Elle Macpherson was behind the change to what she calls a ‘stunning departure from the tradition we conceived and developed’

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HE DOOR is one of the sexual motifs in fashion photography, made famous by the “hero of eros”, Helmut Newton, who sometimes framed his subjects in a doorway. The idea has been used to good effect in the latest campaign for the revamped Elle Macpherson Intimates, shot by a photographer of comparable stature, Rankin.
   Rankin, whose subjects have included HM the Queen, Tony Blair and Gisèle Bündchen, not to mention an Impulse advertisement covered in Lucire a few months ago, was hired to shoot the first campaign for the label that did not star Elle Macpherson.
   Macpherson has appeared in the campaigns since the brand emerged in 1990, but has opted to take a more directorial route. Still intimately involved in the designs and the brand’s creative direction, Macpherson was behind the change to what she calls a ‘stunning departure from the tradition we conceived and developed.’
   Clare Morgan, Bendon’s marketing director, expects the change will take the brand to a new level, saying that with success in New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain, the company did not wish to rest on its laurels.
   The campaign has an air of being slightly more upmarket than those that Macpherson fronted.
   Rankin shot the images in London in May 2003, showcasing the Sheer Ribbons, Dentelle, French Maid, Harlow and Masquerade collections from Elle Macpherson Intimates. He worked closely with Macpherson and Sydney, NSW-based creative team, the Glue Factory.
   The imagery reveals sophisticated, intimate glimpses of lingerie from the brand's summer 2003–4 collections. These vignettes are glimpsed through windows, doors and keyholes.
   However, there is one danger of objectification, with the new model’s face never appearing in any shot.
   The campaign will be launched more widely in print and television, as well as live store-window interpretations. The television commercials will be five seconds long, providing a mere glimpse, and will début this weekend (August 16–17) on network television and Sky TV (during the Bledisloe Cup) in New Zealand. The first window display will be at Kirkcaldie & Stains in Wellington, New Zealand, on August 18.
   The press campaign began in early August with media receiving Elle Macpherson Intimates’ VIewMasters, complete with slides showing the new campaign. Black is a predominant colour for the brand expression, with the Engravers’ Gothic typeface replacing the Elle Macpherson signature script. •

Lucire: ‘Elle Macpherson, the brand’ (December 18, 2000)
Lucire StyleTalk: discuss whether the British Advertising Standards’ Authority were right to ban the advertisement in 2004