When tech aesthetics meet high fashion storytelling, something interesting happens. In the case of London-based tech company Nothing, their first over-ear audio product, Headphone (1), doesn’t just drop into the market quietly. It arrives with a visual identity shaped by one of the most distinctive creative voices of the moment: Jordan Hemingway.
The Face Behind the Frame
Jordan Hemingway is not your typical campaign director. Born in New Jersey and now based in London, Hemingway’s raw, narrative-rich style has already shaped the visual worlds of high-end fashion giants Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Mugler, Chanel, and Prada. Now, he turns his lens on Nothing, a brand increasingly defined by its anti-corporate polish and radical design language.
This collaboration isn’t just aesthetic. It’s thematic. Hemingway’s work leans into the visceral and the emotional qualities you don’t often associate with tech product launches. For Nothing, that’s the point.
“I first found myself at Nothing’s office a few years ago for an unrelated meeting,” Hemingway recalled. “Even then, their spirit of innovation and fearless exploration left a mark on me. To return now, years later, to build something together is not just exciting, it’s an honour.”
Portraiture as Product Narrative
The campaign for Headphone (1) isn’t your average lifestyle shoot. Hemingway zeroes in on portraiture stripped-down, emotionally charged, often cinematic. The focus isn’t just on the headphones themselves, but on the people wearing them. Their stories, expressions, and individuality become the central narrative.
Ryan, Senior Director of Brand & Creative at Nothing, explained the logic behind the collaboration: “Working with Jordan was an instinctive fit. The team was drawn to his signature aesthetic that blends honesty, beauty, and raw brutality with innovation. His ability to challenge traditional norms in fashion felt like an alignment to how we wanted to convey Headphone (1).”
Strategic Moves: The India Connection
Earlier this year, Nothing took a strategic leap by appointing Akis Evangelidis its co-founder as President of its India operations. Evangelidis stepping into this role signals the company’s intent to scale meaningfully in one of the world’s fastest-growing tech markets. This campaign, then, isn’t just about style. It’s about staking ground, establishing presence, and building a cross-market brand voice.
Nothing’s appeal in India has largely been centered around design and philosophy tech as culture, not just hardware. This creative-driven campaign sets the tone for how that message might evolve globally.
The Soundtrack of Identity: Music as a Brand Pillar
Now let’s talk about the unspoken layer in the campaign the music. In the accompanying video for Headphone (1), there’s a deliberate curation of sound. It’s not background noise. It’s narrative glue.
Music, especially in this campaign, becomes an emotional cue and identity marker. The audio complements Hemingway’s visual choices, enhancing tension, mood, and intimacy. More importantly, it signals that Nothing isn’t just making hardware. It’s building a sensory brand.
Brand-music collaborations aren’t new but when they’re this integrated, they elevate a campaign from promotional to experiential. Music acts as an anchor point, reinforcing product identity and encouraging repeat engagement. Viewers don’t just remember the images. They remember the feeling. And that’s how recognition builds.
Beyond Product: The Story Nothing is Telling
At its core, this isn’t about a headphone. It’s about how a brand chooses to enter a saturated category and still make a statement. Nothing’s campaign, by putting portraiture and emotional storytelling front and center, draws attention to the idea that tech can and should feel personal.
The decision to work with a fashion-world outsider like Hemingway and double down on music as narrative tool shows a commitment to subverting expectations. In a space where specs and features usually dominate, Nothing is asking: what if design, feeling, and story came first?
Final Thoughts
The Headphone (1) campaign is a visual and sonic case study in how to disrupt the typical tech rollout. By foregrounding emotion, creativity, and cultural crossover, Nothing isn’t just launching a product. It’s declaring intent.
As consumers become more fluent in visual language and more selective with what earns their attention, campaigns like this don’t just stand out they stick. Jordan Hemingway’s lens, coupled with a deliberate sonic world, gives Headphone (1) more than a moment. It gives it a narrative.
