One thing I have learnt since being at university, nothing in fashion is coincidence. And this certainly proves to be the case as far as editorials with red balloons are concerned. Within my module, we have been exploring how fashion refers to past in order to create visual narratives for the now. Within my blog today, I will be discussing how fashion retreats back to the 1956′s french silent film The Red Balloon. A film in which a little boy tours around Paris with a red balloon and ends with him flying off into a Parisian sky.
The film sparks warmth and nostalgia, which could suggest why Dior, Vogue Italia, and most recently Louis Vuitton draw back to this film as their primary source of inspiration.
Above is how the film influenced Dior’s Cherie perfume advert.
Below shows the film’s influence for Vogue Italia’s ‘Pure Wonder’ by Ellen von Unwerth
But what caught my attention to the use of referencing The Red Balloon recently was the advertising campaign by Louis Vuitton, which can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-JgJGU5wXo
Just like the little boy in the film, the model tours round Paris, passing the Louvre, the Mona Lisa and finally rises above the Cour Carrée in the hot air balloon. Louis Vuitton, the oldest fashion house in existence defines heritage and Parisian culture and history. This could be a just reason as to why a brand with such history refers back to french’s films from the past. However, one must ask as to whether this is genius or lazy. I mean, they are not the first brand to reference red balloons, and nor will they be the last.
