In a fashion world void of adequate diversity, Gucci just released a powerfully beautiful ad campaign featuring strictly black models.
Vibrant, carefree black people appear in the label’s pre-fall 2017 campaign, “Soul Scene.” Inspired by England’s underground Northern Soul movement of the 1960s, the ad features models Nicole Atieno, Elibeidy, Bakay Diaby and Keiron Berton Caynes accompanied by 25 dancers.
The images, photographed by Glen Luchford and styled by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, are set in dancehalls of the Mildmay Club in London. They highlight the unconventional freedom and self-expression of young people through performance, art and dance, according to Gucci’s Instagram post.
The campaign also pays homage to a prominent black nightlife photographer of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Malick Sidibé.
This campaign, which Gucci teased in January by posting nine of the models’ audition tapes, is a break from shadier moments in fashion. Brands like Marc Jacobs and Tory Burch have capitalized off of black art and culture without hiring a single black model in the process.
Gucci has also admittedly struggled with inclusion. But in February, the Italian luxury brand made a pledge to foster diversity in every area of its business. Though its latest campaign is full of much-needed carefree melanin, it only scratches the surface of solving fashion’s diversity problem.