Friends Gather in a Life-Sized Shoebox for Axel Arigato’s Experimental Holiday Campaign

Axel Arigato is trying something different for its holiday campaign this year.

Instead of a traditionally festive series of images, the 10-year-old Swedish footwear brand and its creative director Jens Werner are reinterpreting the meaning of holiday gatherings. For the brand’s new holiday 2024 campaign, ten guests are invited to dine inside a life-sized Axel Arigato shoebox with the idea of ushering in a fresh take on human connection and childhood nostalgia, the brand noted in a press release.

Inspired by the brand’s theme, “Good Things Come in Yellow Boxes,” this unusual gathering space aims to marry Axel Arigato’s signature aesthetic with a memorable dining experience. It also continues Werner’s and the brands’ recent inception of creating curious spaces – inviting viewers to feel like a guest themselves with intimate fly-on-the-wall content.

The company said that at the heart of this campaign is the authentic connection between these guests. The table-scape becomes a stage for natural exchanges, as photography from Linus Morales and videography directed by Belle Smith captures the spontaneous energy, talent, and creativity flowing around it. One guest might break into dance, another reads a poem, while a third arranges flowers-a dinner like no other.

Further candid content is captured on guests iPhones and disposable cameras, adding a layer of personal, nostalgic documentation to the experience, the company added.

“This campaign is about tapping into the dormant childhood spirit of curiosity and creativity within us all,” Werner, who ascended to the creative director role in June, said in a statement. “The festive time is a period where this sense of nostalgia – of youthful inquisitiveness – is often recalled. This campaign continues my intrigue with creating spaces that everyone can connect to, twisting familiar environments into surreal, imaginative worlds that tap into our shared memories. Seeing how such a creative and inspiring cast came to life in this space was really special and unique.”

The campaign adds to the already busy year for the footwear brand. In September, Axel Arigato officially landed stateside with its first-ever store in the U.S. Located at 273 Lafayette Street in the SoHo neighborhood of NYC, the new 1,130 sq.-ft. space debuted just months after Axel Arigato opened its second London location in July.