For his latest advertising campaign, Marc Jacobs replaced the model with a stuntwoman. Stroke of genius or controversy?
The video garnered more than seven million views. In its latest digital campaign, Marc Jacobs achieved a grandiose communication stunt. Imagine you are watching a fashion show where models are walking down large stone stairs. When suddenly one of them stumble And runs down the entire stairs head first. The fear. It is this chilling scene that millions of Instagram users have witnessed since October 10, 2023. Dressed in a oversized metallic set and roadway Kiki ankle boots with XXL platforms (16 cm in height!), the model falls heavily, before getting up gracefully and resuming her walk as if nothing had happened. A sequence which created a buzz and boosted communication around the launch of the brand’s new handbag, the XL Sack Bag. This leather model, from the fall-winter 2022-2023 collection, is sold for 950 euros and is available in an ivory or black version printed with white polka dots.
Internet users in shock
Among the reactions, many Internet users did not seem to understand the humorous character from this advertising spot: “I hope she is well. It was a nasty fall. Unless she was paid extra for you to profit from her pain, I think this should not have been published!“, protests a young woman. This anger against the American brand is however unjustified, because Teresa Kubovathe model who appears in the campaign, is in fact a professional stuntwoman! More fear than harm, therefore, for the one who also works as a judo teacher.
The controversial campaign is entirely supported by the production team. It also recalls another famous and completely accidental fall: that of Naomi Campbell during her fashion show for Vivienne Westwood during the fall-winter 1993-1994 fashion show. This time, the photographer and videographer Yulya Shadrinsky was specially commissioned by Marc Jacobs to edit this sequence from scratch. This is not the artist’s first surprising production. Last March, she conceived a false robbery to illustrate the collection of the American jewelry brand The M Jewelers. Rest easy, no one was injured during filming.