The world-famous protagonists of the shots speak to a younger audience, create trends, and perfectly interpret the values of A|X. Cara, Martin and Li are truly free spirited, with street-wise and active personalities matching their urban soul. Their tongue-in-cheek attitude shines through in the shots; with their expressions and gestures they project themselves freely, surrendering themselves to the brand.
“For this campaign, I wanted three faces capable of recounting the individualist A|X spirit in a novel, unconventional way. Three different and surprising individuals, all creative and free in their expression and whom I wanted to envelop in Armani style. Cara Delevingne is an irreverent, chameleon-like character interpreting different aesthetics and philosophies; Martin Garrix, who is capable of making magic with music; and Li Yifeng, a multi-faceted talent who speaks to a vast audience. A|X is Armani style in its most metropolitan, free self just like my three testimonials,” declared Giorgio Armani.
The concept of the campaign is simple, yet makes a great impact: the letters A and X of the brand’s logo are disassembled, used with an inventive and surprising ductile irreverence, and become props and games in the hands of the protagonists, such as magnifying glasses, vinyl records, rubber balls, pirate patches, and light bulbs.
This campaign marks a fundamental step in the re-launch of A|X, which continues its expansion plan having being wholly reacquired by the Armani Group in 2014, part of its strategy to reorganise its brand portfolio. This repositioning allows the brand to re-establish itself as the ambassador of the new Italian streetwear.
ABOUT MARTIN GARRIX: It’s easy to get lost in the numbers behind Martin Garrix’s meteoric rise - the 21 year old Dutch superstar has already set precedents and scored landmarks at every corner of the music industry. Backed by Scooter Braun Projects, Martin has become one of electronic dance music’s youngest superstars, with his 2013 release of his smash hit “Animals” topping the charts in late 2013 at the age of 17. Just three years later, he was voted #1 on 2016’s DJ Mag Top 100 Poll. The young producer has made both Billboard’s prestigious “21 Under 21” 3 times, as well as Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list twice. Garrix won two 2016 MTV European Music Awards for Best Electronic and Best Worldstage Performance, cementing his stature as a cross over artist to be reckoned with. In 2015, Garrix won two MTV European Music Awards for Best Electronic Act for Best Dutch Act. In 2016, Garrix signed aglobal deal with Sony Music International marking his ascent into the highest reaches of the music industry. His first single for RCA/Sony Music Intl, “In The Name Of Love” featuring Bebe Rexha, amassed over 1.2 billion streams and has become a massive hit worldwide. The follow up to “In The Name of Love” is Garrix’s collaboration with Dua Lipa, “Scared To Be Lonely,” which has received critical praise from the likes of TIME, The FADER, Billboard and enjoyed nearly a half a billion streams worldwide since its January release. Garrix remixed of one the biggest pop singles of recent years, The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face,” and has collaborated with Usher (“Don’t Look Down”) and Ed Sheeran (“Rewind Repeat It”). Garrix has residencies at three of world’s most prestigious clubs: Omnia Las Vegas, Hï Ibiza and Ushuaïa Ibiza.