Despite audience fatigue, and in many cases outright disillusionment, brands and agencies continue to scramble for our attention by co-opting social trends or lurking in the shadows of Gen Z’s latest niche interlocutor in an attempt to gain and retain relevance. Combined with risk-averse leadership and metric-driven concepts, these tired tactics have left marketing in desperate need of reinvention.

Enter Yulya Shadrinsky and Marita Gurcciani, the Paris-based creative duo behind Shadrinsky. Blending gonzo energy with daredevil stunts, absurd storytelling and playful humour, Shadrinsky is the trojan horse the luxury market has long needed. The duo – who’ve worked with Marc Jacobs, Jean Paul Gaultier and Mugler, to name a few – don’t make campaigns; they create entertainment. Their work is fierce, fast and hilarious. Most importantly, it’s for everyone.

“The fashion world is very pretentious and creates this purposeful distance,” Marita says when I ask the duo how they think about audience. “We measure the success of our ideas if our families understand them. We want to appeal to normal people with normal lives.” Yulya adds: “I’m making this work for the young girls from my hometown in Russia. She doesn’t have a Zara in her local town, let alone a Marc Jacobs, and she may never buy designer clothes, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t have access to the dreams fashion can conjure.”

 

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