French leather goods, apparel and accessories maker Louis Vuitton is expanding the reach of its display at watch and jewelry show Baselworld with a social video featuring its fine jewelry collection.

The video promotes the brand’s Emprise collection of watches and fine jewelry without showing too many of the physical pieces, instead alluding to the Parisian origins of the line. This video connects the brand’s leather goods heritage with its newest jewelry line to connect past with present.

“With this video, Louis Vuitton was looking to make a strong entrance for the Emprise collection and they did,” said Kelly Cooper, senior marketing manager for ShopIgniter, Portland, OR. “Stylistically, the video’s infinite sequence coupled with the trance-like music creates a hypnotic quality that immediately captures attention and draws the viewer in.

“The video and collection also pay homage to Louis Vuitton’s roots,” she said. “The film and featured jewelry take inspiration from French Classicism and, of course, the iconic Louis Vuitton trunk, where symmetry and proportion mix with luxurious details.”

Ms. Cooper is not affiliated with Louis Vuitton but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Louis Vuitton did not respond by press deadline.

Surreal setting
The Emprise collection was unveiled during the pre-fall appointments, according to Women’s Wear Daily. Pieces are inspired by the brand’s signature trunk, and the video directed by Surface to Air Studio reflects that concept.

In the beginning of the one-minute film, a woman in a black full skirted dress carrying a clutch bag walks away from the camera in between columns toward a door. As she walks off to the left, a box appears in the middle of the screen showing an interior, with a painting hanging over a mantle.

Video still from Louis Vuitton

The square grows and the interior image fills the screen. The camera then moves toward the painting, and it too grows to take up the frame, revealing another layer of rooms with the same model standing in the next space wearing a different outfit.

Video still from Louis Vuitton

As the camera travels through this series of rooms, a set of the same room is repeated a number of times, with the look of a repeated reflection in front of a pair of mirrors facing each other.

Video still from Louis Vuitton

A different model  in a black pantsuit walks over to a trunk sitting on a pedestal in an entirely white room and opens the lid, revealing a dreamlike setting with a metallic grid.

When the camera moves forward again, it crosses through the necklace the model is wearing repeatedly, giving a close look at the amber colored gemstone.

Video still from Louis Vuitton

Following a series of very close repeated images of the same model, she moves within the frame, ending the camera movement. The final image is of an Emprise watch with a square face and diamond border.

The video was first published to YouTube on March 21, giving it time to gather views organically before being promoted to Louis Vuitton’s social media followers.

On March 28, Louis Vuitton posted the video to its social media accounts, taking advantage of the embedding capabilities of Facebook and Twitter. This meant consumers could watch the YouTube video on their social media feeds without navigating away.

As of press time, the video had been viewed more than 40,000 times and the post containing the video had been shared on Facebook more than 700 times.

Louis Vuitton presents the Emprise jewelry and watch collection

“The video is unique and not one that could easily be mistaken for another advertisement,” Ms. Cooper said. “The way it was shot, the casting and music is a brilliant match. With such great content, LV should allocate additional resources to maximizing its reach on social.

“Recent studies show that with organic posting, brands reach less than 6 percent of their Facebook fans but with the addition of targeted, paid social advertising, Louis Vuitton could scale-up reach of the Emprise video among audiences on Facebook and Twitter that are most likely to engage and share.

“Another tactic would be to create a social mobile landing page experience where viewers could not only watch the official video but engage with the content further by reading about the inspiration behind the collection and exploring the products in more detail. The deeper points of engagement you can create for your audience, the stronger the relationship they will have with your campaign and the more likely they will be to share it out to their own social network.”

Switzerland and beyond
Fashion brands have been promoting their latest creations at Baselworld, but a campaign that reaches further than the trade show attendees allows brands to inform consumers not traveling to Switzerland.

For instance, Giorgio Armani’s collection Emporio Armani is showing the Italian label’s first Swiss-made watch line at Baselworld in a vault-inspired installation.

Coinciding with the first day of the watch and jewelry show, Armani launched a dedicated microsite that mimics the physical vault in Messe Basel, Switzerland. Giving consumers an online platform to learn about the line that reflects the brand’s display at the show will expand the reach of its exhibit at Baselworld (see story).

Taking a slightly surreal approach to a fashion video helps it stand out from more straightforward films.

Italian apparel and leather goods brand Gucci is putting the focus on its spring handbags with a new social video sporting a dark nightclub theme.

Gucci’s “The Fringe” weaves a sci-fi type storyline around the label’s fringed handbags, following a woman at an atypical nightclub. By crafting a narrative around its featured accessory for this season, Gucci will likely draw views and create desire among women looking for the newest it-bag (see story).

“It’s Louis Vuitton,” Ms. Cooper said. “The pedigree of their brand and performance of their products are already established, so marketing their products is more about presenting a lifestyle and invoking emotion.

“The video does this well,” she said. “It immediately captures and keeps attention and because of this, I think it’s fine to wait and show the timepiece at the end.

“That being said, the video could benefit from a call-to-action. Now that LV has the attention of their viewers, what do they want them to do next? Whatever it is, the transition should be easy and seamless for their viewers.”

Final Take
Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York