Billie Piper has been unveiled as the face of Russell & Bromley’s Autumn/Winter 2025 campaign, the first time the 145‑year‑old luxury shoe and bag brand has featured a celebrity in its advertising.
The campaign, shot to mark a new creative era for the family‑owned company, is the debut project from Daniel Beardsworth‑Shaw, Russell & Bromley’s newly appointed creative director. The campaign also coincides with the company moving its design work in‑house for the first time in its history.
Piper, 42, appears in a series of styled looks that place the brand’s shoes and bags at the center of a staged narrative set around a fictional café called Cobblers. The campaign frames the café as a whimsical reinvention of the woman who lived in a shoe, with a giant boot serving as a backdrop for product shots and staged scenes.
Photographs released by the brand show Piper in several distinct ensembles. One image pairs a black‑and‑white star‑print mini dress with a dramatic red fluffy coat and the brand’s Birchwood calf boots, priced at £450. Other looks include a gold sequin blazer and matching mini‑skirt paired with the nude Carden Lace flats, listed at £275, a colourful patchwork blazer over the star mini dress, and a skintight red halterneck jumpsuit with knee‑high boots as a line of models queues behind her.
Russell & Bromley said the campaign signals a fresh approach after moving design operations in‑house and granting Beardsworth‑Shaw full control of the brand’s creative direction. The appointment and celebrity tie‑in mark a departure from the company’s traditional marketing, which had not previously used a named celebrity to front its campaigns.
Piper and her close friend Lily James also appeared on London’s trading floor on Thursday to take part in the BGC Annual Charity Day. The 21st edition of the event raises funds for a range of charities by donating 100% of the BGC Group’s revenues and broker commissions for the day to participating organisations.
On the trading floor, Piper wore a black faux‑fur jacket over a slogan T‑shirt and a satin mini skirt with black boots, while James, 36, chose a black jumper paired with grey pinstripe trousers. They were among a roster of celebrities joining the event alongside television presenters such as Davina McCall, Amanda Holden and Holly Willoughby.
Since its inception, BGC Charity Day has raised approximately £220 million globally. Sean Windeatt, co‑chief executive officer and chief operating officer of the BGC Group, said the event was created to support families affected by the 2001 losses and to channel the industry’s resources to charity. "Every year, BGC Charity Day is both humbling and uplifting," Windeatt said. He added that last year’s event raised more than $12 million globally and praised brokers and clients for their participation in the annual fundraiser.
The beneficiaries for this year’s event range from grassroots organisations to national and international charities, including HVH Arts, 20/20 Levels, The Pearl Fund, West Ham United Foundation, Battersea Cats and Dogs Home, The Mayor’s Fund for London, Action Medical Research, Choose Love, Space for Giants and Help For Heroes.
Russell & Bromley’s campaign launch and Piper’s charity appearance come as luxury brands increasingly turn to storytelling and celebrity partnerships to broaden appeal. For Russell & Bromley, the combination of an in‑house design strategy and a celebrity‑led campaign represents a notable shift in the brand’s nearly century‑and‑a‑half retail history, positioning the company to present a redefined visual identity under its new creative leadership.