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French Connection Campaign Salutes The Absurd With A Nod To Artsy French Films






This Spring, fashion brand French Connection will launch a tongue-in-cheek, witty and visually captivating advertising campaign, with a return to humorous captions and a nod to the absurdity of french cinema.



Created by Fallon London, the fashion retailer's campaign returns to the film medium after a six year absence, in an attempt to shift perception of the brand.



The campaign targets men and women both separately and together depending upon the media.



To introduce our campaign heroes for the two fashion lines, are the two :60 second intro spots, shown below:

The Man:
 

The Woman:
 

A slew of 30 second spots are also being created, speaking to specific fashions for each of the two sexes. Below are two examples.

The Man- Marl:



The Woman - Light and dark:

 

The print campaign and out of home:

  the press release:

Spring 2010 sees French Connection create a stimulating, visually captivating and witty campaign with a return to humorous captions. The creative ante has been upped with a provocative campaign that allows the brand to effectively talk to fashion conscious men and women through intelligent wit and humour, inherent to the brands personality. The campaign is a lighthearted study of man and woman, bringing a distinct voice to the brand while ensuring the clothes remain at the forefront of everything we do. The campaign idea came from a need to talk to men and women in different ways. The most dramatic impact comes in the form of 'The Man'; a rugged, bearded and outspoken character who tells our customer how to dress. He has the physique of a bare-knuckle boxer, the brain of Voltaire and a discerning eye. Other men can learn much from him. 'The Women', is understated, yet sexy, her description is brief, as we know little of her. She is beautiful, enchanting, capricious and mystifying. We don't even catch her name.

Once we had our man and woman - we studied them; their behaviour, their mannerisms and their attire. This allowed us to comment on their clothes, discuss the materials and the detailing and evaluate their personal style. All our comments are voiced in fluent franglais. Playing on the 'Franglais' connection further we selected a French actor and actress to model the collection - giving the imagery added depth and personality. By working with an advertising agency with unparalleled credentials we feel we have matched our fashion expertise with their know-how of developing a distinct brand voice with wit, while remaining true to the brands values. To give the campaign the launch pad it deserves French Connection will embark on a multi-platform campaign starting with high profile TV adverts showcasing the campaign films on the 7th February 2010. The campaign encapsulates the French Connection Spring Summer 10 collection perfectly giving it a clean yet creative backdrop.

The ladieswear collection is all about feminine tailoring in soft nudes contrasted against bold Hawaiian prints and stripes. Clean cut lines are juxtaposed against softer silhouettes in fluid fabrics. Exaggerated shoulders still play an important role, from blazers, all over embellished tops to fitted dresses. The French Connection man steps in to SS10 in sophisticated fashion-forward pieces focusing on quality fabrics, unique detailing and signature design twists. Masculinity is the essence of the collection and created through simply stylish wearable clothes, ideal for a real man at one with the outdoors. "We believe we have created an impactful and intelligent campaign which we hope will encourage talk-ability amongst our loyal customers and fashion opinion formers worldwide.

The campaign creative enables us to speak to our male and female customers in a clever and effective way, whilst reaffirming our premium status on the high street. This is set to be a very important season for French Connection". Stephen Marks, Founder & Chairman of French Connection French Connection

Designer & Artist Mannequins for Ralph Pucci International





Pucci Manikin Co., which is now Ralph Pucci International, was originally a mannequin repair company begun by Leda and Nicholas Pucci in the 1950s, in the basement of their Mount Vernon, New York home.


above: Ralph Pucci in his NY showroom (photo courtesy of New York Daily News)

Pucci's son Ralph joined the business in 1976 and then took it over in the 1980's. He then transformed it into a company that created high-end mannequins in the likenesses of top models and collaborated on mannequin designs with top fashion designers and illustrators.


above and top image: Pucci's Madame Mannequins

I'm going to show you some of those amazing mannequins today.

Of course they are also known for their pricey high end unique pieces of furniture, interior decorating, hotel designing, lighting and graphics designed by some of the most influential innovators of this time.

Literally hundreds of beautiful mannequins, clothed and au naturel, sculpted and/or painted, have graced the showrooms of Ralph Pucci International. Too many to show you in one post. But here are just a few of my favorite collaborations.

Anna Sui:



Chelsey Maclaren:


Jeffrey Fulvimari:



Kenny Scharf:



Laura Ljungkvist
:


Maira Kalman:



Michael Bartalos:



Patrick Elie Naggar:




Robert Clyde Anderson:




Ruben Toledo:




Like I said earlier in this post, there are too many to share them all with you, but there is a book!
Show by Ralph Pucci, 192 pages, 154 color illustrations, published by Glitterati Inc, 2009


Buy Ralph Pucci's SHOW book here.


• Check out this nice feature the SeeSaw blog did on a 2008 tour of the Pucci mannequin factory.

above: detail of a photo by Liza Cowan for the See Saw blog factory tour article

If you'd like to know more, here's a nice and interesting 2009 article on Ralph Pucci and his company from the New York Daily News

Ralph Pucci International

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