In February, Heaven by Marc Jacobs released its spring campaign, a huge group shot that featured everyone from Marc Jacobs himself to White Lotus star Michael Imperioli. The brand had released similarly large group shots before (notably on a high school bleacher) but this one cut through the noise in a new way. It even garnered a nickname: the clout couch. Since then, campaigns across the fashion industry seem to have multiplied in size. Mowalola‘s Beats collab featured a Renaissance-style naked room of models (after she sent models down the runway dressed as conjoined twins), Versace gathered Gigi and Irina into a group for the AW23 Campaign, and MadeMe released a family photo to celebrate their community. A G-Star Raw and (di)vision collab even put 28 models on a panoramic Rhino. So what comes next after a year marked with clout couches, inflatable chairs, star-studded studio shoots and photoshopped mammals?
Simon Wick, co-founder of the work- and streetwear brand (di)vision says his campaign with G-Star Raw was inspired by the multitude of group shots this year. “I wanted to do it in our own way and have a witty take on it,” he says. “I try not to take fashion that seriously.” Since he couldn’t use an actual Rhino, he found “the next best thing”: a pommel horse and a friend who’s a talented photo editor. The models included his friends, sister, girlfriend and people from the (di)vision community. Frederik Lentz Andersen took photos of each individually over two days and the 28 people were then edited together onto the faux rhino.
Considering that much of the content that we consume is through swiping, it makes sense that swipeable campaigns have risen in popularity during this particular time of social media fatigue. “With these campaigns, you have to swipe through 10 pictures and give into everything to get the full experience,” Simon says. Stella Tompkins, the co-founder of Pulse Casting in New York, thinks we all might just enjoy playing Where’s Wally. “We’re seeing more brands creating shoots just for Instagram,” Stella says. Dylan, the co-founder of Pulse Casting, says the classic one-model shot really only remains on billboards. “I think a lot of the time, they’re made for swiping on social media specifically,” she says.
In recent years, we’ve witnessed the rise of micro and macro influencers, as brands begin to utilize the reach of smaller and more engaged communities. It’s no coincidence then that they might pack a room with multiple people who have some followers, rather than betting on one mega-influencer to post one time. “If you have 20 people in a campaign, there are going to be more shares and it feels more personal too,” Dylan says. “Especially when they’re just clouty New York famous, because we all know these people.” This has bled over into magazine covers. Just think of New York Magazine’s “2022 Reasons to Love New York”.
While the intentions of large group shots may be clout (or at least engagement) adjacent, Nouri Hassan a model and founder of casting and mother agency XYNE, says the format at least creates opportunities for rising models. “‘Throwing everyone into a room’ may break the industry’s current celeb cycle by offering opportunities to a broader range of talent,” she says. “But, it must be paired with a fair compensation that reflects the contributions of the talent hired, leading to a more sustainable and inclusive industry for everyone involved.” At XYNE, Nouri has noticed a rise in large group campaigns and editorial casting this year. Two of the talents at the agency, Angel and Keo, were in Heaven campaigns.
While the engagement is good, we shouldn’t expect campaign “clout bombs” to fizzle out anytime soon. After all, who doesn’t love a fun game of Where’s Wally to break up your mindless doom-scrolling — even if for only 30 seconds? But as the attention economy gets only more competitive online, 11 naked people with headphones on in a room or 28 models on a Rhino may soon not even be enough to scratch that itch. And, like all things on social media, it will inevitably be ramped up a notch — 100 people on an alligator, perhaps? Still, the duplicating opportunities for new talent give Nouri hope. “These group shoots symbolize a pivotal moment,” she says. “It’s a testament to our shared commitment to shaping a more innovative and reflective industry landscape.”