Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Baltimore filmmaker John Waters is starring in promotional campaigns for two well-known retailers, Nordstrom and Saint Laurent.
Both companies this week are rolling out their campaigns, which are unrelated except that they’re aimed at holiday shoppers and Waters is featured in both.
“Wonder All the Way” is the theme of Nordstrom’s campaign, which involves a “refreshed app” for online shoppers and a new look for its flagship location in New York City. Waters and actress Fran Drescher were enlisted to help introduce the changes shoppers will see in the Nordstrom NYC Men’s and Women’s stores on W. 57th Street, by lending their voices to inflatable figures on display there.
“On November 27, Nordstrom NYC will unveil a spectacular larger-than-life immersive installation, The Blizz on 57th Street, transforming the store inside and out,” the company announced on its website. This installation will include a cast of “inflatable characters voiced by the legendary filmmaker and actor John Waters and the unmistakable voice of actress Fran Drescher. These inflatables, inspired by iconic fictional New York City staples, will captivate hearts and imaginations alike for visitors of all ages.”
The New York staples that Waters voices include: a savvy pigeon, a friendly pretzel, an anxious umbrella, a New York smokestack, a chatty tube of lipstick and a sleepy star. The idea is that shoppers will walk past these inflatable “characters,” hear the voices of Waters and Drescher, interact with what they see, spend more time in the store and tell their friends. Nordstrom’s immersive installation will be on view through January 5.
The campaign was conceived by a collective led by Thom Bettridge, editor in chief of i-D Magazine; Matthew Mazzuca, former creative director of Barneys New York; illustrator and animator Anthony Ferrara; artist and production designer Desi Santiago, and Gian Gisiger, the longtime graphic designer behind Balenciaga. They were brought together by Justinian Kfoury of Total Management.
The characters voiced by Waters and Drescher are fleshed out with their own backstories and personalities. For example, Pigeonthia (voiced by Waters) is a mystical New York pigeon who has gained the power to tell the future and offers to tell shoppers their fortunes. Wonder Ring (voiced by Drescher) is a lost engagement ring that presides over coin-operated ring machines containing rings corresponding to the fortunes given by Pigeonthia.
Dimmy (Waters) and Quasar (Drescher) are burnt out stars who want to chill. Rose (Waters), Ruby and Violet (Drescher) are chatty lipsticks who hang out and gossip. Connor (Waters) and Connie (Drescher) are humble department store cones worried that someone might slip or step in the wrong place. Fritz the Friendly Pretzel (Waters) is a big softy who pays saccharine compliments to passersby. Fifi the Foulard (Drescher) is a forgotten scarf who doesn’t remember anything.
Drizzle the Anxious Umbrella (Waters) is a lonely umbrella ready to complain to anyone who will listen. Smolder (Waters) and Schmutzi (Drescher) are rough and ready New York smokestacks. Carla the Carrot (Drescher) is preparing for her first acting gig as a snowman’s nose.
There’s a giant inflatable named Mr. Blizz who’s located over the entrance, and visitors are guided through the experience with a treasure map featuring a collect-them-all sticker book to find all the Blizzy characters for a chance to win prizes.
“We are beyond excited to bring The Blizz on 57th Street to life at the Nordstrom NYC flagship this holiday season,” said Olivia Kim, Senior Vice President of Creative Merchandising, in a statement. “Nordstrom has always strived to be a platform for discovery and we look forward to infusing the joy of the holidays with the unique spirit of New York.”
‘As Time Goes By’
In the Saint Laurent campaign, called “As Time Goes By,” Waters is both seen and heard. The campaign was conceived as a cinematic tribute to French novelist and literary critic Marcel Proust (1871-1922).
Waters is one of several celebrities tapped to appear in a series of short films inspired by “In Search of Lost Time,” a seven-volume novel that was Proust’s greatest achievement – and the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent’s favorite literary work.
The short films were directed by Nadia Lee Cohen for Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello. Other celebrities in the campaign include Charlotte Gainsbourg; Chloe Sevigny; Addison Rae; Joey King; Travis Bennett; and Cooper Koch, the actor who played one of Menendez brothers in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series.
The Parisian fashion house began releasing the short films last week on YouTube and the company’s own website. Besides being in a trailer for the series, Waters is a main character in several of Cohen’s short films. The first one that was released featuring Waters is a one minute and 18 second short called ‘Time’ that follows him getting in and out of a cab, outside a nightclub called Dresden.
The series doesn’t focus on particular Saint Laurent merchandise, although that’s what the stars are wearing. Instead, the films are more about setting a tone or a mood that will prompt people to think of Saint Laurent. They’re sexy, mysterious, provocative and yet full of everyday moments. They show glamorous people reading books, drinking coffee, drawing a bath, lying in bed, sketching portraits of other glamorous and not-so-glamorous people.
“The time which we have at our disposal every day is elastic; the passions that we feel expand it, those that we inspire contract it; and habit fills up what remains,” a narrator says in the “Time” film.
Blend of storytelling and marketing
Fashion industry publications are praising the series as an inspired blend of storytelling and marketing. Signemagazine.com said it “Redefines Fashion Storytelling” and brings Proust’s literary genius to life by channeling his themes of love, togetherness, dreaming, desire, time and memory.
“The project is as much a tribute to literature as it is a bold artistic statement,” the magazine states. “By intertwining fashion, storytelling, and cinematic artistry, Vaccarello transcends the traditional boundaries of luxury branding.”
Waters and the other models, “each with a distinct aura, embody the timeless themes that resonate through Saint Laurent’s vision for the collection,” the publication goes on to say. “Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent continues to evolve as a brand that not only showcases couture but also immerses its audience in culture and philosophy. This project harmonizes fashion with the cerebral elegance of Proust’s writings, creating an evocative experience for connoisseurs of art and literature.”
They aren’t about holiday cheer.
“The films set a tone contradictory to the season’s usual festivities, opting instead to walk through a world of human condition and emotion,” observes a writer for crfashionbook.com.
The characters “interact with their respective environments in a way that was intended to represent the glamour and intrigue in day-to-day life,” the writer continues. “Vaccarello’s creative direction detoured from the Christmas or otherwise glitzy atmosphere of the season and chose to share a glimpse into what the holidays represent. Coming together with strangers and loved ones, longing, nostalgia, and introspection have been secondary emotions to the winter months, overshadowed on the whole but beautifully articulated by Proust. It was the hope of Cohen and Vaccarello’s collaboration to recreate his work.”
Ideal showcase for Waters
The message that reading is sexy is particularly appropriate for Waters, given his reputation for having an extensive library and encouraging reading. He’s written 10 books. He gets his fan mail at an independent bookstore, Atomic Books in Baltimore. He’s well known for giving dating advice that starts with: “If you go home with someone and they don’t have any books…”
These are the fourth and fifth major retail campaigns in five years for Waters, 78, and the second time he’s been featured in projects for Nordstrom and Saint Laurent.
In 2019, he was in a campaign for Nike x Nordstrom called “No Cover,” appearing with soccer star Megan Rapinoe and supermodel Leona Anastasia “Binx” Walton. In 2020, he was the face of Saint Laurent’s Fall menswear campaign. He and best friend Mink Stole were among the stars of Calvin Klein’s 2022 “This is Love” ad campaign, which celebrated “chosen families.”
Waters said he filmed his portion of the 2024 Saint Laurent campaign in Los Angeles in early October. For part of the time he shared the screen with Gainsbourg, a British-French actress and singer, who played his wife in Saint Laurent’s tribute to Proust.
Waters said he’s pleased to be hired as a fashion model.
“Why do you think I wear crazy fashion? I participate in that world and that’s why you get hired. I’m very happy being a top model. I just had a breakfast of paper towels soaked in water to watch my weight. That’s what they do, supermodels. I’m thrilled.”
For its 2020 menswear campaign, Saint Laurent flew Waters to Paris for a fashion shoot at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “They treat you very, very well,” he said. “I’m in incredibly great company.”
He said he always wanted to meet Gainsbourg, the daughter of English actress and singer Jane Birken and French singer Serge Gainsbourg.
“I’m a huge fan of hers,” he said. “I have her music. I love the movies she makes. When I met her, the first thing I said is, ‘Will you marry me?’ because she played my wife. She was a great sport.”
Waters said his favorite work by Proust is the first volume of “In Search of Lost Time”: “That’s the only one most people get through.”
He said it’s not uncommon for high fashion retailers to take a subtle approach in their promotional campaigns.
“All high fashion never is crass enough to say: Buy this!” he said. “They just try to create some [mood]. It’s like perfume ads. They’re abstract. That’s what all big fashion ads usually are.”
His own line of fashion and gifts
In collaboration with visual artist and musician Seth Bogart, Waters has his own line of fashion and gifts, available on wackywacko.com. He’s best known for making films, including “Pink Flamingos” and “Hairspray,” and writing books, including Shock Value and Role Models.
Waters said he initially wondered if Nordstrom will bring the talking inflatables to its store in Towson this year, but he doesn’t think it will.
“I thought, God, is it going to be in the one here?” he said. “I can’t go in if I have to walk by and hear my name coming out. I believe it’s only in the flagship store.”
He is a loyal Nordstrom customer, he notes.
“I do go to the Nordstrom’s in Baltimore. It’s the only place you can buy good regular pants.”
