For the Fall/Winter 2025–26 season, BLAUER signs its first collaboration with the legendary photographer Bruce Weber, creating a campaign that is as intense as it is authentic and meaningful. Shot in an urban- metropolitan Miami, the campaign takes the form of a visual set in which the brand’s identity meets Weber’s poetic vision. The central leitmotif is the family, explored in its infinite nuances: bonds, affections, deep connections.
“Working with a master like Bruce Weber has been an extraordinary experience. Despite being an icon of photography, he has shown great care in understanding our brand’s DNA and our needs. We are excited by the results and hope to continue this collaboration next season“, says Federica Fusco, partner, owner and marketing manager of FGF Industry, emphasising the human and professional value of this creative synergy.
A shared energy that came to life on set and shines through every image; one described by Bruce Weber himself, through the words and sensations that guided his gaze behind the lens.
“I’ve always thought of my cameras like people—some are men, some are women, and some defy definition. I think of my Rolleiflex as a beautiful French girl. My Pentax 6 x 7 is definitely a handsome Italian man. And my Canon 35mm or the Nikon I’ve been shooting a lot with recently–the one I used for this campaign—are more the “undefinables”, those who refuse a simple category and refuse to sit still. I’ve found digital cameras to be very cinematic—even when there’s hardly any light, they can run along and keep up with the best of them.
When casting for a campaign like this, I think about who a person is as much as how they look. Is he or she an interesting character? Can they express themselves? How will they interact with other people on set? Someone might be very good-looking, but it’s equally important that my casting director and I understand where they’re coming from and what their interests are. Years ago, I might have known someone for a long while before we worked on a job together. Today I don’t have that same luxury because everything moves so fast—I usually have to get to know somebody right away. But the basic formula is the same: Is this somebody I’d actually like to know? Because that’s where the feeling of a photograph begins.
Since this was my first time working for Blauer, I wanted a bigger cast, because it was important to have flexibility—to fit the right person with the right clothes. I needed to find the right balance and combinations in order to tell an interesting story and get the best pictures. Thankfully, everything Blauer sent was so well made that it fit each person perfectly—I got lucky. It’s also a family-owned business, so Anne [Christensen, stylist] and I began by imagining the cast as an eclectic family who had gathered for a big reunion.
By building this campaign around the idea of family, we started from a place of familiarity, which gave everyone involved a feeling of confidence. I’ve worked with some of these models for many years: I first photographed Tim Easton in the 1980s for Ralph Lauren; Audrey Harrelson grew up in front of my camera— we did our first story together 13 years ago when she was just a little kid. The cinematographer for the films, Theo Stanley, is someone I first met as a teenager in Montana in the mid 90s—he lived down the road from our ranch. I brought along my friend Richard Amaro, a talented dancer and choreographer who worked with Alvin Ailey and Jerome Robbins, Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna — and he got the kids dancing in front of the camera, which helped the adults to loosen up. All these familiar friends created a feeling of trust and ease with the other people who I was photographing for the first time. It also helped that everyone really liked the clothes, which is more important than one might think—and also kind of rare! Then I did what I always do on any sitting—I said a little prayer and hoped everyone would get along.
There was one young man on this job name Jaden. I had photographed his father, Christian [Slater], for Interview Magazine back in 1991. Christian went on to become a very successful actor. And there was another really wonderful connection: when I first moved to New York in the late 1960s and worked as a model (while getting my career as a photographer off the ground) I used to be photographed all the time with Jared’s grandmother, Dayle Haddon. Then she moved to Paris for a time and became a favorite model of Guy Bourdin. Nan and I were great friends of Dayle’s. She did amazing charity work for UNICEF and the Red Cross. Dayle passed away just last year. So working with her grandson Jaden brought up a lot of great memories for me.
I was also delighted to meet and work with the guy named Nick on this job. He’s a plumber from Staten Island. Nick missed the casting call we had arranged because he had to work late. But he called me that night around 10pm to say how much he wanted to work on the Blauer shoot. His grandfather had been a model, so he wanted to give it a try. When Nick arrived on set, I was struck by how well he got along with everyone—he charmed all the crew and the other models. And he looked great in the clothes. I love that he does something completely unrelated to fashion in his other life—the whole scenario reminded of Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady,” where the Cockney gal dresses up to meet the queen. Nick showed up ready to work hard. It’s funny—at one point, I told him, “Put your arm around Jaden.” Nick looked confused: “I’ve never done that with another guy,” he said. Jaden, being an actor, told him, “Oh, just get on with it!”
My big inspiration for this sitting was my sister, Barbara. We worked together often in my early career. Barbara got me some of my first jobs on the road touring with David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Barbara was really great at casting because she was so warm and affectionate. She raised two sons, and then sadly passed away at a young age. But all the best of her lives on in her boys —they’re both such lovely men, very affectionate with their family and friends. I tried to put kind of feeling into these pictures, because it’s hard to find that kind of warmth and sweetness in photographs these days. I really miss it.”
