Why Holiday 2025 fashion is turning to traditional festive storytelling to cash in
For Holiday 2025, luxury brands mine nostalgic festive storytelling with Instagram-ready aesthetics to captivate hearts—and boost sales
The holiday season has long been a golden opportunity for experimenting with fashion storytelling that tugs at the heart with a clever twist—but Holiday 2025 marks a striking shift, taking a comforting plunge into the past. Across luxury and contemporary brands, festive campaigns are embracing tradition with snow-dusted landscapes, candle-lit interiors, vintage textures, and elegant, cosy gatherings straight out of a classic winter tale.
This trend nods to a retro narrative, yet this year nostalgia meets modern culture: Gen Z-friendly celebrities, cinematic storytelling, and Instagram-ready aesthetics give these ads a fresh, digital-native appeal.
Far from old-fashioned, the Christmas 2025 campaigns are not just selling fashion—they’re selling timeless and reassuring emotions first: warmth, comfort, and connection. By leaning into nostalgic imagery, brands are tapping into trending TikTok aesthetics like “cosy holiday,” “old-money winter style,” and “Ralph Lauren Christmas vibes,” positioning themselves to drive engagement—and, ultimately, sales. In short, festive fashion is looking backwards for inspiration, turning tradition into the ultimate viral moment, while hopefully generating revenue in a tightening luxury market.
Prada’s “A Winter’s Tale”: How Cinematic Nostalgia Is Defining Holiday 2025
Prada’s Holiday 2025 campaign, “A Winter’s Tale,” may be the clearest example of this season’s shift. Directed by Glen Luchford, the story follows a group of friends—played by Maya Hawke, Damson Idris, Letitia Wright, Louis Partridge and Li Xian—on a snowy road trip that feels both cinematic and deeply intimate. The landscapes are icy and majestic, the light is diffused like vintage film, and the characters are captured in candid, unscripted moments of warmth.
The beauty of Prada’s Holiday 2025 campaign lies in its fusion of nostalgia and authenticity. The cast feels real: they laugh, share stories, and move through wintry forests with a sense of discovery rather than glamour. Prada’s pieces blend seamlessly into the narrative—nothing feels forced or overly styled. The clothes become part of the memory, not the focus.
Call it a commercial, but Prada has released a mood—a winter feeling, a moment of connection. In doing so, it sets the tone for the season.
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Burberry’s “‘Twas The Knight Before…”: Modern Christmas Reimagines Iconic British Heritage
Burberry leaned into British tradition with a holiday campaign directed by John Madden. Set in a festive London townhouse, “‘Twas The Knight Before…” stars Jennifer Saunders as the witty, glamorous hostess of a Christmas gathering. Guests drift in, bringing gifts, stories, and laughter, creating a layered narrative of community and warmth.
The strength of Burberry’s Holiday 2025 campaign lies in using the house’s iconic trench coats, scarves, and outerwear not as static fashion objects but as storytelling devices. A classic tartan scarf becomes something worn on the way to a loved one’s home; a trench coat becomes protection against a crisp London night. The Christmas ad feels nostalgic but never outdated—a balance achieved through humour, personality, and contemporary casting.
For younger viewers, the latest Burberry campaign presents British heritage not as something stiff or unreachable, but as lived-in, joyful and intentionally human.
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Holiday 2025 Campaigns Driving Emotional Virality: Miu Miu, Dolce&Gabbana & More
Miu Miu’s Holiday 2025 campaign leans into the atmosphere of an old English manor, where youthful energy collides with historical grandeur. Shot by Angela Hill, the ad feels like a dream pulled from an old photograph: satin dresses gleam in low light, patchwork shearling layers add texture and warmth, and the models become characters in a gentle, cross-generational fable.
Dolce&Gabbana takes a different approach, conjuring an icy-silver fantasy world where crisp winter light meets high Italian glamour. Their concept blends introspective calm with dazzling celebration, embodying both sides of the holiday season.
Max Mara’s Christmas campaign opts for serenity. Its snow-covered universe emphasises calm luxury, muted tones, and an almost meditative sense of winter elegance. The brand’s signature camel coats look especially timeless against pristine white landscapes.
Tommy Hilfiger brings a modern preppy American narrative, merging collegiate aesthetics with festive warmth. The combination of casual ease and visual nostalgia creates an inclusive, family-friendly vision of holiday style, one that resonates with younger consumers.
Across all these concepts, one thing is clear: emotion takes centre stage. Whether through nostalgia, intimacy, or understated elegance, the message has shifted—fashion no longer asks us to buy in order to feel; instead, it invites us to feel first, and to buy afterwards.
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Why Classic Christmas Fashion Is Captivating Gen Z and Millennial Shoppers
The renewed emphasis on tradition is rooted in more than just aesthetic preference—it reflects a generational mood. Younger shoppers, especially Gen Z, are increasingly drawn to styles and narratives that evoke comfort, warmth, and stability. In a world marked by volatility and digital overload, the soft glow of a fireplace, the tactile pleasure of knitwear, or the quiet intimacy of a shared holiday moment feel aspirational.
Brands understand that nostalgia is not just sentimentality—it’s a strategy. By tapping into classic seasonal tropes, they create emotional resonance. And by pairing those tropes with fresh, contemporary faces, they ensure the imagery feels alive rather than archival.
This balance of old and new is what makes Holiday 2025 campaigns distinctive. It is not a return to the past, but a reinterpretation of it—a kind of “contemporary tradition” that allows viewers to recognise something familiar while discovering something new.
The Future of Festive Fashion Storytelling: Slow Living, Emotional Connection & Cinematic Style
This year marks a turning point for holiday fashion campaigns. Instead of relying on spectacle or overt luxury, brands are betting on narrative depth. They are embracing cinematic language, textured environments, multi-sensory cues, and emotional realism. In their hands, the 2025 holiday season becomes both a commercial moment and a prompt to reconnect with personal rituals, memories, and emotions—while hoping, perhaps, that somewhere under the tree, a little financial magic might return the accounts to the black.
Angelo Ruggeri
Journalist and Tutor for Styling, Business and Design Course and Master’s Programmes, Milan