PROJECT CASE STUDY
Gossip Girl × Oscar de la Renta: Rome Billboard Campaign
I was asked to design a plot-twisting fashion campaign for Gossip Girl's final episode. They had to be seen from specific camera angles in Rome, where billboards use a translucent mesh fabric.
LOCATION MOCKUPS
LOCATION MOCKUPS
After the concepts were approved but before anything went to VFX, I built location mockups of how the billboards would appear in their real Roman locations. I used Google Earth, production scout photos, and my own reference while in Rome to ensure an accurate and lifelike depiction.
The Fendi Hotel Room location had a window with a view to the building across the street where an actual billboard was located. Based on these proportions the composition and scale of the billboard could be finalized.
A REAL CAMPAIGN FOR
A FICTIONAL MOMENT
To make the ads 100% believable, Gossip Girl's costume designer Eric Daman staged a full scale photo shoot with photographer Brett Warren to assure the wardrobe, lighting, and brand tone would emulate a real Oscar de la Renta fashion campaign.
Oscar de la Renta included the shoot as an IG post.
A look behind the scenes during the shoot.
AUTHENTICITY TO DETAIL
The final photo above, composited into the location photo below.
Rome billboards are printed on translucent mesh scrims that light passes through revealing the façade underneath. I incorporated that detail into the comps so the ads weren't opaque.
FINAL INTEGRATION
After approvals, the graphics went to the VFX team. They tracked the artwork into the live-action footage so it appears naturally in camera moves, reflections, and atmospheric lighting. In the final cut, these ads feel like they were really hanging in Rome — and they carry all the emotional weight of that reveal.
GOSSIP GIRL
HBO MAX - 2022
Showrunner Josh Safran
Costume Designer Eric Daman
Photographer Brett Warren
Executive Producer Billy Redner
Post Production Supervisor Randy Kruger