Italian fashion house Prada launched its 2026 holiday campaign, titled Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand, pairing live-action photography with classic pencil-and-paper animation [1]. Directed on the animation side by Disney veteran John Pomeroy, the project places five actors into snowy storybook landscapes populated by hand-drawn mice, foxes, and woodland wildlife [2]. The new John Pomeroy Prada collaboration brings handcrafted drawing into luxury fashion at a time when automated image tools spread through commercial media [3]. It debuted in late October 2026 with short films, stills, and making-of clips [4].
Drawing Prada and the Holiday Cast
Creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons oversaw the concept for the festive release, setting live-action photography against hand-drawn backgrounds [1]. The production assembled an ensemble of five actors, featuring Stranger Things stars Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke with Chinese singer and actor Chen Haoyu, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and British actor Luther Ford [3]. Each performer stands in a snowy forest or storybook interior, interacting with illustrated creatures that take an active interest in Prada luxury accessories [4]. In one scene, Sink looks down with amusement as a mischievous group of drawn mice attempts to carry off a spotted Prada loafer [6]. Hawke walks through a quiet snowy forest beside an illustrated fox, while Chen Haoyu turns to find a cartoon snow lynx chasing after her Prada handbag [3].
The drawn animals do not just decorate the background. They treat luxury coats, bags, and shoes as natural parts of their winter world. The mice curl up against leather goods or inspect footwear in the snow [6]. Illustrated rabbits and bats also move through neighboring frames to complete the playful mood [3].
Snow settles into blue shadows beneath heavy fir trees, while indoor fireplaces cast a warm amber glow across drawn storybook rooms. The images balance photographed cloth against soft drawn snowdrifts to showcase seasonal fashion. The mix of real leather and pencil lines keeps the products tangible without spoiling the fantasy [6].
Behind the John Pomeroy Prada Collaboration
Prada selected veteran animation director John Pomeroy to guide the hand-drawn artwork, relying on a studio career that spans over five decades. Pomeroy started at Walt Disney Productions in 1973, animating on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too under legendary Disney animator Frank Thomas. After contributing to the live-action and animation hybrid Pete’s Dragon, he left Disney to co-found Don Bluth Productions with fellow animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman [2]. That independent studio produced celebrated hand-drawn features including The Land Before Time and An American Tail [3]. Pomeroy later returned to Disney to supervise the character animation of John Smith in Pocahontas, while also contributing to The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Small One, and Fantasia 2000 [5].
To draw the festive scenes, Pomeroy assembled a crew of veteran 2D animators who spent decades mastering hand-drawn character movement. In a documentary clip released by Prada, lead animator Tom Bancroft said Pomeroy had “called the band back together” for the project. The artists worked with graphite pencils, paper, and physical light tables [2].
“I learned my craft with pencil and paper,” Pomeroy said in the making-of video [2]. “There’s a very distinct and purposeful reason to do hand-drawn animation, and that’s to see that there’s value in the human touch,” he said, adding that handcrafted work is still alive in the world today [1]. The production relies on individual line work rather than automated software [3].
Blending Camera Shots and Paper Art
British fashion photographer Glen Luchford directed and shot the live-action footage, working closely with the animation unit so that studio camera work merged naturally with drawn storybook backgrounds [1]. Luchford set up the studio lighting and camera angles so that physical shadows fell across the actors in patterns matching the drawn forest trees [2]. Cast members posed on neutral sets, reacting to empty marks where animators later added mice, foxes, and winter wildlife. This careful planning prevented the human figures from looking like separate cutouts pasted onto a flat drawing [4]. Creative director Ferdinando Verderi helped shape the visual identity of the project under Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons [2].
Still images from the John Pomeroy Prada campaign appeared in magazines and online, while short video clips showed illustrated creatures moving around Prada leather bags [1]. The project rolls out as a multi-format campaign, combining still photographs with short films and documentary clips [2]. Behind-the-scenes footage gave audiences a clear look at animation exposure sheets and pencil sketches [3].
The combination of mediums highlights the physical craft of luxury fashion. Leather bags catch studio lights, while drawn snow creates a soft frame around each accessory. Reviewing the campaign, The Impression noted that the contrast lets viewers appreciate luxury clothes as tangible goods while enjoying an imaginative storybook setting [6].
Why John Pomeroy Prada Drew Praise
Online reaction to the John Pomeroy Prada campaign arrived quickly across social media platforms, with audiences celebrating the return of traditional pencil animation at a moment when synthetic imaging tools dominate commercial advertising. Viewers on social platforms praised the choice to hire veteran animators rather than relying on computer algorithms. One user wrote: “fire up those pencils, more of this plz!” Another commenter welcomed the shift away from synthetic media, posting: “Finally something without AI!🙌” A third viewer noted the emotional pull of the classic style, declaring: “I LOVE THIS SO MUCH MY INNER CHILD IS SMILING”. Another user shared: “Love seeing hand-drawn animation finding its place in fashion. Been exploring this world with my own work lately 🖤”. A fifth commenter simply wrote: “Human hand drawn animation!! Yes please! ❤️👌” [3]. For many fans, the drawings offered warmth that automated digital graphics rarely capture [4].
The campaign arrives as luxury fashion brands test automated text-to-image software to lower production budgets. While algorithmic image tools can speed up commercial workflows, their growing adoption has triggered intense arguments over artistic employment, training data, and copyright boundaries. Hand-drawn art requires conscious creative choices for every movement and silhouette [3].
The aesthetic choices also tap into childhood memories of classic cinema [4]. Audiences who grew up with animated family films from the late twentieth century recognized the expressive character movement and comedic timing that defined classic hand-drawn storytelling [2]. By choosing paper animation, Prada connected its seasonal merchandise to stories passed down across generations [4].
Handcraft in an Era of Digital Tools
This is not the first time Prada has turned to independent animation studios for festive storytelling. For its 2024 holiday campaign, the Italian fashion house partnered with London-based animation studio Blinkink. Directed by the duo Jonny & Will in collaboration with Art Partner’s Partner Films, that previous project staged an imaginative dinner party starring Maya Hawke and Kelvin Harrison Jr.. The 2024 campaign proved that whimsical animated storytelling could elevate luxury accessories while engaging younger digital audiences [1]. Returning to animation in 2026 with John Pomeroy reinforces Prada’s long-term interest in illustrated arts, showing that handcraft can remain central to luxury branding [7].
Other luxury fashion houses have also looked to veteran animators for commercial campaigns. In 2022, French label Givenchy produced a collaborative 101 Dalmatians commercial overseen by Disney animation legend Eric Goldberg. More recently, a 2025 Scandinavian public service announcement on recycling used classic 2D hand-drawn animation to convey environmental messages. While these short commercial commissions cannot rebuild Hollywood’s 2D feature animation pipelines, they provide meaningful visibility for veteran draftsmen [2].
The reception of the John Pomeroy Prada collaboration suggests that hand-drawn animation still carries distinct cultural weight [1]. Luxury fashion fundamentally depends on visible physical craftsmanship, from hand-stitched leather accessories to tailored garments assembled in European workshops by skilled artisans. Pairing those garments with pencil drawings reinforces that shared dedication to human skill [6]. As Pomeroy noted, handcrafted work proves that pencil and paper still hold an important place in modern visual storytelling [1].
- ONLINE NEWS Sarto, D. (2026, October 29). Prada Goes Hand-Drawn with John Pomeroy for 2026 Holiday Campaign. Animation World Network. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Lang, J. (2026, October 28). Prada Taps Disney And Bluth Veterans For Hand-Drawn Ads. Cartoon Brew. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Andrada, T. (2026, October 28). ‘Drawing Prada’: Brand Taps Ex-Disney Animator John Pomeroy for Hand-Drawn Holiday Campaign Amid AI Boom. Fashion Times UK. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Leung, Z. (2026, October 29). Prada’s Holiday 2026 Campaign Turns Into a Hand-Drawn Winter Fairytale. Hypebeast. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS CrowdLevels News Desk. (2026, October 29). Disney Veteran John Pomeroy Directs Prada’s Hand-Drawn 2026 Holiday Campaign. CrowdLevels. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Zuckerman, M. R. (2026, October 27). Prada Draws on the Human Touch. The Impression. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Lynch, J. (2026, October 29). Prada taps Disney veteran John Pomeroy for its Holiday 2026 campaign. Culted. [Article Link]
