EXCLUSIVE: Emma Stone Hits California Desert in First Vuitton Campaign
PARIS — For her first advertising campaign as brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton, Emma Stone hit the California desert in floaty dresses from designer Nicolas Ghesquière’s pre-fall 2018 collection for the French luxury brand.
But this was no hippy pastoral utopia: the Oscar-winning actress posed for Craig McDean brandishing an array of high-end Capucines handbags, including one version in ultraluxurious red alligator leather.
The house said the images, some featuring a rusty billboard-sized letter V in the background, embody “a heroine who is daring, confident and always on the move.”
The campaign, part of the brand’s Spirit of Travel series, will break in the May issue of Harper’s Bazaar U.K., scheduled for release on March 30, followed by the May, June and July issues of leading magazines worldwide.
“I am very happy and proud to be working with a house as passionate as Louis Vuitton, as well as with the unique style and creations of Nicolas Ghesquière,” Stone said in a statement.
In one image, the “La La Land” star wears a dress in the same paisley pattern as the one she donned to attend Vuitton’s fall show in Paris, held in a spectacular courtyard at the Louvre museum, where she was flanked by Justin Theroux, her costar in the TV series “Maniac,” and her fellow Vuitton campaign faces Michelle Williams, Jennifer Connelly and Jaden Smith.
Vuitton’s star-studded front row trumped all other brands in a Paris season traditionally low on celebrities, since it coincides with the Oscars ceremony. The brand has pushed on with a strategy hinged on major celebrities, even as other brands increasingly rely on influencers and digital campaigns.
Ghesquière had long wanted Stone on board, but the actress has been cautious about her partnerships. The designer, the actress and her stylist Petra Flannery have collaborated on her recent red-carpet outfits, including the satiny pantsuit that she wore to the Oscars.
For the Golden Globes, Ghesquière opted for a more traditionally feminine design: a custom one-shouldered lace gown, in keeping with the evening’s all-black dress code, respected by actresses supporting the Time’s Up movement against sexual harassment.
McDean succeeds Patrick Demarchelier, who shot the Spirit of Travel campaigns in recent years.
For the main fashion campaign, Ghesquière has typically tapped three photographers: Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz and Juergen Teller. Vuitton has quietly distanced itself from Demarchelier and Weber, who are among several industry figures accused of sexual misconduct. Both have denied the allegations, and Vuitton has not commented on the issue.
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