The designer tells Another Man about working with the photographer on his Autumn/Winter 2019 campaign
- TextJack Moss
Ludovic de Saint Sernin, the Balmain alumnus known for his sensual designs for men, has released his namesake label’s Autumn/Winter 2019 campaign, photographed by Willy Vanderperre. In a series of images by the renowned photographer, models Doeke Smulders and Jan B “tell a reimagined story of creation” among an ethereal set by Paris-based designers, Tanker. “With Willy we wanted to create something quite other-worldly,” De Saint Sernin told Another Man. “The boys are like two angels falling to the ground. There’s an emotional tension between them that leaves you wanting to know more.”
Vanderperre – a longtime contributor to Another Man, AnOther and Dazed, most recently photographing Frank Ocean for the cover of the latter – has shot numerous campaigns throughout his career, memorably for Raf Simons, Calvin Klein, and Prada. Ludovic de Saint Sernin, in comparison, is recently established: the label’s first collection, Spring/Summer 2018, was shown in 2017, just two years ago. “Working with Willy was very humbling. It was a real pleasure to watch his process; to see how he gets the most out of the models,” says De Saint Sernin. “He’s such a professional and has so much experience and he was really respectful of my opinions considering I am so new to the industry.”
The collection itself, first shown in De Saint Sernin’s home city of Paris earlier this year, drew on the Halcyon days of the supermodel, the 1990s (audio footage of Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell provided the soundtrack). Post-show, the designer said he wanted to translate the tropes of the era’s womenswear for men: low-slung trousers, spaghetti-strap halterneck tops and high-sheen satin tailoring followed this rationale; while legendary designers Azzedine Alaïa and Paco Rabanne were recalled in body-clinging knitwear and chainmail respectively. Beneath it all, the undercurrent of eroticism on which De Saint Sernin has built his label: the closing look was simply a pair of Swarovski-embedded “million-dollar eyelet briefs”, which recently starred in the label’s first underwear campaign.
Later this month, De Saint Sernin will show his latest collection, Spring/Summer 2020, in Paris. It will mark his debut on-schedule show.
