David Sims
/ Anne Enke
David Sims
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Paris Café Society Embraced Bad-Ass Women, Not Our Erasure
AOC knows that it annoys the hell out of Jonathan Anderson that women like Anne keep reminding him about the facts of history in his House of Dior. He complains that we are “boxing him in”.
Not really, because it’s not about him. It’s about our erasure from Dior’s history and the expectation that we will just fall in line with his alleged, Sun King genius that calls for such erasure.
The real Cafe Society heroines were true-grit women, many of them wealthy women involved in espionage with the French resistance. Christian Dior’s sister Catherine was one of its leaders; and the designer offered her and her co-conspirators refuge in his prominently-situated apartment in Paris.
Taking a well-established historical term and innocently [or not] trading it for these lovelies enjoying giggles and milkshakes is exactly how erasure works.
Chloé [IG] creative director Chemena Kamali turned to model, singer, actor and college student Apple Martin in her first campaign for the maison. Martin wears key pieces from the Chloé à la Plage high summer collection, captured by photographer David Sims [IG].
Martin is styled by Elodie David Touboul. Charles Levai and Kevin Trkinel provide creative direction with set design by Poppy Bartlett and Romain Wygas as director./ Hair by Paul Hanlon; makeup by Yadim
Prada Is Poised for VIC Brainiac Status and The Prada Days of Summer 2026 Campaign
Liu Wen joins Prada ambassadors Bella Hadid, Damson Idris and Louis Partridge in fronting the growing trend of ‘urban beaches’ in global cities worldwide. David Sims [IG] photographs the campaign with creative direction by Ferdinando Verderi.
AOC doubts that Prada is prompting an intellectual discussion on ‘cool roofs’ as a highly-effective way to reduce summer heat and energy consumption. But if any luxury brand wants to advocate for that inquiry, Mrs. Prada and Prada co-creative director Raf Simons are at the head of the pack.
Miuccia Prada ‘Titan’
Miuccia Prada was first on the global TIME 100 list in 2005; she returned to the list in 2025, recognized as a ‘Titan’ for influencing fashion, identity and culture. Anne is optimistic that finally we have found a word — ‘titan’ — that fashion and culture writers are using sparingly and only for those who deserve the title by accomplishment and not hype. Fantastic!
Models Ella Dalton [below] and Mathilda Gvarliani [above] are styled by Emmanuelle Alt in casual little pieces — panties, short skirts and tees, body-hugging jackets — from Fifi Chachnil, Gucci, Isabel Marant, Prada, Schiaparelli, YSL by Anthony Vaccarello and more.
David Sims [IG] captures Ella and Mathilda for Harper’s Bazaar France [IG] October 2025./ Hair by Paul Hanlon; makeup by Yadim
Jonathan Anderson taps Dior’s three newest ambassadors: Mia Goth, Greta Lee and Mikey Madison for the reveal on Monday of the new Lady Dior handbag campaign.
Photographer David Sims [IG] shot the campaign at the Pavillon de Musique de la Comtesse du Barry, the reception space in Louveciennes built for Madame du Barry, the official mistress of King Louis XV. There’s definitely a sense of continuity between Anderson’s debut men’s show in June and this campaign for a truly iconic Lady Dior handbag.
Since taking over as creative director in 2023, Chemena Kamali has reenergized Chloé’s sunny identity, and now she’s unveiling her initial high summer capsule line, titled Chloé à la Plage.
The high summer collection debuted today, May 7th, at Chloé stores, on Chloé.com, and shortly in dedicated summer pop-up shops at popular vacation spots like Saint-Tropez, Capri, and Monte Carlo.
Kamali noted that Schiffer “has always epitomized the cross-generational femininity that is emblematic of Chloé.”
It was photographer David Sims [IG] who had the pleasure of bringing the designer’s words to life in the hyper-feminine capsule styled by Elodie David Touboul. / Hair by Paul Hanlon; makeup by Lucia Pieroni
Rianne Van Rompaey Stars in Chloé SS 2025 Campaign Lensed by David Sims
Dutch sensual beauty and top model Rianne Van Rompaey delivers spectacular images for the Chloé [IG] SS 2025 campaign. Elodie David styles Rianne in sublime images by David Sims [IG].
The campaign is privileged escapism at its best. In this complicated time in our shared global history, it may surprise you to read AOC say “we’re here for it.” The campaign images are a welcome quickie getaway that absolutely recharges our minds and bodies.
Our resilience needs nourishment, no matter how dedicated we are to the fight for democratic, humanist values. This campaign delivers.
AOC has searched for days to find something positive about Gucci’s Fall 2024 Campaign [IG] with models Alaato Jazyper, Jiahui Zhang and Loli Bahia. Riccardo Zanola acts as artistic director in images styled by Alasdair McKimm and lensed by David Sims [IG]. / Hair by Duffy; makeup by Lucia Pieroni
Gucci Creative Director Sabato De Sarno sits atop this campaign, as he methodically and slowly ponders his way out of the red-ink mess that is today’s Gucci brand.
Global luxury brands Gucci and Burberry are vying for first place in this sea of red ink. Gucci — with its strong, leather-goods business — should not be in the same car-wreck pileup that includes Burberry, who does not have iconic handbags.
Not only has the Fall 2024 Campaign prompted AOC to investigate the history of brain lobotomies as a medical treatment for women disproportionally. Anne’s very high-grade, brain wiring just recalled the extreme degree of misogyny in the Italian Futurist movement, launched in 1909 by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Read our insights on this subject.
When professionals cut open a luxury brand patient with a big heart and leave it bleeding profusely on the operating table for nearly two years, death is a real possibility.
British top model Edie Campbell and Norwegian model Iselin Steiro come together in the March 2024 issue of Harper’s Bazaar France [IG].
In a trademark Emmanuelle Alt edit, the former EIC of Vogue France styles the duo in her own personal style. The black leather jacket is a must-have in every French woman’s closet.
Photographer David Sims [IG] is behind the lens at Arlington Road Studio in London.
Gucci Ancora is creative director Sabato De Sarno’s ad campaign for his debut Gucci collection. The director’s choice of the word Ancora is an Italian terms that translates “again” in English.
Gucci Ancora is creative director Sabato De Sarno’s ad campaign for his debut Gucci collection. The director’s choice of the word Ancora is an Italian terms that translates “again” in English.
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Canadian-Ukrainian fashion model goddess Daria Werbowy has been sorely missed since she left fashion modeling in 2016.
Daria is set to return to fashion world — on her terms and ONLY on her terms. Phoebe Philo’s eponymous new label, due to launch in September but not with a runway show, delivers a long-anticipated re-pairing of artist and muse.
Apparently, Daria Werbowy is also part of the Gucci relaunch. In these new images, the model and muse is seen in the chunky gold Gucci Marina Chain jewelry, magnifying an archival motif inspired by the maritime world.
It’s expected that Daria Werbowy will be the face of a larger fashion campaign, beyond this jewelry release photographed in Los Angeles at Chateau Marmont by David Sims [IG], with styling by Alastair McKimm.
Anne of Carversville doesn’t have current Daria Werbowy archives, but we’re spending a lot of time reassembling her best work in our very successful project of refreshing archives pre-2020. Note that these redone archives aren’t in chronological order.
In-transition luxury house Gucci presents its Fall Winter 2023 campaign featuring Vittoria Ceretti, Aboubakar Konte and Brando Erba, lensed by photographer David Sims [IG].
Alastair McKimm styles the cast with hair by Paul Hanlon and makeup by Thomas De Kluyver. “Brakhage” by Stereolab is the music in the campaign video.
I noted a few months ago that we didn’t even post the new Gucci Valigeria campaign video, thinking it was just a stop along the way of Gucci’s reinvention. But that mistake was AOC’s.
The video is exactly in sync with the Fall 2023 campaign.
Many luxury brands — Louis Vuitton immediately comes to mind, but also Dior — are redefining luxury in more humanist terms. This branding does not prevent exclusive salons for best customers. But our common humanity — or ubuntu — is part of the luxury brand story.
Look at the new RIMOWA campaign, as a good example.
With our creative, fashion minds wrapped around one word for the last three years — ‘surreal’ — Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe for a decade, finally agreed with AOC that it’s time to bust out of the creative prison of everything is either ‘surreal’ or not ‘surreal’. Our binary thinking approach is beginning to bite us in our fashionable ‘derrières’.
Anderson seeks to draw attention to timely, complicated questions in fashion design — and they are not binary.
Talents Tang Wei and Taylor Russell are styled by Benjamin Bruno in Jonathan Anderson’s Fall 2023 Loewe Campaign, lensed by David Sims [IG]./ Makeup by Wong Chi Yee and Lucia Pieroni; hair by Lo Chu Sum & Duffy
“How do you go out of a surrealist aspect to something which is more about how we see clothing now? I think it’s kind of like a type of reduction,” he said. “Wanting to refine, and refine.”
Anderson is playing with our own minds in a very digital world.
In his Fall 2023 presentation, Anderson employed much eye-trickery. As Vogue noted, what appeared to be ordinary cardigans were, in fact, adhesive printed paper. Those cardigans were stuck on the models’ skins, but online viewers couldn’t tell the difference. We only knew what they appeared to be.
Actor and brand ambassador Emma Stone headlines the Louis Vuitton Women’s FW 2023 Collection. American rock band Haim also joins the campaign, lensed by David Sims.
A Collection of Unbelievable Details
The most consistent and prevailing compliment to the Louis Vuitton FW 2023 collection is that one had to see it up close and personal, because the construction and fabrications in the collection are among the most luxurious and intricate techniques Nicolas Ghesquière has ever employed.
Vogue called the details “mindboggling”.
LVMH posted a 20 percent revenue increase in the first six months of 2023, with a profit from recurring operations of 14 percent among its fashion & leather goods division.
In a new Spring 2023 campaign, Gucci celebrates the enduring style of its iconic Bamboo 1947 handbag. Supermodel Liu Wen is centerstage in images and video lensed by David Sims, with creative direction from Ezra Petronio & Lana Petrusevych./ Hair by Paul Hanlon; makeup by Thomas De Kluyver
The Gucci Bamboo 1947 handbag, originally known by its product number 0633, has a rich history that dates back to post-war Italy. In 1947, Europe was still recovering from the aftermath of World War II, and resources were scarce. Leather, a primary material used in fashion at the time, was in short supply, forcing designers to find alternative materials for their creations.
South Korean ‘Squid Game’ actor and Louis Vuitton ambassador Hoyeon Jung plays with scale in the Spring 2023 campaign.
Jung just booked another very important beauty ambassador role with Lancôme.
The campaign is fast and young — more than usual. The playhouse structure is modeled after Louis Vuitton’s historic home in Asnieres, located on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the center of Paris.
Today the home is called ‘La Galerie’, and it functions as a permanent exhibition space for Louis Vuitton.
The rest of the cast includes Elio Berenett, Franzisla Jetzek, Greta Oberwalleney, Killian Smits, Sarah Brown and Samile Bermannelli.
Frequent LV photographer David Sims [IG] is behind the lens, with styling by Marie-Amelie Sauve.
British actors Josh O’Connor, who played a young Charles in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’, and Franco-Congolese actor and comedian Stéphane Bak, fresh off his critically-acclaimed role in ‘Mali Twist’, are center-stage in LOEWE’s Spring Summer 2023 Men’s Campaign.
Benjamin Bruno styles the shoot, with creative direction by Jonathan Anderson. Photographer David Sims [IG] is in the studio, distilling yet another LOEWE campaign with an impeccable vibe of creative artisanship. Vincent Olivieri provides set design. Love it.
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen loves to dance, so much so that it’s part of her inner-self and private identity.
Gisele covers the November 26, 2022 issue of M le Magazine du Monde, styled in a fashion story with a “Hi, I’m Gisele; this is another side of me” vibe.
Emmanuelle Alt styles Bundchen in ‘Le Ballet de Giselle’, lensed by David Sims [IG].
Actor Jennifer Connelly, who announced in October that she will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a villainous role for an upcoming project, poses in shimmering metallics from Nicolas Ghesquière’s Louis Vuitton Cruise 2023 Collection for modern nomads.
Center stage are Ghesquiere’s latest Coussin bags in the same irridescent hues, for a fashion campaign styled by Florent Buonomano and Marie-Amélie Sauvé. Photographer David Sims [IG], video by Axel Morin, and creative direction by Charles Levai and Kevin Tekinel.
American actor Diana Silvers and British actor Damson Idris celebrate A Simple Gesture: PRADA Holiday 2022 Collection with a new campaign focused on the unopened Prada gift box. Moving to the top level of the campaign, we acknowledge the unique Prada aesthetic whether in luxe fashion pieces for women and men, games, homewares and — of course — the handbag.
David Sims [IG] photographs the campaign, with creative direction by Ferdinando Verderi [IG].
Not featured in the holiday campaign is Prada’s exciting launch of its new fine jewelry collection, a campaign also created by David Sims and Ferdinando Verderi. Prada Launches Fully Recycled Eternal Gold Collection with Aura Blockchain Certification AOC Jewelry News
Zara [IG] continues to hire top talent with its new collection ‘Into The Classics’, seasonal statement pieces including cashmere sweaters, a wide pinstripe jacket, denim, shirts, and more styled by Emmanuelle Alt. And they LOOK like Emmanuelle Alt as well.
Photographer David Sims [IG]captures the collection of timeless garments mixing a classic wardrobe with a fresh French touch modeled by Andreea Diaconu. / Hair by Damien Boissinot; makeup by Diane Kendal
American poet, activist, Prada ambassador and UNICEF supporter Amanda Gorman; Dutch-Korean-Canadian singer, rapper and dancer Jeon Somi; and American actor and model Maya Hawke, daughter of actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke star in Prada’s 2022 launch of Eternal Gold, representing the luxury brand’s first forray into fine jewelry.
In addition to being made from certified recycled gold, every piece of jewelry in the collection will be fully traceable, thanks to blockchain technology. Every purchase will be traceable by logging into the Aura Blockchain Consortium.
The Prada Eternal Gold collection is very modern a 100 percent recycled collection that pushes category boundaries. Amanda Gorman came to Prada’s attention, not because of her 2021 Inaugural Poem, but because of her environmental activism.
Supermodel Anja Rubik and Ludwig Wilsdorff are the co-stars of Boucheron’s new “Icons” campaign, lensed by David Sims. Both Rubik and Wilsdorff have also become ambassadors for the house.
To have the women leaders of Boucheron celebrate Anja’s bold character on progressive human rights as one that articulates their own brand platform for this iconic high jewelry brand means everything to those of us on the front line of these battles.
It’s good business because every day more women — including wealthy women — understand that we are in the fight of our lives.
The creative team putting together ‘Desire Lines’, clearly let their sensual imaginations run wild. We need it! Models Alessandra Caporaso, Anna de Rijk, Apollo Yom, Ask Putnik, Elio Berenett, Eva Wu, Juliette Grondin, and Vera Kuntz pose to provoke. Benjamin Bruno styles the edgy and subversive fashion story in images by David Sims [IG].
Photographer David Sims [IG] captures the utterly delightful LOEWE Fall 2022/23 campaign, featuring models Anok Yai, Jeanne Cadieu, Lina Zhang and Violette Meima.
British artist Anthea Hamilton was one of four creatives shortlisted for the 2016 Turner Prize. Hamilton is known for her surreal artworks and often large-scale installations.
Anthea Hamilton brought her art in the form of Pumpkins no.5, 6, 7 2022 to the LOEWE Fall 2022 campaign.
Norwegian actor and friend of the House Renate Reinsve, star of the critically-acclaimed ‘The Worst Person in the World’, headlines the new Louis Vuitton campaign that also includes Akon Changkou, Elio Berenett, Ida Heiner, Kristine Lindseth, Qisi Feng, and Tida Rosvall.
Louis Vuitton has risen into the top 10 global brands on the Kantar Branz Most Valuable Global Brands 2022 report, joining the ranks of Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and other global mega brands not associated with the fashion industry.
When the ‘90s party girl Kate Moss poses for British fashion photographer David Sims [IG], making one grand entrance after another in old-Vogue-style photography, it’s one more reminder that big brands like Zara are driving fashion visualization as much — or more — than fashion media.
Photographer David Sims [IG] captures the Prada Fall 2022 campaign for both men’s and women’s collections. The luxury Italian house’s Fall/Winter 2022 campaigns pair with intention a still-life of an object with each model/talent. The chosen totem has deeply personal meaning and relevance to the individual Prada protagonists in the campaign collages.
Models Hoyeon Jung, Kristine Lindseth, Mona Tougaard and Rianne Van Rompaey are in high-energy fashion action for Louis Vuitton’s S/S 2022 Campaign. David Sims is behind the lens with styling by Florent Buonomano and Marie-Amélie Sauvé./ Hair by Duffy; makeup by Lucia Pieroni
Jerry Hall, aka the former Mrs. Mick Jagger — except that their Bali marriage was not recognized as legal — and now Mrs. Rupert Murdoch, fronts Saint Laurent Summer 22 by Anthony Vaccarello campaign images, lensed by David Sims [IG]. Hall celebrated her 65 birthday in July and lives in Bel Air much of the time.
The couple actually owns a boutique vineyard winery that is “somewhat implausibly located in the heart of a tony residential enclave on the ritzy border between L.A.’s Bel Air and Brentwood neighborhoods,” writes Dirt.
Building on David Sims’ Louis Vuitton Womenswear Fall Winter 2021 campaign images, the world’s most valuable luxury brand shares more snaps of it Louis Vuitton X Fornasetti collab. The surreal classical Roman style of Fornasetti promotes the idea of collecting these pieces. Brilliant!
Models Clementine Balcaen, Evie Saunders, Ida Heiner, Jade Nguyen, Kris DeGirolamo, Maria Cosima and Mona Tougaard front the Louis Vuitton Fall Winter 2021 Campaign, lensed by David Sims. Designer Nicolas Ghesquière takes the team to Normandy, for the new collection that pays tribute to the brand’s Spirit of Travel with inspiration and direct collaboration with the illustration-rich world of Italian artistic design atelier Fornasetti.
Designer Phoebe Philo is returning to fashion with her own namesake house and the backing of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton as a minority investor. Details have not been announced, but it’s well known that Philo prefers to work from her home base in London.
In the words of Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times, “Listen? Do you hear that? It is the intake of breath after thousands of women’s fashion prayers are finally answered.. . . Phoebe Philo, the patron saint of dressing for the female gaze . . . is returning to business . . . on her own terms.”
Philo’s David Sims images — covering the debut issue in 2010 of The Gentlewoman’ — are testimony to her status as one of the most talented, revered — and commercially bankable — designers of her generation. Presumably, the vintage copy of the magazine, sold online for £250.00, just doubled in value and probably more.
Philo, long championed by Delphine Arnaut, said in 2009 about her vision for Celine “it felt better for me to work on an idea of a wardrobe than too much trend. I worked hard to create things that stand the test of time.”
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Vanessa Paradis Fronts 'Au Charme Non Plus' By David Sims For Vogue Paris December 2015/January 2016
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