Gigi Hadid is a big-eyed beauty in the new Miu Miu campaign. The model posed for famed fashion photographer Steven Meisel, who drew inspiration from the life and spirit of American artist Margaret Keane’s paintings, depicting demure subjects with exceptionally large, expressive eyes.
Carrying Miu Miu’s already-iconic Wander bag and the newly debuted Arcadie, Hadid poses against rich backdrops with colorfully painted doors, chairs, skylines and fences, featuring textured brushstrokes, matching the Italian fashion house’s signature matelassé quilted leather, seen in crimson red, beige, black and camel brown.
Hadid switched it up and swapped out her long wavy platinum tresses for a shaggy new ‘do. Likely a wig, Hadid’s fringed, choppy, shoulder-skimming lob featured wispy baby bangs. She modeled knitted crewneck sweaters in brown, red and orange stripes, wisteria-hued cardigans, the house’s iconic micro-mini skirt and more for a playfully whimsical shoot, styled by Lotta Volkova.
Mimicking Keane’s instantly recognizable melancholic waifs with big, almond-shaped eyes, Meisel paid homage to the late surrealist painter while tapping into Miu Miu’s youthful flair to mold the ultimate creative heroine. Hadid channeled the figures seen in Keane’s paintings through her wide-eyed glances, child-like expressions, soft gestures and overall mood.
Keane’s work garnered commercial succession in the early ‘60s, with the help of inexpensive reproductions as posters and note cards. During the early days of her career, she and her husband, Walter, represented themselves as a painting couple. Walter swiftly began taking credit for Margaret’s work, which was vaguely signed “KEANE.”
Walter continued to take credit for her work for many years before losing a federal court battle in Hawaii in 1986 when a judge ordered Walter to pay his ex-wife $4 million for slander. During the trial, the judge challenged both Margaret and Walter to create a big-eyed child painting in the courtroom. Citing a sore shoulder, Walter sat out while Margaret completed her original composition in 53 minutes. Director Tim Burton adapted the Keanes’ story in 2014, in his film Big Eyes starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.
In a new interview, Miu Miu CEO Benedetta Petruzzo notes how well Keane reflects the quintessentially Miu Miu attitude, conceived by designer Miuccia Prada.
According to Hadid, “Miuccia Prada is one of the most inspiring and iconic women in the world — because she explores all of her loves and interests to their fullest potential.” She continued, “It is an honor to see her work, work with her and to experience someone full of knowledge and powerful yet still down-to-earth and kind. She does so much to create spaces to celebrate others. I think of the Miu Miu woman as someone who has similar qualities to Miuccia…playful but calm, classic but cool, in-charge but grounded.”
