Mercedes-Benz announces its fashion collaboration for S/S 2013
An intergalactic beauty is confronted with all the world’s treasures, wrapped and guarded in an underground warehouse, whereupon she reclaims her idea of the modern masterpiece – the CLS Shooting Brake.
Celebrated fashion photographer Mario Testino is known for producing iconic imagery and timeless portraits. Here, Testino creates a striking scenery, presenting a futuristic and arresting vision, with the CLS Shooting Brake as the object of this woman’s desires.
In addition to these intriguing images, Mario Testino has also created a captivating fashion film, bringing the mysterious scene to life. A night watchman is guarding an underground warehouse of the most beautiful creations on earth, draped in monochrome and protected from prying eyes. A striking beauty, Joan Smalls, reveals herself by casting away the drapes that also concealed her. Trentemøller’s Vamp soundtracks this timeless collection, as Smalls reclaims her idea of the modern masterpiece by unveiling the CLS Shooting Brake and driving away, laughing audaciously.
Mario, supported by his creative agency Higher&Higher, described the inspiration behind this campaign, saying “I decided to create a picture that tells a story of the most sought after objects and design that stay in history and are preserved forever; with Joan Smalls – for this campaign made up to be like some character from the future – taking the CLS Shooting Brake with her into the unknown and leaving everything else behind”.
Distinctively styled Joan Smalls, known for her lithe and striking frame dazzles in vintage catsuit – cuts a modern, athletic figure with a spiked mohawk befitting the masculine, sculptural contours of the CLS Shooting Brake.
Joan Smalls, a modern symbol of beauty and elegance, is currently setting catwalks alight, making this the perfect partnership to celebrate perfection. Smalls commented "I’ve worked with Mario Testino before and it’s always a pleasure. Everything from his work ethic to the way he shoots, to the way he treats people speaks to the fact that he is a true gentleman. You always know that the pictures will come out looking beautiful and iconic".
With the CLS, Mercedes-Benz revolutionized automobile design; they now present CLS Shooting Brake; a four-door coupé in a class of its own. With its perfectly formed contours the new CLS brings exclusivity to his most ambitious audience and is renowned for its innovative design, elegant masculinity and sportiness.
The S/S 2013 Form follows perfection key visual is the latest in a dazzling series of exceptional visuals celebrating the inimitable combination of design and style that is Mercedes-Benz. Nick Knight posed Julia Stegner in Gareth Pugh with the SLS AMG; Miles Aldridge photographed Milla Jovovich wearing a spectacular hat from Philip Treacy next to the Mercedes E-Class Convertible; Craig McDean and David James staged Karolina Kurkova next to the new CLS; Terry Richardson captured Jessica Stam on the roof of the A-Class concept car and last season Alex Prager presented Lara Stone with the SL Roadster.
The protagonists:
Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake
The designers have presented the most recent addition to the iconic CLS four-door coupé segment with the fascinating CLS Shooting Brake. An innovator, in the tradition of the CLS, but also setting signals in terms of design, elegance and sportiness, the CLS Shooting Brake is creating a class of its own whilst also revolutionising the essential features of automobile design. It is not only the space which makes the car special, it’s the shape of the back and its contours and with high utility and exclusiveness, outstanding design and the latest technology, the CLS Shooting Brake is desirable and unique.
Mario Testino
One of the world’s most influential photographers, his cultural and commercial zeitgeist has made a much sought after creative partner in the fashion and beauty industry today. His work has been featured across the globe in magazines from Vogue to Vanity Fair and he has contributed to the success of many leading fashion and beauty houses through advertising campaigns. Testino has had many exhibitions of his photography in museums and galleries around the world. In 2010, he was invited by the renowned Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid to exhibit his work, one of the few living artists to have done so. In June 2012 he is exhibiting for the first time in Beijing, China, at The Today Art Museum. He has also been invited by the prestigious Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA, to exhibit in a new show for October 2012; his first museum show in the United States of America.
Interview Mario Testino
Testino’s less public face is that of being a creative entrepreneur and philanthropist. He has recently established a creative agency both in London and Sao Paulo, Brazil, in order to channel his 30 years of success and experience in the business of building and developing brand names in the luxury arena. He has also established his first not-for-profit association, MATE, which is based in his birthplace, Lima, and is set to open in July 2012.
Joan Smalls
Since making her debut in the high fashion world in January 2010, featuring as the exclusive model for Riccardo Tisci’s Givenchy F/W 2010 Couture Show, she has experienced a self-described “rebirth,” flying around the world to walk for renowned fashion designers and working with the industry’s top photographers, stylists, and art directors. Born in Puerto Rico, Joan dreamed of walking the runway after she realized she had the right body frame for modeling. True to her own prediction, Joan’s lithe frame has made her a runway favorite, as evidenced by her two hundred-plus appearances on runways worldwide, for all major international fashion houses. Hailed by V Magazine as part of “the new guard of supermodels”, Joan is positioned as one of the most important rising stars in fashion.
Interview Joan Smalls
