DEJA VU 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

In celebration of our 10-year anniversary, we’re revisiting our favorite campaigns from the past.

Swimwear Launch Campaign, Grand Hotel Tremezzo, 2019.

“When we launched our first swimwear collection, Andreas called his old friend Valentina De Santis, who runs the incredible Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como. Naturally, we asked our friends Marcus and Pierre to star in it. Marcus arrived at the airport with a freshly dyed bright orange beard—a classic Marcus surprise. We’d left the shoot until the very last minute before launch, and the March weather on Lake Como had other plans. But on the second day, just as the clouds cleared, we were invited to photograph the hotel’s private villa while it was being shown to a couple planning their wedding. I suddenly had an idea for the film: Marcus and Pierre would gather in the grand salon in nothing but swim briefs for a spontaneous boogie. We didn’t have any music, and we had to keep quiet, so I kept humming some strange improvised tune while running around them with my camera, directing some kind of silent neo-classical disco. Looking back, I think the silence is exactly what made it work. The moment I paired the footage with Carmen in the edit, their wonderfully rhythmless dancing and deadpan expressions suddenly clicked.”

— Christian Larson, Co-Founder & Creative Director

CDLP × Sting, 2019.

“I was in Tuscany photographing Sting for another project when I asked if I could make a portrait of him for CDLP. He generously said yes. We spent the day wandering around his home with my 16mm camera, talking about creativity, masculinity, and the things that shape us over time. There wasn't much of a plan, and I think that's exactly why I love this film. It feels quiet, honest, and wonderfully unhurried.”

— Christian Larson, Co-Founder & Creative Director

CDLP × Jonas Åkerlund, 2017.

“One day, Andreas and I started talking about who the least obvious person would be for a limited-edition underwear collaboration. Somehow, we landed on Jonas Åkerlund. Jonas is one of the world’s most iconic music video directors—and my mentor—but also someone who much prefers staying behind the camera. He liked the idea, but convincing him to appear in front of it took some persistence. Eventually, he let me visit his all-black house in Los Angeles with a 16mm camera to film a quiet portrait of him and his hairless cat. It had nothing to do with underwear, which is probably why I love it. To me, it’s a film about creativity, individuality, and a different kind of masculinity.”

— Christian Larson, Co-Founder & Creative Director

Rio, 2016.

“When Andreas and I launched CDLP, it was never just about underwear. It was about translating a certain feeling we wanted the brand to have. So we flew to Rio with a single product and no real plan beyond chasing the right energy. Along the way, we found La Suite Hotel. Or perhaps more accurately, we found François-Xavier Dussol. His hotel overlooked Rio like nowhere else we’d seen, but what really drew us in wasFrançois himself. He had left a conventional life in Paris to follow an idea that probably sounded a little crazy at the time: build a hotel that reflected the life he wanted to live. He even named his dog Sexy. Somehow, it all made perfect sense. His optimism, curiosity, and refusal to follow the expected path felt remarkably close to the spirit we hoped CDLP would embody. So instead of making him part of the backdrop, we made him part of the story. Looking back, it feels fitting that one of our very first films wasn’t really about underwear at all.”

— Christian Larson, Co-Founder & Creative Director

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