I have a confession to make: I’m not a huge fan of Alexander Wang. I know, I know, that could be considered criminal by the fashion Powers That Be, those that a few years ago hailed Wang as the next big thing. But I am troubled by his work. I think my real problem with him (as a designer, not personally, obviously), is that his work embodies the “off-duty model” look that I HATE with a fiery, burning passion. Don’t get me wrong, there have been some pieces that I wanted desperatley, but I feel like everything about his brand screams “hipper than thou” and, well, I hate minimalism.
That being said, I tried to be objective about his new campaign video, since I’m always on the hunt for fashion films. The film is for AW10/11 and is directed by Craig McDean, and stars Abbey Lee Kershaw, whom I love (who doesn’t?). It takes a now-classic music video approach without a narrative and, though thankfully devoid of mirror effects, employs every other technique that has become conventional to this relatively new genre of video lookbooks/fashion campaign videos;
He’s got wind machines, split screens, an uber-hip dubstep soundtrack by The XX, slow-motion, boobs, rapid intercutting, and Abbey writhing around on grungy furniture in a dark room….basically the whole nine yards of the classic video campaign. For a designer who is known for being “fresh” and “edgy”, this is a very conventional video. Continue reading
