Jacob Elordi Stars in Bottega Veneta’s New Dreamy Campaign
Bottega Veneta has launched “What Are Dreams,” a striking new campaign featuring actor Jacob Elordi and crafted by acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Duane Michals. Shot in black and white within Michals’s New York residence, the series seamlessly blends reality with imagination, inspired by the artist’s enduring passion for surrealism.
A Surreal Visual Journey
The campaign includes twelve photographs and a short film where Elordi appears in mysterious, dreamlike settings. He is seen framed by elements like a flowing curtain, a convex mirror, and a lone feather suspended in midair—motifs characteristic of Michals’s visual style.
“I’m very much interested in the realm of the invisible. My problem is, ‘how do I make the invisible visible?’” – Duane Michals
Poetry and Imagery Intertwined
Elordi also recites Michals’s 2001 poem, “What Are Dreams,” which inspired the title of the project. The poem contemplates “midnight movies of the mind…where things look familiar, but not at all the same.” Handwritten excerpts from the poem are incorporated throughout the visuals, enhancing the reflective and mysterious mood.
Creative Collaboration
“Of course movie making is also a dream, and Frankenstein is a scary dream. Jacob understood exactly what I was trying to do with the project. He was right there for the magic and the mystery of it.” – Duane Michals
Michals, known for combining text and photography to evoke the unseen and imagined, described the partnership with Elordi as a mutual exploration of “magic and mystery.”
Behind the Scenes
The British artist also gave CR Fashion Book an exclusive glimpse into his preparations for the Oscars alongside Dsquared2 designers Dean and Dan Caten.
Author’s summary: Jacob Elordi collaborates with Duane Michals in Bottega Veneta’s surreal black-and-white campaign “What Are Dreams,” blending poetry, visual art, and dreamlike imagery to explore the invisible and mysterious.