Art Direction — Zalando — Directed by Jamon Creative
Paolina Russo wins the first Zalando Visionary Award in partnership with Copenhagen Fashion Week and brought her London soft warriors to walk in Denmark.
The ancient stones at Avebury have been standing for 4,500 years and nobody fully agrees on why or how they got there. Paolina Russo and Lucile Guilmard used them as creative starting point and inspiration to design their SS24 collection anyway. The London-based brand, founded in 2021 and worn by Rihanna and Solange, built its name on knitwear that treats sustainability as craft rather than commitment. They were the first Zalando Visionary Award winners, debuting at CPHFW in August 2023, with me as creative director on Zalando's side across catwalk, set, communications, and film. We went to London to visit their studio and teams, the following day we drove three hours to Avebury to film the duo walking among the ancient stone circle that inspired their collection. This day was by far one of the most special days of my career so far, and I'll always remember it.
We brought a possible version of the ancient monoliths directly to the runway as main set design. Jamon Creative shot the documentary that went live post-catwalk and all BTS stills for media distribution pre-show. Nearly every European VOGUE covered the show. VOGUE Scandinavia wrote that the Paolina Russo woman is "a warrior, but a soft warrior." We closed the season with a big party at Pakhus 11 for 500 guests, DJ JaydaG, the Visionary Award an official highlight at CPHFW. We're still collaborating, every Visionary Award we still find a new way to meet and work together and maybe that's the best achievement.