A couple weeks ago, the first ever Rodarte ad was revealed, months after it appeared in Anthem‘s fall issue, which was apparently the only time it appeared at all. The image, featuring a blood-splattered wall behind Karen Elson, was the result of a spontaneous shoot that ended up serving as a one-off ad for the brand that had never advertised before (they have since launched a “real” ad for Spring 09).
And now, it looks like Zac Posen has the done the same: The young designer, who has never launched an ad campaign for his nonetheless coveted label, got some of his fashion friends together to create a one-off ad for Spring 09 to appear in Fanzine 137, an indie magazine from Madrid (though the image does appear first in today’s WWD).
So are quiet, one-time-only ads the new way to go for young designers looking to establish their identity without emptying out their wallets? We’ll see – but if Gareth somehow gets Beyonce to pose under his name for a full-page glossy image, you can call it on a trend on arrival.