Dior’s fashion artistry comes to the fore in an exceptionally beautiful stop-motion film, A Ride of the Moon, directed by Nina Gantz and Renee Zhan, and voiced by 070 Shake. Flamboyant, playful and meticulously crafted, the campaign is a true celebration of fantastical storytelling and collaboration, acting as a reminder of the importance of pristine craftsmanship. For Blinkink, it is a collaborative triumph of human craft, a testament to the value of handmade artistry in an era increasingly shaped by automation and AI.
More than aesthetically alluring, a pitfall that fashion brands often fall into, the film is also an evocative Lunar New Year story, where a brave little horse’s showdown with a powerful, sassy adversary plays out.
The film was inspired by classical cinema – most notably Georges Méliès’ Voyage dans la Lune – a baroque-infused journey that blends cinematic language with theatrical illusion, set within an ornate 18th-century French theatre. It unfolds as a modern fairy tale told through flamboyant design, charming stop-motion animation and playful surrealism.
While cinematic and ambitious in scope, the film never takes itself too seriously, finding humour in exaggerated performances and clever theatrical tricks.
The horse character is modelled after the Dior horse charm, assembled from sewing components and brought to life through meticulous stop-motion craftsmanship. The Moon appears as a Marie Antoinette-esque figure, who brings humour through an over-the-top performance. True to Blinkink’s passion for in-camera craft, the production embraces old-school theatre mechanics to enhance its sense of wonder. Strings holding up clouds are deliberately visible, trapdoors open in the stage floor and sheets of translucent fabric become shimmering fountains. These visible illusions celebrate the joy of theatrical ingenuity and handmade problem-solving. The sets were entirely hand-painted and constructed, combining flat, painted backdrops with half-2D, half-3D elements. Layered sets, forced perspective and cinematic lighting create depth and spatial richness, allowing audiences to feel fully immersed in the world and its characters.
This project is a collaboration between two directors celebrated for their mixed-media mastery. Nina Gantz, who previously crafted two films for Loewe, continues her creative relationship with Jonathan Anderson at Dior, bringing her distinctive tactile sensibility to the brand’s storytelling. Renee Zhan, known for her work on high-profile campaigns for McDonald’s with Wieden+Kennedy, complements the partnership with her cinematic and character-driven approach.
Nina Gantz and Renee Zhan comment, “The starting point was about celebrating traditional stage craft, inspired by the Marie Antoinette theatre at Versailles. Hand-painted sets, manual mechanisms, and those beautifully theatrical illusions. We embraced the Baroque spirit in everything: visually, technically, and musically. It was a real joy to receive a brief to create something so artistically rich and steeped in craft tradition. We worked closely and collaboratively with the Dior team to create this intricate world. Stop-motion was key for all of us because it has an intentional charm; it’s not meant to be too smooth. Everything was filmed in camera, using old theatrical solutions, like creating movement by shifting the sets rather than moving the puppet itself.”
