Fashion on Film

With new technology and the creative means to innovate and experiment using digital media on the internet we are seeing an explosion of creative ideas emerging in the design of web sites and how fashion is being advertised and promoted.

Fashion brands of any note are now using short promotional films to reinforce their brand identity on their web sites. These short films with music create a vibe that can take the image of that seasons collection to a new level of brand recognition and reinforcement.

In the same way that rock band use film to create a story or image around their song release, a fashion label is using film to tell a story in a virtual world, sell an image, communicate a message, and spin a lifestyle around the collection they have released for that season.

Fashion and music go hand in hand, before too long we will see rock bands such as Snow Patrol joining forces with big fashion brand labels and weaving their image in with the fashion image.

Here we have Emma Watson being filmed whilst she is being photographed for the Burberry campaign in June 2009 –

Prada has lead the industry with her remarkable commission of an animation called 'Trembled Blossom' to promote and enhance her extraordinary Spring /Summer collection in Feb 2008. The film worked in combination with the fashion brand shoot that was released to all the top fashion glossies such as Vogue internationally -

see below

In the 1960s the Beatles as usual led the way with the creation of their Virtual world animation of Yellow Submarine. The British rock band Blur took inspiration from this and had huge success with their virtual band Gorillaz in 2002. Since then technology and the ease in which anyone can use it has been revolutionary.

Below we have another animation for Louis Vuitton, if you have been to see Alice in Wonderland or seen Yellow Submarine by the Beatles you will see some similarities - !

One thing is for sure we have never had such an amazingly creative set of tools at our disposal in order to sell fashion -

Minna - London Fashion Week

We met Minna Hepburn at London Fashion Week a few weeks ago. She started collecting lace, brooches, buttons and other beautiful finds from strolling around local antique markets and used them to create tops and dresses with Scottish lace. Minna has sold her creations in a variety of prestigious shops and now has her own boutique. Since the beginning, Minna was determined to minimise the impact on the environment by using organic, fair trade and recycled materials wherever possible. All her designs are handmade in the UK and Minna ensures that no material gets wasted in the production process since all remnants are used to embellish the garments.

check out her pretty collection on www.minna.com

Tom Ford - a brand image idea for you

I really love the mood of this shot, it is David Hemmings whilst filming The Dolly Dolly Spy, with Adam Dimet the author of the book, see the link for more details www.nickelinthemachine.com

The film was never finished no one knows why......

Paul Smith take note - Brit style inspiration for now!

I have always been a big fan of the style of the late 1960's because it has had and still has such a significant influence on popular culture today. Because of this last night I showed my students the film Blow up directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and produced by Carlo Ponti. London was at the epicenter of all that was cool at the time, Antonioni recognized this and wanted to record it. Cool Britannia was born! It is the story of a fashion photographer (based on David Bailey) living and working in London, starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles. Blow up won the Grand Prix at the 1967 Cannes film festival.

Blow up was released in 1966 - the year before the Beatles released the sound track of that summer 'All you need is Love, ' MP David Steel led the Labour party to pass a motion legalizing homosexuality and was the year before we saw Marion Faithful and Mick Jagger arrested for smoking and being in possession of Marijuana causing a huge for those days media frenzy, with newspapers like the Times publishing emotional articles calling for the drug to be legalized!

David Hemmings does a very good take on playing the legendary photographer David Bailey ( still alive and working for Vogue today)

Hemmings looks great dressed in white jeans and a black corduroy or velvet jacket and white shirt, Christopher Bailey take note. This film is 44 years old and the style and image is as cool today as it was then - inspirational !

Livia Firth - From Somewhere - Green Catwalk

Livia Firth visited many of the same designers as Nik and I. She was wearing the above dress from 'From Somewhere' see www.vogue.co.uk/blogs/livia-firth/default.aspx . The label is Italian and has some very stylish offerings.

Based in London and produced in Italy and the UK, From Somewhere makes clothes that take into account the balance between consumption and disposal.

They have access to the factory rejects that they then customize en-mass and create a new look. The volume I was told is up to 400 of one dress design. Re -cycling and up-cycling the fabric and off cuts can create great and very wearable clothes - see above

"We discover forgotten beauties and make them our own"

Colin and Livia Firth opened their eco shop called Eco Age in Chiswick in Feb 2008. The shop offers home furnishings, energy saving gadgets and clothes judging by the fact that Olivia Firth has been doing a Vogue blog on the Green Catwalk. The three story shop had renovations done to make it as sustainable as possible with recycled wood flooring and furnishings and solar energy panels to make it self sufficient energy wise

Ivana Basilotta - London Fashion Week

Nik and I met Ivana at LFW last Tuesday in the Ethethica zone of the show exhibition. We were very impressed with her brand image - photographed by Paul Weaver the brand has a feminine and refined image, very much like Ivana herself who is designer and creative director.

Nik and I are looking forward to working with Ivana on developing her website design further and enhancing the brands market presence.

Ivana is entirely dedicated to the best in Eco-sustainable contemporary high fashion. The silk she uses is organic peace-silk also known as Vegetarian silk. Ivana Basilotta is a luxurious woman's wear brand.

Ivana Basilotta is a label that uses Eco, natural and organic fabrics. The labels organic fabrics suppliers are certified according to the Eco-text standard. They use manufacturers and suppliers in Europe, Turkey and India. They use the craftsmanship of local artisans and work with small manufacturers and suppliers. All the manufactures they use pay fair wages and do not use child labour. Peace silk is manufactured in a process where silkworms are not killed. The moths emerge from their cocoons to live out their full life cycle. This is the best silk for warmth and therapeutic use, it is rare and not commercially available apparently.

What is even better than all this is that the clothes all in gorgeous colours and shapes look great and are beautifully made, check out www.ivanabasilotta.co.uk you will be impressed with her collection.

MAKEPIECE - London Fashion Week - Ethethica

This sustainable fashion label in the Ethethica section of London Fashion Week caught my eye because I liked the photography and the look of the collection. I discovered that Beate the designer (in the below photograph) has a flock of 200 sheep that she is rearing on her farm in Yorkshire. The wool is used to create the warm, inviting and stylish knits that make up Makepiece's collection. Her sheep produce dark wool so the lighter wool is bought from another local sheep farmer apparently.

What I love about this brand is it is in tune with it's environment.

A modern take on Wuthering Heights comes to mind.

Take a look at the Makepiece web site it is very user friendly. www.makepiece.co.uk