Nitty gritty

Our brief from Diesel was pretty simple: tell the world about their new range of sunglasses for S/S12 — four styles that were designed to ooze with character, with specific types of people in mind. 

In keeping with Diesel’s distinctive vibe, we were conscious that there needed to be a strong element of humour in the campaign — while maintaining the brand’s high quality, and highlighting its shift towards feminine values. We wanted to communicate the four kinds of characters that the sunglasses suit in a playful but elegant way.

Using people seemed like it could be cheesy. Using canine models seemed like much more fun. Working with production company White Lodge, we put together a shoot with four top dogs who showed off the sunglasses’ character with aplomb, hanging out just as human models would on a high-concept fashion shoot. Except with a vet nearby to make sure everything was going smoothly.

And we shot it all on a Phantom camera at speeds of up to 2,000 frames per second for maximum doggyness.

Highlights

• Working with dogs. Especially the tough-looking one in the final segment — we were told that we couldn’t laugh at him when he came on set “because he’ll probably savage us.”
• Watching sausages being employed on-set to keep the actors on their marks.
• Working with a camera crew who’d just finished shooting Sherlock Holmes — and their incredible kit.