press

“gigi hadid wearing her wardements x orange babies cropped hoodie benefiting pregnant HIV-infected women and their babies in africa…”

daily mail: “gigi hadid flaunts taut tummy in $275 wardements x orange babies hoodie in NYC as her new reebok campaign drops. despite the 44f-degree chill, gigi hadid flaunted her taut tummy sans coat while headed back into her manhattan apartment on thursday… (gigi) relies on stylist mimi cuttrell – sported an athleisure ensemble of black leggings and matching sneakers…” “gigi (born jelena) – likely rocking vogue eye wear shades – matched her furla coral backpack with her iphone case. hadid also wore a $275 wardements x orange babies cropped white hoodie benefiting pregnant HIV-infected women and their babies in africa. on wednesday, the malibu-born socialite autographed more wardements x orange babies merchandise ‘to be auctioned for the charity later’ through v magazine’s website…” view all work for wardements

september issue of men’s club, japan’s premier magazine on men’s style and fashion.

ceft and company’s creative director ucef hanjani was featured in their september 2013 issue. he spoke about new york life, his work, and his favorite NY places. photographed by wataru shimosato, in the ceft and company offices. interview by noyuri tokiwa for men’s style.

above caption 1: “ucef hanjani photographed shortly after getting off his plane from his vacation in jamaica, leaning next to one of his favorite film posters ‘tout va bien’ by jean-luc godard. sayl chairs designed by his school mate and friend yves behar for herman miller. pink skateboard deck with snow white by supreme.”

the issue featured creatives from across the world. italy, france, japan, and the united kingdom to name a few.

below caption 2: “coffee break with creative director ucef hanjani at his favorite coffee torrefaction ‘la colombe'”.

above caption 3: “desk area with hanjani’s vintage technics amplifier from the late 1970’s. there is a sleek black puma ping pong table in the agency, designed by his friends johan liden and rinat aruh, where he plays ping pong with his childhood stiga/yasaka paddle that was recently resurfaced. hanjani’s eye glasses given to him by fashion photographer terry richardson. mono-glasses by maison martin margiela. figurines by kidrobot.”

caption 4: “hanjani’s favorite new york places; a) barrio-chino in lower east side for great food and a casual and lively atmosphere b) dashwood books owned by david strettell, husband to fashion stylist anne christensen, a small and quaint bookshop with limited edition books. c) bohemian, japanese restaurant, a secret restaurant behind a high grade japanese butcher shop in NYC.”

Ward Stegerhoek is a man of many trades. The Dutch-born Vogue-minted hairstylist rose to fame in the early 1990s, taming the coifs of supermodels like Cindy Crawford, and has been working in the industry ever since. Now, however, he’s also making waves for his Instagram account @ward_hair. The feed features images of his editorial work; an aggregation of hilarious memes similar to what one would see on @FuckJerry or the @Fatjewish; and posts that comment on political events. So popular is the account (it has over 33,000 followers) that it has spawned another tongue-in-cheek feed, @Wardements_official, a portfolio of Stegerhoek’s newest endeavor: a clothing label. The name’s resemblance to Vetements is no coincidence: Pieces include cheeky but luxury XXL hoodies (made from three Champion hoodies), drop-crotch sweatpants, and hefty leather bombers decorated with patches. (Another fun touch? Each item comes with a black and white tag of Stegerhoek’s face.) Already, the line has received the model stamp of approval, finding fans in Toni Garrn and Daphne Groenwald. And some followers have even created their own campaigns around the label. “The reaction on Instagram is coming without instruction,” says Stegerhoek. “It’s almost like a model bought one, she’s photographed backstage, and then the campaign is on a ‘billboard.’ ” For Stegerhoek, Wardements was a natural progression. “As a kid during the ’80s, they had all the fashion shows from Paris live from television during the day, so I would come home and sit there and watch Pat Cleveland walk,” he remembers. “Then I got really inspired by fashion, like by Vivienne Westwood but, of course, I couldn’t afford it. So, I got my mother’s sewing machine and started making clothes.” Years later, Stegerhoek would make one-off shirts and hoodies for himself that he would wear on set. Don’t expect Wardements to stop at hoodies, though. As with Vetements, Stegerhoek has some collaborations in the works, in his case with labels such as Kangol and Diana Broussard, the accessories company that makes LCD-infused plexiglas jewelry, which will translate Stegerhoek’s vision to handbags. “We’ll probably put memes on them!” he says. Wardements will drop more double-tap-worthy pieces just before fashion week. Look out for their funny, elevated cameos on the street cycle circuit. view all work for wardements.

“it all started in the basement…” that will get you reading on wouldn’t it?

the “legendary hair stylist” story started in the basement, but this started initially as a joke—it’s in ward’s nature to push some buttons and make people laugh. if you follow him on instagram, you get to know his playful side.

“…well, i was working with inez and vinoodh on the boardwalk of venice beach in LA, and… i get half an hour off (while they are editing). so i stepped into one of those souvenir t-shirt shops on the boardwalk, and because vetements had been making such a big hype at the time i thought, ‘oh, this is funny.’ i like making people laugh… i’m on set, fixing the girl’s hair; i’m with my back to everybody that’s behind the camera. and so on my butt, instead of vetements, i printed wardements F/W ‘dadada’ as a joke. one sweater, never thinking of making a brand or anything at all.” because of the tongue-in-cheek name play and story behind it, word got around about this hoodie.

before you know it, they ended up on instagram, sported by the likes of toni garnn and daphne groenveld. ward’s fanbase went into a frenzy, creating their very own campaigns as the brand was developing its own cult following. before you know it, ward’s fans put up a billboard for wardements in tokyo without him even knowing. needless to say, the direct requests kept coming in through Instagram and retailers started making requests. the launch of wardements was nothing but inevitable at that point. t-shirts and hoodies became a canvas for cheeky meme-like statements like the classic “cash me outside”, “i’m your online girlfriend”, and “slide inside”.

considering that ward is one of only a handful of legendary hairstylists of our time, his peripheral exposure to fashion watching john galliano, valentino, and yves saint laurent pin and drape weeks and days before a fashion show, while collaborating with stylists through hair; fashion is second nature. ward’s vision for wardements is to dress “…a person with style as opposed to a person that is dressed up, or styled up. we have bomber jackets, t-shirts, hoodies, slip dresses. It’s stuff that you can wear day and night. it’s not hard to wear. it’s not stiff…” the FW18 collection has expanded to 95 pieces ranging from handbags, leather goods, shoes, coats, dresses suits, and denim, and will be available in 13 stores globally. view all work for wardements.

“for ucef hanjani, uniting separate forces to create a more effective end-result is a mantra. during a project for the nike free women’s apparel, which included print and film, he was determined to choose a photographer that would complement the brand. sarah scaife explores the long history of collaborations between fashion brands and designers, and speaks to ucef hanjani of leading agency ceft and company new york.”

“in the world of fashion and lifestyle, these expedient decisions are often based on their creative merit. throughout history, collaboration has occurred between musicians, artists, designers, and other creative alike to develop their respective companies — from kusbi and kanye west, to adidas and jeremy scott, to even the controversial louis vuitton and mikhail gorbachev. such alliances appear to be based on a vast array of reasoning, ranging from business to creativity and back again, and upon further scrutiny, it is not difficult to locate the multi-leveled origin of rapidly increasing collaboration: perhaps it is a retaliation against the never-ending quest for originality; perhaps it is a means of combining separate aesthetics or ideals to convey a message; perhaps it is a purely ‘veiled’ marketing move, deliberately and strategically employed for monetary purposes. although the motive can be nebulous to a naked eye, the effects are obvious.”

“for centuries humans have been developing civilization one brainwave after another, layering idea upon idea to further the progression of the western works. however, therein lies the problem. In a world where the notion of individuality is firmly engrained int he human psyche, it is extremely difficult to obtain. in the creative world, it seems only natural that the incessant search should eventually result in the unity of industries; perhaps two olds can make a new? upon speaking with the industry authority ucef hanjani, founder and creative director of the esteemed communications agency ceft and company new york, the two overlapping industries of art and advertising were discussed in this light; “art has historically been the most advanced form of communication, form Indian tribes to egyptian tombs to african folklore. even after the invention of language and cultivation of words, we still find that today art transcends them all in unexplainable ways. art has the ability to deliver emotions when words fail to explain. so naturally various forms of art have seeped into all forms of communication, and that includes advertising.” and indeed, he has a point; utilising artistic minds within advertising was part of the logical evolution of civilization. collaboration broadened the market, allowing companies a better shot at achieving originality in their advertisements, and thus a greater reaction in the general public. hence, in multiplying the number of hands, creative companies like fashion labels are successfully strengthening their grip on the vague mist that is originality.”

“artistic collaboration…can also be propelled by the reinforcement of opposing fortes. in a sense, by harnessing the strengths of other companies, a fashion house attends to its own corporate weakness. such a phenomenon has been exemplified by partnerships such as fashion designer christopher raeburn and the maker of the swiss army knife, victorinox, who united to create a ready-to-wear-collection for the new york fashion week fall 2011 called remade in switzerland. The collection featured eight limited-edition menswear and womenswear pieces made from reconstructed swiss military fabrics, one of which was a new interpretation of the famous swiss army knife. raeburn, who was already reowned for his reused army fabrics, was a perfect match for the established company. this notion of opposing companies working together on a common project, handed down over generations of designers, achieves innovation while simultaneously respecting the basic foundations of each label. to use an equity analogy, when one mated the male donkey with the female horse, two distinctly different creatures, the outcome of the mule was unique. similarly, the union of raeburn and victorinox produced an offspring that is equally unique in the fashion world. astute labels need to be vigilant about such creative synergies by forming alliances with those outside the fashion family.”

“for hanjani, uniting separate forces to create a more effective end result is a mantra. during a project for the nike free woman’s apparel, which included print and film, he was determined to choose a photographer that would complement the brand.

“nike’s inspiration comes from the streets and the sports that propel everyday people into global athletics,” hanjani explains. “to express this, we contacted the gallery of a French photographer, denis darzacq, who had no agent or commercial representative… we arranged a shoot that was not just in line with denis’ work, but true to nike’s brand.” the ad features a woman dressed in the relevant nike apparel, suspended in mid-air on the streets of new york city in a way that defies gravity. this motion signifies the elevation from reality. darzacq, who had never before dabbled in commercial work, approached the project from a separate business and background provided ceft and company with an approach that was atypical. if the term ‘marketing strategy’ is anathema to artists, then ceft and company deserve accolades for their approach which deliberately freshens the images constructed by someone outside of the advertising industry.”

“whilst exploiting one’s notoriety has been an age-old technique in advertising, usually the chosen identities are some from of eye candy. there is, however, an alternate take on this concept that has more to do with ideological positioning than aesthetics. back in 2007 louis vuitton incorporated mikhail gorbachev in a print advertisement rather than their usual smorgasbord of celebrities. the advertisement featured gorbachev sitting in the back seat of a limousine as it passed the remnants of the berlin wall, the iconic louis vuitton monogram bag open beside him. the juxtaposition of gorbachev with the berlin wall and a louis vuitton bag suggests that even this icon of communism crumbles to the enticements that vuitton’s products offer. hanjani, who considers this advertisement one of his “favorites of all time”, concurs: “this was so powerful and so appropriate for vuitton, positioning it as not just a luxury brand, but the brand that accompanies the most powerful men and woman in the world. of course, the undertow of vuitton being the king of capitalism and winning over the communist adversary made another statement about the brand, the economic ‘ruler’ that it became. that was just brilliant.” hanjani is indeed on the money. purely by positioning, labels are able to make an assertion about their brand through their advertising. in this case, the former king of communism has succumbed to the power of the chic vuitton label.”

“it’s undeniable that collaborative decisions within fashion houses, however creative they may seem, are often based on their marketing and promotional value. after all, designers are essentially business people, and no matter how glittery the garments, sales are imperative to any label’s survival. however, there is a fine line between tact and insincerity. having been involved for years with the crossbreeding of artists and brands —working with artists such as ryan mcginley, graydon carter, tristan eaton, denis darzacq, the virgins, and terry richardson— hanjani emphasizes that ceft and company advocate unions “only when appropriate. being appropriate is an important point if the collaboration is intended for success and the creation of something that is truly absorbed by the audience.” if only this were always the case. often celebrities are hired to represent a brand simply for financial expedience, or to cut corners, or even worse, to obtain societal approval by association. hanjani shrewdly comments, “[these collaborations] often say little more than ‘buy me if you are that stupid’. to me, those alliances are despicable and desperate on both sides and in a way damage both brands— the personality and the sponsoring company.” accentuating further his disapproval of an inappropriate alliance, hanjani draws upon his previous work with LVMH’s luxury champagne krug as an example. while ceft and company were specifically asked to establish an artist or celebrity platform in order to expand the audience, it was deliberately excluded from the end result. “in our opinion….the aura of paid stars has lost all its meaning. after all, why do intelligent people consider someone to be a star? not for their looks, or their marital dramas played out across rag magazines, but for their contributions to society and their actual work. so we chose to focus the campaign not on the artists themselves, but rather on their interests and inspirations.” hanjani included style icon anjelica huston and the editor of vanity fair, graydon carter, to maintain the edge of opulence and relevance to the fashion and lifestyle world. it can be noted from hanjani’s approach that while collaboration can certainly be exploited, it is for the most part a positive step towards artistic unification so long as those in charge remain loyal to their own brand.”

“a concept espoused by the pages of most history books, unity continues to dive many forces in modern society. while it is difficult on occasion to shake that iconic image of independence from our minds, it’s irrefutable that our past is littered with instances of groups collaborating to form unique ideas and reshape the world. in the fashion industry, it is a useful tool for obtaining originality, connecting with like-minded creatives, projecting a powerful statement, combining similar or contrasting aesthetics, expanding audiences and, of course, increasing revenue. after all, in a society that is largely dominated by the steve jobses and mark zuckerbergs of the world, it’s difficult for artistic pursuits to prevail on their own. while it is often debated that marriages in business can be a dangerous submission for power, or even constructed purely on the basis of financial gain, we must remember the aforementioned appropriateness discussed by creative director ucef hanjani. business strategies are not definite formulas for success, but when applied correctly and with the honorable intentions, can produce industry, marking important milestones from New York, to Milan, to our own backyard.”

ceft and company is a creative luxury agency based in new york. their work includes advertising, packaging design and digital creations such as web based campaigns, social media and apps.

“i was defying gravity… i got some good shots after a few attempts… and the pictures seemed to be a hit on… social media channels”

above image style.com contributor scott lipps, with ceft and company’s creative director and co founder ucef hanjani at the net-a-porter event.

scott lipps wrote: “in this day and age of social media massively consuming our lives, which is going to emerge as the winner for brands—social media marketing or traditional print ads (or both)? when an ad executive invited me to take part in the optical illusion that was the net-a-porter upside room the other day, of course i had to see what all the fuss was about…”

“now why didn’t i think of this?”

“first off, i can tell you, taking a picture in an upside-down set ‘room’ to make it look like you are actually on the ceiling is a bit trickier than it seems. i don’t have my flowing locks of years gone by, so the long-hair gravity trick wasn’t going to work, and i had to check the onscreen image a few times to make sure i was positioned the right way and that it seemed like i was defying gravity. nonetheless, i got some good shots after a few attempts. and the pictures seemed to be a hit on instagram and other social media channels (at a cost that’s less than a traditional print ad). then the figures came in. an outstanding number of more than 13 million impressions over just three days made this net-a-porter experience go viral. now why didn’t i think of this? these days, advertising is taking a whole new turn; just get me on the train. i like where all this is heading…” view all work related to this project.

“social media is a challenging medium for luxury brands. while it’s tempting and advantageous, it comes with many perils, namely lack of control and placement and associations with mass outlets. for NARS it was quite apparent that we had to start from scratch and custom build a website that was within the brands aesthetic and sensibility, while incorporating as many available social media channels as possible. we started with a custom interactive facebook app and fangate that allows NARS fans to see the top contestants in real time. the facebook app seamlessly directed traffic to the free standing website where users were able to experience NARS in its full glory. the site structure incorporated facebook auto posts into the comment, photo submission, invites, likes, and shares conducted on the free standing website, as well as twitter, email, digg, and blogger. the site has generated over 20,000 unique visitors just on its launch and we look forward to setting a bench-mark for social media sites to come…” – ceft and company founder and creative director, ucef hanjani. view all work related to this project.

“nike underlines movement – in its various forms – for its new lookbook showcasing forthcoming goods for fall 2015. for ladies, nike has continued to develop essential pieces that were engineered to both accentuate specific movement and create the uniform for the everyday athlete. highlights here include sculpture tights designed with bold prints for an array of expressions and sleeveless tech fleece hoodies. elsewhere, nike looks to the air max 95 and flyknit zoom agility sneakers as the basis for its brand of street style. ladies can get a feel for the collection here, and can head to nike’s website at the end of the month to purchase pieces for fall.” many thanks to hypebeast for the mention.  view all work related to this project.

“what’s great about jawbone is that its practicality is more than backed up by its visual appeal; it is designed to look and feel like a piece of jewellry or eyewear.” ceft and company’s collaboration with jawbone produced certain visuals like the one above.  these visuals were created to be offered exclusively to high-end style magazines that we saw fit to accentuate the beauty and precision of jawbone products. although we knew the images had to be ‘interesting’ and ‘different’ to boost the chances of publication, no one ever imagined receiving a full page image in such a prestigious and widely distributed magazine as GQ. the shots are proof that with a bit of artistry and planning, anything is possible. according to yves behar, founder of jawbone, “if it’s not beautiful, it doesn’t belong on your face.” view all work related to this project.

“inspired by the makeup brand’s popular makeover books, makeupyourmind.com – launched may 6 – invites beauty fans to upload their looks in the hopes of winning a trip to new york fashion week and other prizes. in order to participate, aspiring makeup artists need to connect via their facebook accounts in order to share their interpretations of ten different nars looks. ‘follow the steps and create your own expression of the look,’ it says on the website, but: ‘no two people are alike, so let your individual beauty and creativity show.’ the community can then vote on favorites, clicking a heart-shaped button, with the most popular winning a trip to new york city for fashion week for two people, including hotel, backstage access to the shows, fine dining, and a makeup consultation at the nars flagship boutique on bleecker street. submissions are open through august 31.” ceft and company’s social media campaign for NARS cosmetics as featured in the independent. view all work related to this project.

“from the game-changing studio wrap to the sportswear pinnacle collection, the nike women’s spring/summer 2013 look book can compete. these sophisticated new silhouettes featured on nike’s superhumans, including US track and field champion allyson felix and US women’s soccer star alex morgan. under the creative direction of ucef hanjani from creative agency ceft and company, shot by santiago and mauricio and styled by V magazine’s own tom van dorpe, the nike women’s spring/summer 2013 look book is innovative, functional and a little avant-garde.” ceft and company engaged with renowned photographers santiago and mauricio for this stunning nike women’s project. featured here in v magazine, the lookbook featured olympians modeling the new line of sportswear. view all work related to this project.

ceft and company co-founder and executive creative director ucef hanjani.

architect richard meier.

brandon ralph from code and theory.

artist christina kruse.

russell simmons, founder of rush communication, global grind & phat farm.

ceft and company’s creative director ucef hanjani is featured in the book, “the new yorkers”. the book is a selection of, german photographer, gerald forster’s project on documenting new york’s creative elite in their private habitat. the book features a myriad of subjects, including individuals from various sectors of the creative industry such as; architect, richard meier, entrepreneur, russel simmons, brandon ralph from code and theory, as well as our very own creative director, ucef hanjani.

ceft and company’s campaign for LVMH’s exclusive krug champagne wins a gold at monaco’s world luxury awards.

“revlon, new york, chose ceft and company, new york, to help reintroduce the fragrance brand charlie. billings were not disclosed. the agency’s work will include packaging design.” ceft and company is thrilled to be the agency of choice for the rebranding of the iconic fragrance, charlie. many thanks to the new york times for the mention. charlie is one of revlon’s most iconic fragrance brands which made waves upon its original launch back in 1973. since then, the brand lost its cache and was pushed into drugstore distribution, with mainly body sprays as its core business. the original brand had such impact that even today, charlie is mentioned in nearly every fragrance launch strategy. ceft and company’s efforts will be to update the brand image, starting with the product packaging, and the task of creating a cohesively designed product range that took into account the current production guidelines. view all work related to this project.

  pepsi co. reaches out to ceft and company for their GSP launch event. ceft and company created this influencer event in new york for a select 75 guests–from the press elite, bloggers, and the world of professional sports. ceft and company turned giorgio deluca’s (of dean & deluca) penthouse apartment into a pro-athlete’s dream pad, showcasing how for a pro, sports and life are inseparable. eli manning and ladainian tomlinson battled each other over a game of foosball, and diddy took the athletes route and climbed the eight floors of stairs in order to get to the party floor and lived to tweet about it. from the event, more than 100 stories were generated, including MTV, the wall street journal and the ny times. this resulted in a reach of more than 81 MM impressions, all in just 3 weeks. view all work related to this project.

julee wilson of huffington post wrote, “…as we were patiently waiting for the oscar red carpet to begin a flash of fabulous appeared on the screen–white house black market’s new foot-tapping commercial featuring supermodel coco rocha… directed by johan renck, the mastermind behind madonna’s ‘hung up’ video, the spot features coco tap dancing in over a dozen chic wear-to-work wardrobe options from the new “work kit” collection… and, coco is definitely workin’ it in the stylish and chic line of business wear–she literally dances across a boardroom table in heels… “i heard that they were planning on having a model tap dance. i was hoping i would get picked for this,” said coco rocha in her interview. “i thought–i have to have this!” view all work related to this project.

featured in the new york times newsletter under people and accounts of notice, ceft and company is recognized exclusively as the agency behind LVMH’s elite krug champagne.

nike microsite and its content created by ceft and company new york.

“nike is taking its apparel to a whole new level! the athletic wear mega brand has released a high-flying collection of images for its women’s spring/summer 2013 lookbook with help from one of our favorite olympic athletes, allyson felix, along with fellow olympians–alex morgan and paola espinosa. the ladies, who nike refers to as “superhumans,” displayed their world class athleticism and style by leaping, soaring, jumping and bending in a range of the brand’s newest threads. and “soaring” is a pretty accurate way to describe allyson’s career. not only did the 27-year-old track and field sprinter add two olympic gold medals to her collection this summer but she was recently honored as one of glamour’s women of the year. after these new shots from nike, allyson might need to add high fashion model to her resume.” –julee wilson, the huffington post, november 21st, 2012. you can view the microsite on nike inc. and interact with the book as users did on launch, page by page. view all work related to this project.

“eli manning attended a gatorade g series pro bash in new york with NFL comrades including ladainian tomlinson and d’brickashaw ferguson. the athletes were treated to a tasting followed by foosball with about 100 guests at a loft in soho, where sean “diddy” combs made a cameo. we’re told that diddy–in an attempt to keep up with the sports stars?–skipped the elevator and opted to hike the eight flights of stairs to the loft space.” – the LA times ceft and company created this influencer event in new york for a select 75 guests–from the press elite, bloggers, and the world of professional sports. ceft and company turned giorgio deluca’s (of dean & deluca) penthouse apartment into a pro-athlete’s dream pad, showcasing how for a pro, sports and life are inseparable. eli manning and ladainian tomlinson battled each other over a game of foosball, and diddy took the athletes route and climbed the eight floors of stairs in order to get to the party floor and lived to tweet about it. from the event, more than 100 stories were generated, including MTV, the wall street journal and the ny times. this resulted in a reach of more than 81 MM impressions, all in just 3 weeks. view all work related to this project.

ceft and company began its collaboration with white house black market in january 2012 and became the agency of record within months. we are thrilled with the news of the brands growth, and the recent article in woman’s wear daily below. while many aspects contribute to such developments, we’d like to congratulate our client for their vision and support in allowing ceft and company to contribute to this success through the recent iconic communications campaign featuring coco rocha. (spot #1: ” a musical odyssey“, spot #2: “alter ego“) “chico’s FAS inc. continued to grab market share in the third quarter… the firm’s earnings jumped 57.4 % to $41.7 million, or 25 cents a share, from $26.5 million…total sales advanced 18.2 percent to $636.7 million from $538.5 million with a 9.9 percent rise in comparable-store sales. for the full year, the company projected comp sales growth in the midsingle-digit range.” – evan clark, wwd, november 20th, 2012. view all work related to this project.