Lanvin taps an unlikely celebrity for its latest campaign

Lanvin this week released imagery of its latest advertising campaign, starring an unlikely Paris Hilton. A radical casting considered by some, the images shot by London-based duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott show the DJ and socialite in a softer and more natural light.

Far from Hilton’s pink aura of the noughties, the luxury house said it veered off the path of obvious model choices to honour her legacy. “She defined an era,” Lanvin’s creative director Bruno Sialelli told Vogue ahead of the campaign launch. “In the way she dressed, a lot of sequins, her dog under her arm – she showed a very particular persona in the noughties.”

Stripped of the hard glamour often associated with Hilton, the images show an intimate portrait of a woman who has grown up in the public eye. “When we began discussing this campaign, I knew I wanted to portray Paris Hilton in a way that she has never been before,” Sialelli said. “I felt incredible”, Hilton said. “I just felt empowered, elegant, and chic.”

“This was the first time I was completely stripped of all of that and got to be just be natural,” Hilton said of the looks in the series, which see her styled in an iconic leather blazer and fluid silk print dress.

“I feel that in fashion, you can be whoever you want to be”, says Hilton. “I’ve always loved to use beauty and clothes and fashion to feel empowered and I really believe that this Lanvin campaign is such a great example of that. When I saw the first images, when Bruno sent them to me, I was literally crying, I was so happy.”

Images: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott via Lanvin website