Valentino's Spring Ads Are Poetic Beauty

This year's spring ad campaigns have been nothing short of spectacular, but the latest reveal is possibly the most breathtaking of the bunch — and it doesn't even have a big shot name behind it. Valentino's spring 2015 ad campaign has hit the internet, and it's a hauntingly ethereal creation that will have you wondering, who shot that?

Valentino tapped Michal Pudelka of Slovakia to photograph their spring campaign, marking this the young, unknown designer's first international campaign. And I think it's safe to say, this undoubtedly will not be his last. The ads were shot in Tuscany, both in the woods and on the beaches, and features models Maartje Verhoef, Grace Simmons, Hedvig Palm, Vanessa Moody, and Clémentine Deraedt as mermaids washed up on sandy shores, as woodland nymphs in the forest, and even floating on their backs in dark water, conjuring up Ophelia-esque connotations. The ads hardly seem like ads at all — they're poetic, they are tragic but emanate strength, they are soft, yet powerful. If this is what seeking out undiscovered talent delivers, then hopefully more designers will cast a younger generation of photographers for future campaigns and editorials, and allow new, unadulterated talent to surface.

Images: Valentino