SEPTEMBER 3, 2013 - DFS Group (DFS), the world’s leading luxury travel retailer, has launched its new Fall/Winter 2013 campaign, which takes inspiration from its heritage in travel to reimagine a fantastical world crafted entirely out of paper. The campaign fuses together the signature red colour of DFS with intricate paper artworks to offer customers a truly unique and delightful luxury shopping experiences. Around the world in 14 downtown Gallerias and 18 airport stores, DFS has made over its storefront windows, in-store displays, as well as its global marketing platforms, across print, outdoor, digital and social media.
Advertising Campaign
The multifaceted campaign draws inspiration from the rich cultures of Asia Pacific – home to many DFS’ stores – and pushes the form and function of the humble medium of paper to its creative limits. This is immediately evident in the advertising campaign. For the second season running, DFS partnered with Craig McDean, the internationally-renowned fashion photographer, to direct and shoot a series of dramatic campaign photos. The photos feature DFS’ brand and product assortment across fashion, beauty, watches and jewellery, and wines and spirits against a backdrop of handcrafted paper sculptures. Top international models Sean O’Pry, who fronted DFS’ Spring/Summer 2013 campaign, and Karen Elson guide the viewer on a journey through a paper world of Hawaiian palm trees, Hong Kong skyscrapers, and Japanese peach blossoms.
“We have long been known as the traveller’s companion, curating extraordinary luxury products and experiences at some of the world’s most desirable destinations,” said Ms. Sibylle Scherer, President, Consumer Marketing and Branding, DFS Group. “This season, we are proud to emphasise that heritage even more, by introducing stunning new storefront visuals and advertisements. At heart, this campaign is about deepening our relationships with customers by telling our story and highlighting DFS’ differentiating features – our luxurious brand and product assortment, and our shared love of travel.”
Visual Merchandising
The in-store and display visual merchandising showcases the three-dimensional and tactile qualities of paper that features over 100,000 intricate origami pieces, individually handmade and handcrafted. To achieve this, DFS tapped on the expertise of contemporary artists – such as Japanese-American paper sculptor Jeff Nishinaka – and artisans trained in the arts of paper-making, paper-cutting and origami, all art forms that are traditionally Asian in origin.
Several elements of land, sea and air travel are brought to life as exquisitely shaped paper sculptures and origami pieces of swallows, airplanes, flowers, trees and coral, as well as constructions depicting the distinctive scenery of key DFS store locations, such as Hawaii, Hong Kong and Singapore. Stores in Hong Kong, for example, feature a flock of birds swirling over the distinctive skyline of the city’s iconic Victoria Harbour, all rendered in handmade paper.
Supporting Craftsmanship
The thousands of paper artworks in this campaign were made possible through a surprise discovery and journey by DFS to the remote Shiqiao Village in Guizhou, China. Here, amidst green mountains, tranquil forests and clear streams, the traditional art of paper-making still continues, since its invention over 1,000 years ago during the Tang Dynasty. Shiqiao Village is one of the only remaining centres of traditional paper-making in China.
To help preserve and promote this craft, DFS specially sourced the majority of the paper for its Fall/Winter 2013 campaign from this rural community of 40 families, and worked together with 60 skilled artisans over three months in the process of creation, which spanned harvesting bark from local mulberry trees to organically dye the resulting paper, and the final origami folding techniques.
DFS will also feature educational videos on Shiqiao Village in a number of stores, accompanied by informational stands, to fully explain the paper installations and generations of tradition behind them to raise awareness of this threatened and ancient handicraft.
“We are incredibly proud to contribute to the preservation of one of the world’s oldest crafts and the livelihood of artisans, especially in the country that many of our loyal customers call home,” added Ms. Scherer. “We are deeply committed to giving back to our global communities, and we believe that the results of this special endeavour will truly delight and inspire our customers.”
