"They are all vibrant examples of how timelessness and true style are born out of confidence - and that never expires," said Cole Haan vice president of marketing Erin Riley. "They are as relevant today as they were in the past, and they all represent various perspectives that we thought would resonate with our consumer."
All of the "models" wore customized Cole Haan shoes based on classic styles ranging from a tall riding boot to a wedge bootie.
"There's real clarity and real conviction for what we want the brand to stand for and what we are committed to bringing to light in all of our channels from advertising to marketing," Riley said, explaining that this includes looking the brand's heritage to inform its future.
The campaign was shot in New York at Pier 59 by Daniel Jackson and styled byTiina Laakkonen. The black-and-white photo portion of the campaign will debut on Sept. 3 then will launch on colehaan.com, their
social media networks, and in its store windows. A month later, the ads will appear in November issues of
GQ,
Elle,
Vogue and
Vanity Fair, among others. Billboards featuring the campaign will pop up in major cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Toronto. There will also be a video series to accompany the campaign that will run on colehaan.com.
"We need to look back to look forward," Riley concluded. "At the same time, we are a very modern brand and we don't want to be perceived as a traditional heritage brand. We're more about attitude than an age group."