First of all, let's make something clear: fashion films are not the same thing with films showcasing fashion! In other words, Lady Dior's 'Lady Noir Affair', directed by Oliver Dahman, cannot be compared with 'The Devil Wears Prada' (Frankel, 2006) movie. The following presentation will try to present how the fashion film emerged and developed during the years. Especially from the early 1990s, the fashion film, not only managed to dominate the world of fashion, but also, in many cases, even replaced the traditional catwalk shows.
Because of its low costs and its public acceptance, the use of internet, made it really easy for a large number of designers and young filmmakers to present their works through fashion films. The English fashion designer and her fashion label CassettePlaya, used efficiently the fashion film in order to promote her work.
Yoko Ono's iconic 'Cut Piece' art performance could be considered as the predecessor of fashion films. It was an experimental and interactive piece of performing art, with several meanings and proposed a different perspective for the 'use of clothes'. First performed in 1964 at the Sogetsu Art Center in Tokyo. 'Cut Piece' had one destructive verb as its instruction: "Cut". Ono executed the performance in Tokyo by walking on stage and casually kneeling on the floor in a draped garment. Audience members were requested to come on stage and begin cutting until she was naked. 'Cut Piece' was one of Ono’s many opportunities to outwardly communicate her internal suffering through her art. Cut Piece was a commentary on the need for social unity and love. It was also a piece that touched on issues of gender and sexism as well as the greater, universal affliction of human suffering and loneliness. Ono performed this piece again in London and other venues, garnering drastically different attention depending on the audience. In Japan, the audience was shy and cautious. In London, the audience participators became zealous to get a piece of her clothing and became violent to the point where she had to be protected by security.
During the early 1990s, several music videos showcased fashion in multiple ways. Among the numerous examples, Pet Shop Boys' 'Being Boring' music video and Madonna's 'Vogue', made clear that music video trends should not be ignored!
Madonna's 'Vogue' music video, was directed by David Fincher and has a very photographic structure. In terms or aesthetics, it can be easily compared to a high fashion editorial.
In terms of fashion catwalk, Alexander McQueen was among the first fashion designers who used the possibilities and the illusion of digital technology as a means in order to present his work. He used the famous 'Kate Moss Hologram' in order to open his Fall/Winter 2006 fashion show.
The same 'holographic' technique has been used, in pretty much the same way, by Canbury Co. Director Baillie Walsh created, or more profoundly copied the initial technique in order to create the ‘Cadbury flake TV ad’, and the only thing that he changed was the colour of the dress that Moss originally wears, from white to yellow.
In order to celebrate 10 years of digital innovation, Ralph Lauren.com presented 'the ultimate fusion of art, fashion & technology' in a visual feast for 5 scenes. Generally known as 'The Official Ralph Lauren 4D Experience'. In the following video, the New York women's flagship at 888 Madison Avenue disappears before your eyes and is then transformed into a series of objects and images rendered in 3-dimensional space.
In 2011, the House of Holland presented a fashion film in order to introduce its Autum/Winter 2011 collection. It was the brand's first attempt into fashion film, featuring the Head Designer of the Brand Henry Holland, Pixie Geldof and Dree Hemingway.
Another interesting thing is that, lately, we see the involvement of famous Hollywood directors into the growing field of fashion films. David Lynch was employed to make four mini-films, using some of the visual motifs associated with film noir to publicize the Lady Dior bag, starring the Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard. Unfortunately, such collaborations, based on the idea that a popular director will create a successful film, often result to a parody of their former films. David Lynch's 'Lady Blue: Shanghai' for Dior and Kenneth Anger's fashion film for Missoni, are clearly illustrating how both directors cannot avoid bringing too much of their 'aesthetics' into their short fashion films.
Fashion films have also been used instead of fashion shows. Gareth Pugh's examples are significant in this point and this is the reason why i will let the following video to speak for itself.
Nowadays, the involvement of designers into their own campaigns has become almost vital for the image of a brand. The shy Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, not only appears but he also uncomfortably dances during the recent fashion film that Lanvin produced in order to promote the House's FW 2011 campaign.
Last, but not least, i would like to conclude my 'Story' posting Lady Gaga's 'Marry the Night' music video, because it is a 13 minute short film which, apart from the fact that it has an almost autobiographical narration, it also contains and combines: music, fashion & impressive aesthetics.
