Birds Eye View Fashion Loves Film

With internet days seeing the merging of mediums, the fashion as film concept is one currently seeing mass exploration – think Tilda Swinton in bucolic settings for Pringle, a woody adventure for the launch of PS1 Proenza Schouler bag

and Gareth Pugh’s unexpected offering at Pitti, where he projected fashion as film onto the ceiling of a 14th Century church – to name but a few. Retailers, buyers and editors are now just as likely to be viewing a new collection via a screen than any catwalk.

Birds Eye View Fashion Loves Film evening took place this week in London, which took the format of a series of female directed fashion films,(to celebrate women filmmakers) curated by filmmaker, Kathryn Ferguson, followed by a discussion panel.

However if any conclusion came out of the evening it was that there is plenty more scope to develop the idea. Ferguson, who chaired the event, accredits the rise in the popularity of fashion film to ‘the advancement and availability of equipment, such as HDSLR handheld video cameras that require no crew.’

Gathered journalists and buyers seemed to agree that the internet and Ipod have had ‘a massive effect’ on editorial and that artists today are always looking to disseminate commissions into different formats and mediums. Whilst Showstudio.com sources called for fashion films to be viewed in their own context and ‘in their own right, rather than as part of an overcrowded youtube page.’

Names partaking included fashion illustrator Julie Verhoeven featuring Kleenex boxes and a soundtrack by Bobby Gillespie, artist Katerina Jebb with short inserts from Kristin Scott Thomas and Kylie
Minogue and a shopping channel pastiche presented by Henry Holland.

It’s a convergence of mediums, the fash art pack are really getting behind, ‘Film doesn’t exist without fashion’ explains Verhoeven. True, film is an amazing medium to communicate with – and from a designer become like a comment on how they feel about women in clothes.

And retailers are using it to their advantage. Last year website, Fashionair, created a film with Christian Louboutin called ‘Dancer in a Daydream,’ a compelling, romantic take on Louboutin’s dream.  FashionAir then placed it beside shoppable and sharable products from the film. It integrated content, commerce and sales wise capitalised on the visual engagement. A winner!

A spokesperson from world renowned global fashion consultancy, Launch Collective, explains, ‘the cost of creating a video has dropped to a level where it’s not that different from the cost of an expensive photo shoot and video can often convey ideas and emotions more compellingly than photography. Also any level can of designer, from unknown to established, can work the medium – it’s become democratised.’

2011 looks set to see an influx of brands creating fashion films with energy and experimentation.