By Jessica Ye (Jessica Yap)
A car. An open road. Dakota Johnson in red. Alexander Skarsgård beside her. And Pet Shop Boys’ It’s a Sin playing in the background.
Valentino Beauty’s new Vendetta campaign has all the makings of a road movie, albeit one with considerably better clothes.
Directed by Romain Gavras and photographed by Inez & Vinoodh, the campaign follows Johnson and Skarsgård as they travel through sunlit landscapes and shadowy interiors.
Shot on 35mm film, the images have a graininess that gives the campaign a more tactile quality. There is no shortage of close-ups either, with the camera picking up their expressions and the small gestures between them as they move from one place to another.
Valentino red appears throughout, most noticeably in a dress worn by Johnson. Against the muted landscape, the colour stands out immediately.
The campaign film moves between the road and quieter moments, with Johnson and Skarsgård driving, walking and simply spending time together. There is very little dialogue, leaving the soundtrack and the images to carry the story.
And that soundtrack is quite a choice.
It’s a Sin by Pet Shop Boys brings a distinctly eighties edge to the film, adding a little drama without taking itself too seriously.
For the still campaign, Inez & Vinoodh keep the focus firmly on the pair. Johnson brings her familiar coolness to the photographs, while Skarsgård looks every bit the slightly rugged counterpart.
The Vendetta fragrance duo sits at the centre of the campaign, but the film is less interested in explaining the perfumes than in giving them a setting.
I covered Vendetta Donna and Vendetta Uomo when they were first introduced in July. This time, it is the road, the clothes, the music and the two people travelling along it that take centre stage.
And with Dakota Johnson, Alexander Skarsgård, Romain Gavras, Inez & Vinoodh and the Pet Shop Boys on the credits, Valentino Beauty has certainly picked an interesting way to tell the story.
