From August throughout the world Terry Richardson's new campaign
Sisley goes in search of the treasures of Naples. The autumn-winter 2005 campaign for Benetton Group's sexy, brilliant and edge-cutting label is set in Naples. A very Italian love story by Terry Richardson in which glamorous elegance becomes a life style: in the beautiful rooms of an historical Neapolitan palazzo or in the alleyways and stepped streets of Spaccanapoli.
Pizza and spaghetti sciuè sciuè1, Vesuvius and Neapolitan melodrama, O'sole mio2 and the Capodimonte Museum, folk romanticism and Baroque culture: Sisley is an icon throughout the world of Mediterranean beauty and Italian style.
The story. Vicky and Nicole, one blonde and the other dark-haired, are captivated by Naples' timeless charm.
"Femmene"3 as sweet as sugar embark on a love affair with the city. They eat pizza and spaghetti with fresh tomatoes, they immerse themselves in the city's sacred and secular imagery, they flirt with cheeky porcelain Cupids.
Meanwhile, Steve, a bit guappo4 and a bit "surdato %u2018nnamurato"5, is alone as he indulges his passion for the unique, sultry atmosphere of Naples.
Alone or with someone else, the byword is: I desire therefore I am… and, as Sisley teaches us, desire is often a question of style.
The photographer. Terry Richardson is back. "In Naples", he reminisces, "passions blossom like the lemon trees. Sensuousness is everywhere, it explodes as irrepressibly and voraciously as the Neapolitans' vitality. The streets are natural sets already filled with erotic images".
Richardson plays with brilliant lipsticks, very low-cut blouses, herringbone coats and suits whose severity evokes whispered promises. And everything – women, men, Sisley's clothes, the streets of Naples – is transformed into an irresistible object of desire.
Production. With art direction by Nikko and production by Energy Project, as always the campaign achieves an almost perfect balance between play and formality, virtue and irreverence.
It will be launched worldwide in August on billboards, in double pages, in-store materials, collectible catalogues and stunning posters.
1 typical Neapolitan recipe
2 famous Neapolitan folk song
3 "women" in local dialect
4 a character of Neapolitan folk imagery, halfway between an avenger and a gangster with his own code of honour
5 Neapolitan song