It’s The Year Of The Fashion Film

You’ve seen them on your timeline. They assert themselves as “films,” though they never get a theatrical release. A couture dress here, a $300 bottle of perfume there, and at the forefront, a world-renowned celebrity hawking it all. They’re technically commercials, but the creatives who bring them to life would never deign to call them as such. Instead, they go by a much more glamorous name: fashion films.

While traditional commercials and advertisements will likely always remain commonplace at luxury fashion houses, the newness of fashion films feels as expansive (and expensive) as the brands behind them. A 30-second spot is no longer enough to tell the story of Alessandro Michele’s Valentino; nowadays, we need a full-blown production to get the job done.

Back in May, Sarah Pidgeon announced her entry into the world of Balenciaga with “A New York Minute,” a series of narrative-driven spots that double as an ode to New York City and some of the house’s best bags. Written and directed by Celine Song, the films are just over a minute long. Meanwhile, Marc Jacobs has been writing roles for actors like Rachel Sennott, who filmed a campaign with the brand earlier this year in search of an invite to the Met Gala. (The I Love LA star then, indeed, wore Marc Jacobs to this year’s fete.) More recently, the brand has been chronicling the fallout of Jemima Kirke and Rowan Blanchard’s swapped-bag faux pas through its series “The Swap.” Before we go on, let’s just declare it now: It’s officially the year of the fashion film.

Then, of course, there’s the latest addition to Chanel’s partnership with Gracie Abrams, a two-minute-and-26-second fragrance campaign film in which the singer-songwriter evades the Parisian press to spend a night with the townies at a local hole in the wall. And who could forget when Demna memorialized his debut at Gucci by ditching the traditional runway model in favor of a premiere of The Tiger, a 30-minute short directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn, only to follow it up late last month with Gucci Primavera, a four-and-a-half-minute short film starring Kate Moss as a lounge singer of a basement bar?

Even mass-market brands have taken a liking to the fashion film trend: Just look at Gap. Everyone remembers where they were when Katseye brought all the boys to the yard for Gap’s Better in Denim campaign in August 2025, an ad so good it won a Webby Award and currently has more than 81 million views on YouTube. Since then, the brand has gone viral with campaigns starring Sienna Spiro, Malcolm Todd, and Inde Navarrette — an impressive feat considering each one is filmed in a plain white room with a zeitgeisty celebrity, a really good song, and not much else.

These aren’t the kind of films that light up awards season, but their stars do — and to that end, fashion films are taking over for the same reason that everything is video now: They demand your attention. No more passively observing a Times Square billboard or a rotating bus ad; all of that goes out the window as soon as there’s a narrative involved.

A film is much less skippable than your average ad, and with the added advantage of world-building, brands are able to invite the everyday consumer into their luxury houses without actually having to adjust their prices or exclusivity to cater to a wider customer base. A $2,000 pair of sunglasses may not be accessible for everyone, but a free two-minute video on YouTube sure is. Even if you’re not encountering these films on your feed, you’ll definitely see a clip or two from one of the many Pop accounts fighting to be the first to post about them. Throw in two, three, even four buzzy celebrities (none of whom have ever been in the same room), and you’ve got yourself a fashion marketing feast.

Fashion marketing may be ever-evolving, but its impact remains the same. Just last week, Tommy Hilfiger generated a ton of buzz with its Fall ’26 Only in New York film, all because the film’s leading man, Travis Kelce, had a three-second scene with his wife’s BFF Gigi Hadid. And in a video-first society, that’s all it really takes these days.