in images by Willy Vanderperre and videos scripted by American filmmaker, artist and writer Miranda July and directed by Oscar-nominated documentary director Garrett Bradley.
The cast of stars appearing in campaign imagery comprises Prada ambassadors Harris Dickinson, Damson Idris, Hunter Schafer, Letitia Wright, as well as the newly named ambassador Ma Yili, a breakthrough Chinese actress best known for her role in the hit TV series “Blossoms Shanghai.”
As reported last February, Prada dropped a collaboration with the TV series, which includes four key looks worn by Yili on screen.
All regulars in Prada campaigns as of late, except for newcomer Yili, the talents appear in the ad images in couples or groups of three, engaging — face-to-face sitting on office chairs or over a vintage corded phone — in small talk, discussing topics one can hardly grasp fully as the conversations are often cut midway. The solid white and pale blue backdrops evoke non-places and allow characters and their dialogues — as well as clothing — to stand out.
“The images of their interchanges nod simultaneously to the fiction of different eras, of narrative cinema and the verity of documentary,” Prada said in a statement, adding that in sync with July’s oeuvre, they “explore the links between individuals forged by language.”
The campaign, titled “Now That We’re Here,” reflects Prada’s penchant for sparking conversations through fashion, the brand said. “Every Prada collection is a conversation, an interplay of contrasting opinions and viewpoints, both within the designs themselves, and in their rapport with their audience. Fashion is an exchange,” the company said.
The Prada fall 2024 ad campaign.
Willy Vanderperre/Courtesy of Prada
As part of the campaign’s side activation, Prada has created “conversation cards,” also written by July, providing topics of conversation among people. Images by Vanderperre are to appear on billboards in New York starting from the end of July at the corner of Grand Street and Lafayette Street in SoHo, Park Avenue South and 23rd Street in August and in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn at the beginning of September.
