I recently had the opportunity to document behind the scenes of Nine West’s latest campaign, photographed by Craig McDean and featuring Jeísa Chiminazzo, Lais Ribeiro, and Aline Weber. Though I’ve tagged along on Nine West’s shoots before, it never ceases to amaze me how much work goes into getting the final shots. It takes a village – or in this case, approximately fifty people on the call sheet – and not one person was twiddling their thumbs. But it’s not just the number of hands on deck. There’s also an intense amount of planning: scouting locations, hiring the talent, securing permits – and that’s only the beginning. Photographer Craig McDean explains, “Most people don’t realize the
process starts months before the actual shoot. The Art Director Doug
Lloyd spends months preparing the creative and we have many
conversations beforehand to conceptualize and produce the actual shoot.” 

The campaign was shot in and around New York’s Central Park, and featured three distinct looks: pretty pumped, street chic, and urban boho. It was a hot, crowded day at the park, but everything moved along quickly and seamlessly. Having worked on past Nine West campaigns before, they have it down to a science. “Working with such a loyal, talented team is
what allows it all to run like a well-oiled machine,” Craig writes. “The
dynamic evolves in a positive way each season as we work to create
amazing images for Nine West.”

I can’t decide which is better: getting to peek behind the curtain and see the wizardry at work, or the final product: