Step aside dragons and say hello to Art Deco heaven. Italian luxury fashion house Prada is taking an understated approach to its Chinese New Year marketing this year with a cinematic ad shot in its restored Shanghai mansion, Prada Rongzhai.
Built in 1918 and restored by the luxury giant in 2017, Prada Rongzhai is steeped in the history of Old Shanghai, when the metropolis was in its golden age of East-West fusion in music, fashion, and architecture. It is now used by Prada as a space for cultural events, including its recent exhibition on the history of folding screens.
Shot by Zhang Jiacheng with art direction by long-time Prada collaborator David James, the CNY ad evokes Wong Kar-wai’s film ‘In the Mood for Love’ starring Maggie Cheung and Tong Leung. Colourful back-lit doorframes and windows feature heavily throughout the short ad, creating an atmosphere of intrigue and romance just like Kar-wai’s masterpiece.
The 40-second film is also the perfect vehicle for Prada’s minimalist products. Supermodel Du Juan models the Mirrored Organza Midi Skirt (27,300 RMB) and Medium Drawstring Leather Bag (36,000 RMB) in both black and caramel and male model Zhao Lei showcases the black Wool Coat (34,000 RMB).
Items from the brand’s Re-Nylon series also feature in the film, like the Re-Nylon and Leather Shoulder Bag (19,000), which we see slung over the shoulder of Zhao Lei as he walks broodingly through the mansion. Prada launched its Re-Nylon initiative in 2019 with the ultimate goal of converting all its iconic nylon bags into ECONYL, a regenerated version of nylon with a lower carbon footprint than virgin nylon, by 2021.
Luxury enthusiasts can find all items featured in the short film in the Gifts section of Prada’s website under the Spring Festival tabs for women and men.
