Glamour and melancholy

There is a lot less story and movement in the Hotel Americana campaign. 

I notice it when I look back at the first collection, at the running on the beach, the dancing, the locations around the clothes. With our second collection, we became more interested in still imagery. The mood was more serious, more editorial, and I think more reflective.

Can a series of images communicate just as much as a longform video? We had put a lot into the scenes and story behind our first campaign. For Hotel Americana, we wanted to give the garments more of that attention, to see what could be communicated through their shape, material and the way they were worn.

We began developing AW26 as the weather was moving towards cooler months, while we were still carrying some of the feeling of summer. That was the part of the season that interested us. Summer was coming to a close, and we were thinking about what remained of it. Present in it, but already missing it.

Hotel California by the Eagles was something we kept returning to. It drew us towards the glamour and excess we associated with Los Angeles in the mid-to-late seventies. For me, the connection was in the atmosphere, in the allure of a place and the sense that something within it was beginning to fade. How can something feel so inviting and melancholic at the same time?

I felt that most strongly in the creative direction. I wouldn’t say it underpinned every individual design. It gave us a way to think about the mood of the campaign, which we eventually shot entirely on film in two mid-century homes in Los Angeles. The rooms, the styling, the poses and props all contributed to that feeling. The clothes had more space within it.

Alongside this, the design work was opening up more possibilities for fabrics, washes and construction. A shared intention kept emerging, that the garments should feel as though they had been worn and loved before their first wear. It took shape in the sun-faded shoulders of the flannel, the whiskering on denim, the unfinished seams and nibbling on hems and pockets.

The Hudson Jacket became a focal point, with the suppleness of the lamb leather bringing a particular character to it. Soft red appeared in the leather treatment and the woven check of the flannel. These were details we wanted people to spend time with.

Seeing the collection and imagery come together changed how I thought about the brand. I realised we were comfortable taking a more serious approach to the original brand idea. We wanted more room to experiment, and a more premium position that could support that ambition. I didn’t want every decision about a fabric or design to come back to how cheaply we could make it.

There is still a lot to work out. Our audience needs time to adjust, and we need time to find the people who connect with this direction. I think an idea takes a while to reach its potential. You can feel quite clear about where you want to go while still being unsure how it will develop.

That is where I feel we are with Hotel Americana. The direction is clearer. There is more I want us to explore, and I am comfortable with some of it remaining unresolved.