Selling Clothes Through Feelings: Patrik Ervell’s Fall Campaign

Photo: Courtesy of Patrik Ervell

Once upon a time, models ruled fashion. On the covers of magazines, in pictures for all ad campaigns, the were the heart and soul of an entire industry. Over time, designers wishing to stand out of the pack started casting celebrities in their ads, editors started putting celebrities on their covers, and being an actress or a musician became the number one way to become a fashion influencer.

Models and celebrities are still splitting duties in ad campaigns, of course, but now there is a new trend surfacing. One with no models, no celebrities and sometimes, not even any clothes.

Photo: Courtesy of Patrik Ervell

Such is the case for Patrik Ervell’s Fall campaign, which features images taken by photographer Peter Hujar. Hujar was an accomplished photographer and part of the New York City downtown scene in the ‘70s and ‘80s alongside artists and intellectuals like Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag, and David Wojnarowicz, whom he also dated.

The never-before-seen black and white photographs feature portraits of men, and in one case, a snake, and transmit a quiet but powerful energy. For a clientele that will come to a designer regardless of the season’s offerings, choosing the work of an artist, no matter how famous or underrated he might be, appeals to a different part of the brain. Like swiping right on Tinder based on one image, it aims to immediately connect with a potential customer directly through the heart. After all, there are only so many ways one can wear a pair of black shorts or a white shirt to make it a “must-have purchase.”

Photo: Courtesy of Patrik Ervell

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