MARC AND MILEY: For the spring advertising campaign, Marc Jacobs chose a special friend of his and Robert Duffy’s — Miley Cyrus. David Sims photographed the most talked-about celebrity phenomenon in Los Angeles alongside models Natalie Westling and Esmerelda Seay Reynolds on a beach set by Stefan Beckman.
That Jacobs would choose Cyrus is altogether not surprising. She has been a big supporter of his, having recently taken her clothes off for the “Protect the Skin You’re In” T-shirt campaign and presented the designer and his business partner with the top award at Fashion Group International’s Night of Stars in October.
“Robert became friends with Miley a few years ago, and I know her through him,” Jacobs told WWD. “I met her years ago at Robert’s birthday party in Savannah and we became friendly.”
The campaign is not a literal translation of the designer’s spring runway production, though. “We wanted this beach with girls kind of sulky and broody, and we thought it would be cool if it was Miley with what could be two friends, feeling distant and quite dark.”
Cyrus, he explained, fit the campaign’s vibe. “We all just love her and her entire being, her energy, her talent, her intelligence, everything,” he said. “There’s nothing I don’t like about her. She is just genuine and very natural.”
Not everyone in Jacobs’ camp seems to share his opinion, though. Jacobs usually works on collection campaigns with Juergen Teller, but this season’s choice of Sims, who shot the recent beauty campaign, had a simple explanation. “I have worked with Juergen for years and love him as an artist,” Jacobs said. “He just didn’t want to shoot her.”
