Luxury holiday campaigns are embracing the art of human touch & nostalgia

There is something rather ironic about an industry that sells the beauty of things made by hand having to remind the world what human hands can do. As artificial intelligence becomes the commonplace in fashion and beauty advertising, luxury brands are making a compelling creative statement this festive season. Instead of relying solely on digital perfection, some of them are turning to hand-drawn animation, sculpted clay, miniature architecture, traditional woodworking and real-life storytelling. Others, are turning to nostalgia.

Read on for some of the most creative and personal holiday campaigns of the season.

Prada draws outside the digital lines with ‘Drawing Prada’

When was the last time an advertising campaign made you think of a storybook rather than a screen? With its seasonal project, ‘Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand’, the Italian fashion house revisits the charm of traditional animation, bringing an illustrated winter universe to life through painstaking artistic techniques. Directed by veteran animator John Pomeroy, the campaign combines hand-inked, cell-style animation with live-action photography by Glen Luchford.

Actors Maya Hawke and Sadie Sink appear within an illustrated landscape populated by woodland creatures, including a mischievous fox and small mice. The contrast between the photographed talent and the animated surroundings gives the campaign its distinctive visual language, bringing together two creative disciplines without allowing either to disappear into the other.

There is a certain nostalgia in the approach, reminiscent of illustrated storybooks from the mid-20th century (not simply an exercise in looking backwards). Winter layers, knitwear, striped scarves and embellished accessories occupy the same frame as the hand-drawn characters, allowing the textures of the seasonal wardrobe to stand out against the illustrated surroundings.

Diptyque takes a trip to the enchanted forest, no digital shortcuts required

If the festive season had a woodland address, Diptyque’s holiday universe might just be it. The French fragrance house has partnered with artist and designer Jean-Simon Roch to create an organic, folk-inspired setting shaped by woodwork, sculpture and traditional decorative techniques. Wooden owls, rabbits on skis, sculpted candle lids and an acorn-shaped spinning top form part of the collection. The spinning top introduces movement through its kinetic design, dispersing fragrance as it turns. Blown glass, turned wood and bespoke decorative pieces contribute to an imaginative landscape in which material and making are as important as the finished composition.

The visual narrative also draws from Diptyque’s seasonal fragrance identity, particularly its signature resinous Sapin winter scent. The forest-inspired setting complements the house’s holiday offerings, including Advent calendars and hand-decorated ceramic vessels. Roch’s work brings a playful quality to the campaign while keeping traditional craftsmanship firmly in focus. There is no need to manufacture an elaborate digital fantasy when wood, glass and sculptural forms can create their own sense of wonder.

Gucci x Mariah Carey’s Christmas 

What better way to announce the arrival of Christmas than with the Queen of Christmas herself? Gucci has enlisted Mariah Carey for its festive campaign, directed by Harmony Korine, set in a luxurious hotel where the staff are in a frenzy preparing for her arrival. Soundtracked by her iconic holiday anthem All I Want for Christmas Is You, the campaign sees Mariah sporting pieces from Gucci’s latest collection, including butterfly motifs that pay homage to her longstanding fascination with the symbol and her 1997 album Butterfly.

Miu Miu’s Holiday 2026 ft. Gigi Hadid

If Christmas had a dress code, Miu Miu might just have written it. For its holiday campaign, the Italian fashion house brings together Gigi Hadid, Louisa Jacobson, Xiao Wen Ju and Georgia Martin in an elegant home filled with antiques, family heirlooms and festive fir branches. Photographed by Tina Barney, the campaign captures a nostalgic take on holiday dressing, bringing together preppy tailoring, sporty influences and intricate textures. Miu Miu’s signature headbands also make an appearance, continuing their fashion momentum following the Fall 2026 collection.

Anthropologie makes the season a little more personal

Not every holiday campaign needs a single visual signature. Anthropologie’s 2026 ‘On My Way’ campaign takes a more collaborative approach, placing artistic expression and individual creative identities at the centre of its festive offering. The campaign brings together collaborators across different aspects of the brand’s seasonal experience, including in-store window displays and shopping totes. Its two-pronged approach also includes short films inspired by the anticipation of coming home for the holidays.

Rather than imposing one overarching artistic technique, Anthropologie gives its collaborators room to interpret the season through their own creative perspectives. It is a collection of personal rituals, familiar objects and traditions that acquire meaning through the people who bring them together. By celebrating its collaborators, Anthropologie makes that individuality part of its seasonal identity.

Barbour x Wallace & Gromit 

Some partnerships are so naturally suited to one another that they hardly need an introduction. Barbour and Aardman Animations reunite for an original holiday film featuring Wallace and Gromit, bringing together the British heritage label and the animation studio’s unmistakable stop-motion aesthetic.

Directed by Steve Harding-Hill, the film is created through frame-by-frame stop-motion animation, using hand-sculpted plasticine characters and physical miniature sets rather than digital character doubles. At its centre is one of Wallace’s latest inventions, the ‘Walk-o-matic’, an armchair fitted with enormous wellington boots. As inventions go, it is certainly ambitious. As Wallace soon discovers, it is not entirely foolproof. The resulting mishap leaves him stranded in a snowbank, with Gromit stepping in to rescue him. The familiar humour of the animated duo provides a playful setting for Barbour’s seasonal collection. Waxed jackets, knitwear and cold-weather accessories for dogs find their way into the narrative, with the clothing becoming part of the characters’ winter preparations and gift-giving.

Byredo’s ‘A Midwinter’s Tale’

While some brands create elaborate imaginary worlds, Byredo turns its attention to a more intimate setting for ‘A Midwinter’s Tale’. Inspired by the winter traditions of Dalarna, a region in central Sweden known for its folk art and craftsmanship, the fragrance house builds its seasonal film around the everyday life of a local family.

The film follows artist Pernilla Norén, musician Gustav Norén and their five children, offering a glimpse into their creative world through domestic life, music-making and artistic expression. Their rural home and studio become the backdrop for a campaign that finds its visual identity in real people and the rhythms of their everyday surroundings. At the heart of the narrative is the Swedish concept of julmys, which evokes the warmth, comfort and togetherness associated with winter. Rather than constructing an elaborate festive fantasy, Byredo draws from the cultural traditions and personal rituals that give the season its meaning.

In 2026, human touch seems to be the ultimate luxury. Craftsmanship becomes visible not only in what is being sold, but in how the brand chooses to tell its story. The artist, animator, designer and craftsperson become part of the narrative, making the finished campaign an expression of creative labour in its own right.

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