“Drawing Prada”: Inside Prada’s Hand-Drawn Holiday Campaign With Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke

3 min read

Part of today’s What You Missed: Thursday, Oct 29.

The hook

No green screen and no digital gloss. For Holiday 2026, Prada handed its campaign to John Pomeroy, the animator behind classics like The Secret of NIMH and An American Tail, and asked him to draw around a cast of actors by hand. Prada posted the film on its official YouTube channel as Prada Holiday 2026 Campaign, “Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand”.

What happened

• The cast. Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke, Chen Haoyu, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Luther Ford star, according to WWD, which revealed the images on Oct. 27.
• The team. Per Runway Magazine’s Oct. 29 review, the campaign was creative-directed by Ferdinando Verderi and shot by filmmaker and photographer Glen Luchford, with Pomeroy producing alongside Alice Films and John Pomeroy Productions Inc. Runway Magazine says Disney veterans Tom and Tony Bancroft worked on the animation.
• The timing. Runway Magazine reports the launch was timed to International Animation Day, which falls on Oct. 28.
• The verdict. Runway Magazine’s fashion editor Kate Granger scored the campaign 10 out of 10 in every category and listed no reservations.

The scenes people are talking about

Runway Magazine describes several vignettes:
– Sadie Sink and the mouse-hole. Sink peers through an arched opening under the floorboards, where three animated mice lounge on a dalmatian-pattern mule and a structured white top-handle tote, surrounded by berries and Swiss cheese.
– Chen Haoyu in the forest. Chen wears a belted black puffer, a dalmatian-spotted cap and kitten-heel slingbacks while reaching toward a mischievous horned, cat-like creature in a snowy pine forest.
– The sketches stay in. Rough storyboards, exposure sheets and graphite drafts appear in the final campaign, so the drawing process is part of the story.

Who is John Pomeroy?

Runway Magazine recounts his career: he joined Walt Disney Productions in the early 1970s, worked on The Rescuers and Pete’s Dragon, and in 1979 left with Don Bluth and Gary Goldman to start Sullivan Bluth Studios. He worked on The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven, then returned to Disney to supervise characters in Pocahontas, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet.

Why people care

Holiday campaigns usually blur together: snow, sparkle, a famous face. This one stands out because it is genuinely hard to make. In a year when many brands lean on synthetic imagery, Prada made a point of paying human artists to draw every frame, and that contrast is exactly why the campaign is getting shared. It also lands the same week Prada returned to No. 1 on the Lyst Index, per WWD, so the brand has real momentum heading into gifting season.

What it means for you

• Shopping. The accessories are the stars: dalmatian-pattern mules, a dalmatian shoulder bag and a structured white top-handle tote. If one catches your eye, ask the Rodeo Drive boutique now, before holiday demand peaks.
• Styling. The look is austere tailoring plus one playful print. A black sheath or a sharp coat with a single spotted accessory is an easy LA holiday party formula.
• Career. For LA’s animators, illustrators and art directors, this is proof that luxury brands will pay for hand craft. Put traditional drawing samples at the front of your portfolio.
• Nightlife. Expect the dalmatian accessories to show up at holiday parties across West Hollywood by December.

Our take (opinion)

This is the smartest holiday campaign of the season so far, and it is smart because it is slow. Prada spent money on pencils and people, then showed you the sketches to prove it. In a feed full of instant images, visible effort is the new luxury.

RelatedZendaya Wore the Real Lanvin Set Halle Berry Wore in 2000. Why Archive Costumes Win

Sources

• Runway Magazine, Oct. 29, 2026: Drawing Prada Holiday 2026 Campaign by John Pomeroy
• WWD, Oct. 27, 2026: EXCLUSIVE: Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke Interact With Cartoons in Prada’s Fantasy Campaign
• Prada on YouTube: Prada Holiday 2026 Campaign, “Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand”
• Back to today’s roundup: What You Missed: Thursday, Oct 29

Photo: Headline screenshot of Runway Magazine’s review, Oct. 29, 2026, linked above.

Code Red: Halloween plans sorted. Code Red: Halloween ft. Don Woezik. Get tickets on Posh

Tips: Seen the Prada holiday windows in LA? Send a photo: editor@nightlifereport.app

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