Lensed by Alasdair McLellan, the Miu Miu Pre-Fall 2017 ad campaign takes place within the private world of a London hotel.

The economy of images has weathered a radical transformation. Technology has disrupted traditional values: pictures are at once utterly ubiquitous and diminished; perfection and seamlessness, more attainable than ever, are drained of aura; low fidelity can signify either carelessness or intimacy. The new Miu Miu ad campaign, shot by Alasdair McLellan, is part of an ongoing investigation into the fleeting nature of contemporary images perhaps as a metaphor for the transience of youth. These new portraits, depicting young women in singles and pairs lolling in warm, intimate spaces, are haphazardly composed and scrapbooked atop one another in the manner of the images we cherish most – snaps taken of friends, stashed in private albums or shared in social media.

Here, actress Jaime King and models Samantha Archibald, Iesha Hodges, and Lily Nova prepare for a night out. It tells a story of female friendship: coy, relaxed, physical. The setting: a sleek London hotel room that provides a sumptuous backdrop for a slightly debauched, seemingly spur-of-the moment, photo session.

The hotel-room scenarios are rich with the signifiers of youth and femininity: The ritual of dressing, sharing clothes, and exchanging cherished possessions make for endless combinations, the increasing possibilities of excess both real and imagined. The night does not have to end, they collectively decide, if it never officially starts.