Alternative Fashion Week

I’ve been a bit behind on the blogging, so this is kind of late but here is some of the coverage I did for Alternative Fashion Week 2012 (At London Spitalfields).

Models Be Lookin Bitchy in Prada

Steven Meisel has yet again shot Prada‘s video campaign – this time for the 50′s-inspired Spring 2012 collection. Although Meisel follows his same (winning?) formula of weird music, slow-motion contrasted with rapid cutting, and lots of closeups on accessories, I’m not bored yet. This one is much more cinematic than his past campaigns, with a hint of a story this time around.  Shot in a gas station with lots of shiny vintage cars to match their shiny vintage-style sunglasses, models give each other bad vibes, fix their makeup, and pose by their cars intimidatingly. As we girls do.

Watch below;

Mask

I mentioned the Wong Kar Wai x Shu Uemura collaboration before (here). Here is the gorgeous accompanying film directed by the man himself. Those eyelashes! Those colours! The glitter!

“Wong Kar Wai is a ‘master of colors’, just like Mr. Shu Uemura.
Possessing a unique perspective on femininity, he has specialized in capturing the mystique of women. In collaboration with Wong Kar Wai, Shu Uemura introduces a holiday collection rich in emotions and atmosphere, with beautiful package decoration inspired by his special short film for Shu Uemura, “Mask”. With his distinctive appreciation of femininity and his signature style that is both nostalgic and hip, this collection emphasizes timeless elegance and poetic tones, and takes the Shu Uemura look to a new dimension”.

 

Dragon Tattoo x H&M

I’ve seen the original Girl with a Dragon Tattoo film but I never expected it to have a fashion moment. The American remake’s star is on the cover of Vogue, and now H&M have unveiled a capsule collection from H&M Divided based on the film’s heroin.

Thoughts?

Model Wheel

I’m basing this opinion solely on the look of the set, (which includes a giant hamster wheel for models and a cage), but I can already tell that the Versace x H&M tv commercial is going to be amazing. Watch the behind the scenes below;

LFW Day Three with Lewis Taylor

Day three of London Fashion Week, brought to you by Lewis Taylor and 1883 Magazine! Video by me.

Vauxhall LFW Day One

Here’s the video we shot yesterday for London Fashion Week at Vauxhall with Lewis Taylor and 1883 Magazine. Spread the word!

First Heartbreak

New Doc Martens campaign featuring Agyness Deyn;

Prada by Meisel AW11

Nope! Its not a Venus commercial, nor is it shoe porn…its Steven Meisel’s new Prada campaign video for AW11. Although it has no narrative whatsoever and its obviously a very expensive advert rather than a fashion film, I love that you can see all the beautiful textures and fabrics in closeup. Watch models looking like perfect little dolls, stroking their perfectly waxed legs and their Prada below;

P.S. I want the sparkly socks!

Graduate Fashion Week – Kingston University

Here is my last article about Graduate Fashion Week, this time for for the Kingston University 2011 Catwalk show. P.S. This is my 600th post on Drooling Isn’t Pretty! I did a video for the Kingston show as well, watch below;

Throughout my coverage of Graduate Fashion Week, I am finding myself using the word “fringe” over and over again. Clearly fringe is a trend among the 2011 graduate designers, and by far the best use of this technique was Kingston University designer Nicola Burrows, whose tartan and knit womenswear collection was a joy to watch. Fringe-cuffed leggings with a raw-edged tartan skirt and top, fringed sleeves, fringed scarves, pom pom beanie hats with eyeholes and mixed stripes made for a playful show. One look featured a long topstitched denim coat with yellow tartan panels, worn over a candy-cane striped turtleneck dress with contrasting fringe on the sleeves, with yellow, blue and red geometric printed leggings. All the models wore blue suede brothel creepers and the pieces were fun yet wearable, and not over the top as separates.

Another trend at Kingston was the use of quirky accessories. Francesca Armstrong’s whimsical collection featured birdcage handbags to complement her feminine black and white looks with long trains and lots of tulle. Camilla Woodman opened the show with a steampunk-esque oversized necklace with what appeared to be a small television as a pendant (inspired by the “house-bound lifestyle” and technology)….and Bethany Borrough had her models holding glossy skulls in powder blue and chartreuse.

Mark Williams received a loud round of applause for his theatrical collection of heavy fur, mixed luxury fabrics and bold shoulder and sleeve details, all in red, black and sheer and worn with studded fur helmets. Jaskiran Hare’s menswear-inspired women’s collection was all deconstructed tailoring and tuxedo elements in oversized dresses and coats, with tulle underskirts and low necklines to add a touch of femininity to what could have been a severe collection. Overall, the Kingston designers demonstrated strong individual visions in varying styles, which made for an inspiring catwalk show.

Written by Emma Freed

Video by Emma Freed

Luxirare Video Preview

Here’s a preview from another video I shot, with Una as my model and her Luxirare vest. Can’t wait to post the finished product! I’m just waiting on the music at this point :)

Prada & Petals

Preview from an upcoming fashion film of mine featuring my lovely friend Una and her Prada shoes :) We shot this in Switzerland.

Precious Pizza

Monica Menez directed this beautifully shot and styled fashion film entitled “Precious” for Willems Wonderglasses AW11. The makeup and nails are amazing, as are the clothes, the lighting, and the fact that the model kneads the pizza dough with her butt.

If this isn’t how you make pizza, you are doing it wrong;

via Trendland

An Army for Beauty

Another Magazine produced this beauty film for Viktor & Rolf AW11, directed by KT Auleta. The soundtrack is amazing and I love the idea of makeup being like armour or warrior paint. Featuring Lindsay Wixon’s unmistakable lips, the videos shows her and a bunch of models prepare for battle, a ‘Battle for the Sun” to go along with the AW11 collection of the same title.

Click below to be directed to the video;

“We were compelled to create an army…An army to battle for beauty. A crusade to communicate our passion for fashion”.

See the full article here at Another.

Mushrooms and Roses

Arizona Muse stars in Yves Saint Laurent‘s dreamy spring/summer campaign video. Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin captured the sexy side of seventies style in a glamorous pool-side setting, and let’s just say Arizona knows how to work a palm tree. Watch below;

Thoughts? As much as I always complain about black and white, double-exposure and slow-motion in fashion films, I feel like this video works because its not trying to be edgy…it shows off the clothes beautifully, and feels summery and a little bit tipsy. And its high time for midday Long Island ice teas, in my opinion.

 

Jive! Jive! Jive!

Want to see Cole Mohr bust a move in creeper shoes with his gang of greaser lads? Of course you do. Watch “Jive! Jive! Jive!” by Bon Duke below;

The Powder Room

Fashion films with traditional narrative elements are hard to come by, as are female fashion filmmakers. The “Miu Miu Women’s Tales”, a project which commissions short films from woman filmmakers, delivers both. Zoe Cassavetes directs the first of the series with a short entitled ”The Powder Room”, which “…delves into the ultra-feminine environment where gestures between women are traded in their rituals of opulence and beauty…Cassavetes’ film uses the romantic codes of the powder room to mirror the beauty and luxury of the Miu Miu universe” (via Dazed Digital)

Thoughts? I think its both beautiful to look at and communicates a compelling story without looking like an advertisement. It is just as much about the women themselves as the clothes they wear. This is what I want to do with fashion film; To give clothing a narrative purpose through moving image.

Makeup Monster

Chanel‘s creative makeup director Peter Philips has created this delightful fashion film featuring Chanel makeup taking the form of adorable robotic characters. Watch “Animating Chanel” below.

(Alternative title; “Tranny Transformers: Fabulous Robots in Disguise”).

via The Nowness

I Don’t Speak German

As tired as I am of fashion films with Lady Gaga soundtracks, (*cough* Gareth Pugh *cough* Show Studio) the House of Mugler short film that features her new track is, in a word, badass. However, after the initial “oh my gosh, fashion eye candy!” viewing, I can’t help but cringe a little more with each successive viewing. Yes its cool to look at, the runway shots are exciting and the faux facial tattoos are visually striking, but its also nauseatingly trendy with its formulaic use of black and white, low-key lighting and slow-motion. And I just KNOW this song is going to be playing everytime I walk into Topshop for the next three months.

Click the image to view full video on Stylelist;

Thoughts?

Kate Moss/Balmain Video

Balmain has released a video version of their fall campaign, and it looks like they had some fun in After Effects to make it a little magical. Watch below for Kate Moss’s magic chameleon hair and the adorable smoking aliens and hand monsters that visit her as she poses.

By Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, via The Cut