Marc Jacobs turns to social media to cast campaign

Casting and art directors usually see models with their portfolio's when they cast for shows and fashion campaigns. It is their job to translate the creative brief of the designer into how the look and feel of the brand is best communicated for the season.

Marc Jacobs, however, turned to social networking to cast his latest campaign models. Back in April, Marc Jacobs launched the Twitter and Instagram-based initiative for the Marc by Marc Jacobs ad campaign. Now the first images from the campaign have been released.

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nstagram a relevant way to capture youth

"It seemed like a great idea to me, as casting through Instagram seemed cool, current and strong," Marc told WWD. "We wanted the ads to shout with youth and energy. To be fresh and reclaim the spirit that the collection had when we first conceived of it – to be another collection, not a second line."

There were 70,000 entries, which were eventually cut down to 50 contenders. The brand flew some 30 finalists from all over the world, including Australia, Russia and South Korea, to New York; the final nine were photographed by David Sims.

"David Sims portraits, Peter Miles layouts, the credibility of the cast and the approach to casting the ads transmit a current social lifestyle that doesn’t play into other clichés.…And totally feels like our company — a cast of colourful and dynamic characters," Jacobs said.

The full campaign will launch in the August issue of Teen Vogue.

Images: Marc by Marc Jacobs AW14