Wisteria Hysteria by Stephen Jones & Henry Pincus

Brand new, bold approach to perfume advertising. Ladies & Gentlemen, the future is now.

Stephen Jones launches his seductive new scent, Wisteria Hysteria, with a fashion film by Henry Pincus. The work is set in a world that is both rococo and futuristic, and depicts a woman discovering a new dimension to herself, all while clad in L'Wren Scott. The deliberate contradictions of the scent - clean but sensual, familiar yet strange - are reflected in the protagonist's complex new side.

Alexander McQueen A/W 2013 Video by Rottenfields

Couple of weeks ago we've visited Alexander McQueen's flagship store to take last glimpse of their A/W '13 collection comprised of a visually staggering ecclesiastical fantasy that revisited the medieval clergy with a flair of modern cutting edge style. The collection was literally about to be taken down due to the launch of the next S/S '14. We had managed to take a few photos and a video of the in-store display. Initially we have wanted to post them as they are, but then, having this song in my head and thinking how aptly it goes with this impression surrounding that collection I decided to make a little video edit. So here it is! Also, this is my first Youtube video ever and I hope you'll like it and enjoy it as much as I did while making it :)

Atlas The Lion by Tim Walker

Tim Walker creates - as usual - a masterpiece out of an editorial in Love Magazine for September 2013. The Atlas Lion plays king with models Karen Elson and Edie Campbell in this epically beautiful and gracefully dramatic marriage. 

Here's an exclusive video from the set made for LOVE magazine:

'ATLAS: The Lion' by Tim Walker

Exclusively for LOVE

Beauty - Paintings Come Alive

B E A U T Y - dir. Rino Stefano Tagliafierro from Rino Stefano Tagliafierro on Vimeo.

SHOWstudio's Splash! - Iris van Herpen: Process Film

Back in June we posted about SHOWstudio's new collaboration project between brilliant dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, photographer Nick Knight and artist Daphne Guinness. The aim was to create a dynamic 'water' dress after the scrupulous analysis of the pre-made footage purposefully shot in slow-mo that captures fickle dynamics of the element. Yesterday, SHOWstudio posted an edited footage of the 7 day process behind the Iris' creation. From research and analysis to the final outcome, one can see the astounding progress on the project and technique by which Iris attempts to transform sheets of plastic into an abstract splash that has to fit the body and hold to it just by leaning on the waist (!). Pretty amazing!

Alexander McQueen & Damien Hirst Scarf Collaboration

Watch the film promoting the launch of the Alexander McQueen x Damien Hirst Collaboration:



In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the skull scarf, Alexander McQueen presents an exclusive collaboration with
Damien Hirst.

The iconic skull scarf has been a signature accessory of the house first seen in the 2003 Irere collection.

The Damien Hirst and Alexander McQueen scarf collection consists of 30 one-off designs. Each is adapted from Hirst’s Entomology series – butterflies, bugs, spiders and other insects have been worked to form kaleidoscopic geometric shapes, laid out to create the signature McQueen skull motif. The collaboration seamlessly plays on the shared aesthetic vision of Hirst and McQueen, in which an interest in symmetrical design is combined with strong references to the natural world.

The collection offers 30 unique designs exclusively available from Alexander McQueen boutiques and online at alexandermcqueen.com from Friday 15th November.

Photography and film by Sølve Sundsbø

Nokia L'Amour Collection

Time for a little stroll down the memory lane. In 2006, Nokia emerged with their L'Amour Collection made of three beautifully crafted phones. It was their second so-called "fashion collection" - a series of phones of bold, highly conscious and visually appealing design. Do you remember these days (before iPhone and touchscreen technology) when telephone companies used to experiment with the form and design of the phones to make them more remarkable and intriguing? We certainly do. These three were in the climax of such trend. I remember really liking the idea of such unconventional (and yet sometimes also impractical) design, but what truly hooked me back then was this brilliant advert. I remember seeing it on TV for the first time and being instantly enchanted with the richness of details and romantic, visually compelling style. Being a teenager interested in graphics I adored the way they managed to squeeze so much magic in one minute and how the art direction - the graphics, music, styling, set design, 3D animation etc. seem to visually suit everything else so harmoniously. No one really paid that much attention to the adverts back then in terms of art direction. I thought it was one of the most brilliant and inspirational ads ever made and it deserved a credit in spite of the marketing wheel behind it. Although both fashion and aesthetics in graphic design world had changed since then, I still find Nokia L'Amour Campaign visually enchanting and I still think it deserves to be remembered despite being out of date. 

Also, you can watch 'behind the scenes' here.

nokia | l'amour from roadnorth on Vimeo.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

"Snow White and the Huntsman" is a true feast for the eyes. We all love the way it tackles the preconception of clarified distinction between beauty and evil. As the story itself is known to every human being, the only true display of creativity in regards to the production could be (and was indeed) shown throughout the brilliance of the art direction. 

Yet again, a three times Oscar-winner Colleen Atwood proved her position as one of the most remarkable couturiers-on-set. Her designs represent the psyche of each character scrupulously conveyed into every detail. For instance, in Queen Ravenna's case, this symbolism was achieved by the use of the materials like beetle wings, branches that resemble porcupine spikes, dragon scale alike sequins and rooster feathers. One of the most difficult costumes to make was the feather cloak, as it took four weeks to hand-cut and mount each of the feather to the garment. But beside the haute quality of every design, there's also the matter of quantity:

We made 250 of the Warrior Costume. That one [Snow White] was 20. The Huntsman was about 15. The Wedding dress was a one off. There were three of the gold dress. There were two of the cape, one of which got totally oil slicked out. It looks cool but it’s kind of destroyed. It’s a one off because she wears it for a very short time in the movie. And there’s three of the Reptilian costume because it’s an action costume as well. All the pieces of that come off so you can shoot without the heavy skirt if you want it to be less weight. The shoulder pieces come off so that in between takes Charlize (Theron) can be comfortable in it but it’s also got stretch in it. That dress has huge stretch arm pits in it. There are all kinds of things like that incorporated into it if you know you’re going to [use it that way].

The fairest design of them all, however, might be Charlize Theron’s wedding gown, worn during Ravenna’s royal union to Snow White’s father, the ill-fated king. “The inspiration was more architectural” Atwood says of the severely corseted dress. “The sleeves were made out of parchment that was cut and manipulated into a caged skeleton. It was our way of telegraphing [the queen’s] evil edge. All of the fine embroidered details are actually leather. I really wanted it to not be a fluffy wedding dress. I wanted it to have an edge to it, and that’s why I decided to go with pleats.” Although Sanders offered input about Atwood’s designs, the Oscar winner reveals that this particular costume rendered the director speechless. “He didn’t have a lot to say when he saw this one,” laughed Atwood. “It had the ‘wow’ factor for him. We could tell in early stages that this design would just work.”

In terms of set design and direction, the strong emphasis on the aesthetically driven scenery makes the movie visually compelling, conveying every scene into little independent art piece. While watching it we couldn't stop thinking of the immerse and extensive research behind it all, executed during the creative process; these loads of perfectly calibrated mood boards, visually describing the exact feeling behind every character, costume, set and scene. 

Also, there's a treat for the connoisseurs of the post production. The most marvelous end credits sequence you've ever seen, directed by Henry Hobson. The overall feeling of the movie conveyed into dimly lit trace of the costumes' details accompanied by The Florence and the Machine song "Breath of Life". Who knew the end credits sequence had that much of an artistic potential!


Snow White & the Huntsman - End Titles Sequence - Henry Hobson from bootsmith on Vimeo.