Axel Arigato launches first full seasonal campaign

Axel Arigato has launched a “new creative vision” for AW24 under the leadership of recently appointed Creative Director Jens Werner. 

It means that for the first time it’s released a full seasonal campaign, “an approach that celebrates creativity and is designed to provoke curiosity across a four-month series of video episodes and accompanying visuals”.

The campaign is called ‘An Infinite Dream’ and features a “meticulously curated dream-like hotel room, with a series of commissioned artworks and design objects that adorn this space”.

The company said this approach renews the label’s “commitment to creative collaboration — working with global talents that help inform its brand universe”.

This is a shift from the brand’s decade-long ‘Drop of the Week’ strategy — “with a complete reset on the brand’s Instagram channel”. 

By contrast, the new concept is all about “creative storytelling that prioritises entertainment — seamlessly integrating Axel Arigato’s products into new visual worlds. It also allows for the unification of the footwear and ready-to-wear collections, employing creative techniques to bring designs to life”.

CEO and co-founder Albin Johansson said the drop of the week model “has served us well — allowing us to place product and consumer at the heart of our brand”, while the new approach “builds on these years of success, whilst also allowing a new directional and creative approach to storytelling that better serves our brand values and global positioning”.

So let’s look at the details. The concept has drawn on Werner’s “background and passion in art and design — creatives have been consulted over calls and conversations to create this ethereal space”.

They include Jon Buck who contributes a bespoke shower unit and cement pillow-shaped speaker, evolving from his sculptural works found in Axel Arigato stores. 

There’s also Charlotte Kingsnorth who’s designed “a curious sofa hybrid and a giant vase that reimagines everyday forms”. Meanwhile, Illya Goldman Gubin has created a foam table and chairs in Axel Arigato’s signature yellow Pantone, “enticing interaction with seemingly unstable forms”.

Werner said of all this: “For the first time in our campaigns, we have carefully curated a brand universe — designed to inspire and promote creative collaboration. We were motivated to work with other artists and designers that are truly meaningful to myself, the brand and our audience. 

“This inter-disciplinary approach helps us to unite entertainment, product, art, craft and design in a way that feels reflective of who we are as a brand.”

The creative team also “delved into the practicality of such a space, intrigued by the intimacy of shared hotel experiences encapsulated by the question of: ‘you never know who slept in your bed the night before.’ This theme becomes a central proposition for the season.”

The concept plays out over the next four months with viewers “invited to explore this intriguing living space and the people who have come to inhabit it. The stories of this diverse and transient cast of characters will be revealed via episodes, images and interviews that are timely rolled out across the season”. 

There will be surveillance footage from NYC-based director Lana Shahmoradian (an ongoing brand collaborator) and “intimate iPhone imagery” captured by Werner as “character narratives unfurl across a blend of captivating own-channel content”.