Halloween has barely ended, and the luxury industry is already going all-in on the Christmas season. Brands are not wasting a single day: actively shaping holiday collections, releasing advent calendars, and, most notably in 2026, shooting large-scale Christmas commercials featuring Hollywood stars. A selection compiled by the lifestyle project WAVE (RBC-Ukraine) demonstrates how leading fashion houses compete for audience attention through cinematic plots, nostalgic animation, and star-studded casts. In the spotlight are Burberry, Gucci, Dior, Prada, Barbour, and a jewelry house that filmed a touching short film with Amanda Seyfried.
Burberry: An Outdoor Hollywood Party
The British fashion house gathered an impressive cast for its Christmas commercial: Pierce Brosnan, Fionn O'Shea, Cara Delevingne, Nico Parker, and other stars. The plot is structured as a chain of holiday events—the characters first stroll through a picturesque landscape, play games, exchange gifts, and the climax is a loud and joyful party. The format of the commercial emphasizes the British tradition of a countryside Christmas and turns the advertising product into a full-fledged mini-film where each character gets their scene.
Gucci and Mariah Carey: The Party Begins with Her Arrival
Christmas without "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is no Christmas for Gucci. The brand invited Mariah Carey to be the main star of the holiday campaign, and this decision completely justifies itself visually. In the video, the singer arrives at a luxury hotel that is not yet ready for the holiday upon her arrival. While the star steps out of the car and enters the lobby, the staff hurries to decorate the interior, trim the tree, and arrange gifts. The party essentially begins the moment Mariah crosses the threshold. Shots from the lobby—wearing a long fur coat, signature glasses, and a massive necklace—became one of the most discussed visual moments of the campaign.
Dior: 1940s Animation in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
Fashion house Dior bet on nostalgia by returning to hand-drawn animation characteristic of the 1940s. The short film looks like old Disney cartoons and instantly brings a smile. According to the plot, on a winter night, Christian Dior receives a phone call: Marlene Dietrich urgently needs a new dress for a movie, and the couturier immediately gets to work. Roles in the cartoon were voiced by Rihanna, Josh O'Connor, Louis Garrel, and other actors, while the voiceover belongs to Robert Pattinson. At a time when the industry is massively switching to generative AI, Dior's choice of classical hand-drawn technique looks like a conscious gesture—a return to the "human" texture of the image.
Prada, Barbour, and the Jewelry House: The Trend for Handcrafted Work
Prada also decided to use classic animation to bring back the feeling of fairy tales and kindness. In the holiday video, hand-drawn animation photos are combined with stars, including Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke, finding themselves in a winter world with fairytale animals. The brand's team coordinated space and lighting, while some movements, animation details, and characters were created by hand—using pencil and paper. British premium brand Barbour joined the trend by teaming up with Wallace and Gromit—Aardman's claymation characters filmed using stop-motion animation. According to the plot, inventor Wallace invents a new device for a winter walk, but everything goes wrong, and the hero ends up in a snowdrift. To keep him from freezing, Gromit gives him a Barbour sweater. The jewelry house, in turn, filmed a touching short film with Amanda Seyfried about the importance of memories and family ties: the plot unfolds in modern New York and transports viewers back to the Christmas of the 1990s, showing how a single gift turns into a family heirloom. Worthy of special mention is the holiday campaign featuring Megan Stalter, where the actress tries to find her way during a blizzard in snowy New York—the plot combines humor, holiday chaos, and big-city atmosphere.
What Lies Behind the Wave of Animation and Star Casts
The collection of 2026 campaigns demonstrates a clear trend: luxury brands are abandoning purely product-based advertising in favor of narrative cinematography. On the one hand, this is a response to audience fatigue with static visuals—the Christmas commercial becomes an event discussed on social media. On the other hand, it is a conscious choice of "handmade" aesthetics (hand-drawn animation, claymation, stop-motion) in contrast to faceless AI generation. Star-studded casts act as a trigger: the name of Mariah Carey, Pierce Brosnan, or the voice of Robert Pattinson guarantees that the video will hit news feeds and be rewatched. For brands, this is a double benefit—both reach and an emotional attachment to a holiday that in 2026, judging by everything, will be the most "cinematic" in recent years.
