In 1928 Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan created the Cole Haan brand and to celebrate their 85 year history, they’ve launched a campaign, “Born in 1928”, photographed by Daniel Jackson.

Cole Haan Born in 1928

The print and digital campaign features individual portraits reminiscent of the Blackglama and old GAP campaigns, both of whom used famous personalities posed in their clothes and shot in black and white.

The Cole Haan campaign features writer and poet winner Maya Angelou, photographer Elliott Erwitt, astronaut of Apollo 13 Mission Jim Lovell and model China Machado – all of whom are 85 years old (except Machado who is 84).

Shown below, clockwise from upper left, are China Machado’s modeling photo, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, one of Elliott Erwitt’s fabulous photos and Jim Lovell on the cover of LIFE.

“They are all vibrant examples of how timelessness and true style are born out of confidence – and that never expires,” said Cole Haan vice president of marketing Erin Riley. “They are as relevant today as they were in the past, and they all represent various perspectives that we thought would resonate with our consumer.”

All of the personalities wore Cole Haan shoes including the official campaign shoe, the Silver Limited Edition Lunar Grands, worn by Jim Lovell (below):

“There’s real clarity and real conviction for what we want the brand to stand for and what we are committed to bringing to light in all of our channels from advertising to marketing,” Riley said, explaining that this includes looking the brand’s heritage to inform its future.

The campaign was shot in New York at Pier 59 by Daniel Jackson and styled by Tiina Laakkonen.

The Print (3 examples)

“We need to look back to look forward,” Riley concluded. “At the same time, we are a very modern brand and we don’t want to be perceived as a traditional heritage brand. We’re more about attitude than an age group.”

The black-and-white photo portion of the campaign debuted on Sept. 3 and has launched on colehaan.com, their social media networks, and in its store windows. Next month the ads will appear in November issues of GQ, Elle, Vogue and Vanity Fair, among others. Billboards featuring the campaign will pop up in major cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Toronto.

Behind The Scenes

And finally, some photos from behind the scenes at Daniel Jackson’s shoot in NY:

and this photo of Maya Angelou at the shoot photographed by Taylor Jewell for Vogue:

all images courtesy of Cole Haan

Related Links:
Cole Haan
Daniel Jackson

Maya Angelou Books and Audio Books

Books about Jim Lovell and Apollo 13

Elliott Erwitt Photography Books and Prints