MILAN — Brioni is going back to its tailoring roots by tapping legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson to front its sophisticated spring ads in a strong move away from the recent campaign portraying members of Metallica.
In the polished and sleek black-and-white images, Jackson strikes a pose by mostly looking straight into the camera.
Most recently, the American actor wore a blue velvet Bespoke Brioni suit at the Academy Awards and a suede blouson and cashmere sweater by the Italian brand at the Independent Spirit Awards. By choosing Jackson, Brioni underscores its longstanding link with Hollywood, from the on-screen James Bond character to actors ranging from Denzel Washington to Michael Keaton, to name a few.
Jackson, who has been featured in movies including “Pulp Fiction,” “Star Wars,” “Django Unchained” and “The Avengers,” was photographed in Los Angeles by Gregory Harris.
The campaign is part of a wider project titled “Tailoring Legends” — portraits of international leading men from different industries each with their own interpretation of the brand.
The shift in communication comes as the men’s wear company is going through a phase of change. As reported last month, former chief executive officer Gianluca Flore exited Brioni and market sources say Fabrizio Malverdi, ceo of Agent Provocateur, is expected to be his successor. The brand is currently without a creative director in the wake of Justin O’Shea’s departure last October, after only six months in that role, during which he steered Brioni away from its heritage and made changes that observers believed were not in sync with the brand, such as tapping Metallica for the label’s fall 2016 ads.