By Jacqueline Ayala, Social Media Editor
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– Emma G. Harrison, Editor-in-Chief, Imaginary Gardens
Halloween has come to an end, and you know what that means … Christmas! The holiday season is beginning, which means new styles to transition to as we go into winter. After all, it’s the season for a new winter wardrobe, and releases from some of the most recognizable brands are trying to help you find the perfect item for your special someone – and they come with the press’s attention. Luxury brands have started their promotion for this Christmas season, and they’ve taken a new turn this year. Or rather, an old turn to bring back that magic of Christmas feeling we long for during this time.
Prada and Dior were the first to launch their 2027 holiday campaigns and went with a style similar to classic 1990s Disney animation we know and love. Think 101 Dalmatians, Pocahontas, Winnie the Pooh. In fact, Prada brought back a familiar face in the animation business, John Pomeroy, who worked on films such as these. While the name may seem unfamiliar, he was a recognizable part of the animation behind Disney films we grew up watching. With this, he was brought in to create Prada’s holiday campaign.
The Prada Holiday Campaign featured a variety of celebrities, including Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke, to name a few. But while the faces are familiar, the stars of the show are the hand-drawn animations by Pomeroy, evoking nostalgia for this time of year. It mixed the cartoons with live action, displaying the classic Christmas we all find ourselves going back to as the days get closer to the holiday. This ad is something Prada wanted to show the connection to humans and art to be present, something they show in their behind-the-scenes video “Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand” as Pomeroy goes into the work of mixing these animated creatures into real-life shots.
“There’s a very distinct and purposeful reason to do hand-drawn animation, and that’s to see that there’s value in it, and that hand-drawn and handcrafted work is still alive in the world today,” Pomeroy says in the BTS video, which showcased the entire process of making this ad.
Prada has gained a lot of praise for its appreciation of handmade, traditional animation, with the video getting 2.4 million views. But they weren’t the only ones to pay homage to this art. Dior’s short animated story “Christian Dior’s Night in Color” brings Robert Pattinson in to narrate a story of classic actress Marlene Dietrich needing a new dress, something Christian Dior is determined to get her… with the magic of Christmas, of course. Rihanna also has a featured role in this seven-minute film as the wishing star who helps Dior with the dress.
Dior’s director Sylvain Chomet claimed it was all hand-animated, though viewers have speculated this isn’t entirely the truth. While it does portray a classic animation style similar to Prada’s, people noticed distortions in certain frames, hands with six fingers, and overall visual glitches similar to those seen with AI usage. While people aren’t saying the video was entirely AI-generated, they are saying it’s easy to tell there was assistance in the animation process.
The speculation about AI has gotten Dior some backlash, with people saying, “If they use the easy way out for promotion for the brand, what does that say about the quality of their items?”
In the short film, several moments have sparked suspicions. From the movements of the characters going through each other to details of a dress appearing digitized instead of drawn. However, those who worked on the film did manage to respond in time. Chomet told Variety Magazine, responding to a clip where Christian Dior has six fingers as opposed to five. “It’s a movement where the hand is spread out like a fan. In that kind of drawing, you might see six or seven fingers because you’re trying to convey movement. I’ve seen a character turn his head and suddenly his nose changes shape completely over five frames.”
Obviously nothing is going to be perfect; hand-drawn animation is tricky. In fact, the producer of the film, Aton Soumache, also responded with the use of technology they utilized for the film. He tells Variety, “We used an automated interpolation system for a very small part of the process, but the film itself is traditional 2D animation.”
Automated interpolation is actually something that incorporates AI along with other tools to enhance the work. Because neither Chomet nor Soumache has stated the specific software used, there is growing frustration amongst the people who have been keeping up with the brand.
Funnily enough, Chomet has said his inspiration was films such as the ones Pomeroy has worked on. He claims several artists were hired for the seven months spent working on the short film – this, however, hasn’t eased the accusations of AI usage.
Regardless, both have been strong promoters of the holiday season, with the intention to also bring their brands into the picture for people to see. Between the magical Christmas spirit and the vintage nostalgia, they have effectively managed to bring back that whimsical sense of the holidays.
