One Fell Swoop is a design duo with an appropriate affinity for Shakespeare. Inspired by the thespian’s use of the phrase to describe a swift and deadly attack in Macbeth, founders Daniel Romanin and Nikolina Ergic create pieces that are sophisticated with a hint of the savage. Their designs feature draped, earthy fabrics molded into sharp, asymmetrical silhouettes — adhering to the idea that “beauty is often born from tragedy.”

Romanin and Ergic’s most recent collection for Autumn/Winter ’13, titled “Self Deflect,” further mines this concept with cocoon-like jackets and flowing goddess dresses in smoldering hues. Collaborating with director Amelia Phillips, the designers created an accompanying film that’s just as dark and mysterious. Portable spoke to Phillips about creating the mood.

Portable: How did you come to make films? What do you love about it?

Amelia Phillips: As a teenager making films was all I wanted to do and throughout my career I kept coming back to it. I moved to Berlin in 2010 and I made my first production – the pilot for a low-fi, multi-cam live music show shot on VHS. I knew I couldn’t fight it any longer and turned all my attention to film making. I love what it means to tell a story and to entertain. I also love the commitment, teamwork and the inspiring outcomes of working with creative talent.

P: What brought you and One Fell Swoop together to create this video?

Amelia Phillips: About ten years ago I studied fashion with Daniel and Nina of One Fell Swoop. I dropped out after six months and moved to London and then Melbourne but I remained close friends with them both. I love the aesthetic of One Fell Swoop, the style and creative minds of both designers. It is an honor to work alongside them. This is the second film we have made together. The first was for their SS13 campaign entitled ”An Illusive Tribe“.

P: What was the concept behind the film and how did it come to fruition?

Amelia Phillips: We wanted to work with projection and mirrors and the idea of a girl trapped in her own thoughts and perceptions of herself.

P: How would you describe your aesthetic? How did you incorporate it into the film concept?

Amelia Phillips: My aesthetic is feminine yet dark, with a sense of space and breath. Developing the concept and aesthetic of the film with One Fell Swoop was a natural process as we both love dark, moody tones and being an Autumn-Winter campaign we took advantage of that. With the overall concept agreed upon, we explored this aesthetic by experimenting with mirrors, projected images and limited light sources until we were happy with the outcome.

P: In what way did you want to showcase the actual pieces of the collection?

Amelia Phillips: First and foremost we wanted to capture the overall tone of the Autumn-Winter collection in the film… I think we achieved it.

P: What did you look for when casting the model and how is she representative of the woman who wears One Fell Swoop?

Amelia Phillips: Our model Sheridan Savage is an absolute babe inside and out. We wanted someone natural who could express both strength and fragility/softness. We couldn’t have asked for a prettier, fresher face — she was divine and had never modelled before making this film.

P: What was your favorite part of the shooting process?

Amelia Phillips: I love everything about shooting! Especially seeing the ideas come to life on the monitor for the first time. With One Fell Swoop, working closely with them and with their collection to develop the concept of the film was my favorite part of the overall process.

P: What message or feeling would you like to evoke with your work?

Amelia Phillips: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The post Making Mirror Images With Amelia Phillips and One Fell Swoop appeared first on Portable.tv.

You might remember Brooklyn filmmaker Jarrah Gurrie from his work last year on the 2012 SXSW Jury Winner ‘The Chair‘. A year on from editing Grainger David’s fable he took up the director’s chair himself, this time for CRUSHfanzine. As the latest issue of CRUSH was centred around ‘Women We Love’, Gurrie worked with the legendary Daryl Hannah in a short experimental film that recalls the mystery of David Lynch filtered through a pastel looking glass.

Portable: Crush fanzine describes itself as a “fanzine that explores the nature of obsessions”. How did that play into how you decided to explore your story?

Jarrah Gurrie: I’d previously done a piece for the magazine in 2011, for the Travis Hanson issue, where I took the theme of a Crush literally. It was a story of a janitor with a crush on a cleaning lady. This time I didn’t necessarily want to do that. The theme of this issue is ‘Women We Love’ and Daryl Hannah is an iconic actress. By placing her in these somewhat cinematic settings, we elicit thoughts of all the great characters she has played and the crush’s we had on them. In the story, I guess you could draw a parallel between the characters memories being obsessions, but I’m not sure that’s exactly accurate.

P: Tell us how your collaboration with Daryl came about.

Jarrah Gurrie: The guys at Crush Fanzine are very supportive of all the artists they work with on their issues. They arranged for Daryl and I to talk and we traded emails discussing various ideas for the project. She was a very cool and enthusiastic collaborator and the magazine was extremely supportive and open-minded about what we wanted to shoot.

P: What ideas did she bring to the character? With such a unique presence did that translate into her depiction of the character immediately?

Jarrah Gurrie: Daryl had a lot of ideas and she is very smart and very experienced in her craft. She also has a very distinctive personality and this comes through in all her roles, I think. With this piece because we tread a fine line between depicting a character and photographing the real person. As a magazine feature, you’re not always sure how someone it going to interpret it. It was important for us to have Daryl playing a character. But it was also important for it to reflect Daryl’s personal perspective of the world and to not contradict any of the beliefs she holds in her work as an activist.

P: Coming back to my first question, what kind of story did you want to tell with this clip? There’s something quite Lynch-ian about the way we are exposed to Daryl’s character, like a new-age femme fatale. 

Jarrah Gurrie: So the character is supposed to be stuck in some way. Sort of a prisoner to her memories. All The Things She DID. The Lynch-ian comment is quite a compliment; I guess with the opening shot of Daryl we were trying to evoke a sort Old Hollywood image, with a sinister or sad/melancholic undertone. I really love the female characters in Lynch’s work and don’t you think Daryl would be awesome in one of his movies?

P: The first 2/3 of the film are quite different, tonally, from the last 3rd. Was this purely aesthetic or was it informed by exploring the two sides of this character?

Jarrah Gurrie: The last third of the film is supposed to be some kind of a release for this character. Where before, she was enclosed, stuck inside, remembering her past, good or bad. In the last third, she is living in the moment. She’s free. This is the ultimate message of the film. Realizing what is right infront of you. Everything you did, makes you what you are today. On another level, it was important for us to have Daryl interacting with nature. She has such a strong commitment to environmental issues, that it just made sense for us to set it there.

P: What were some of your influences for the clip, and what inspired Daryl’s character?

Jarrah Gurrie: For the seed of the idea I was looking at the series by Australian artist, Tracey Moffat, “Scarred for Life”. These photographs have a lot darker subject material than what we are dealing with. But I was inspired by them, especially in their use of captioning. The idea grew from there and we looked at a lot of Jeff Wall and Gregory Crewdson photos, especially any stills where they photographed other actresses. We also had a specific direction for the styling and make-up, so it wouldn’t stray too much from the overall aesthetic of the magazine. The end goal was having a film that we could pull good stills from for print- that would fit in the context of Crush’s ”Women We Love” issue.

You can purchase the ‘Women We Love’ issue of CRUSHfanzine here. 

The post Exploring Obsession with Daryl Hannah and Jarrah Gurrie for CRUSHfanzine appeared first on Portable.tv.

Brooklyn based designer Suzanne Rae Pelaez’s eponymous label Suzanne Rae is a beautiful interpretation of a ready-to-wear line perfect for the progressive, modern woman. Inspired by minimalism honed by Scandinavian and Japanese design, Pelaez’s work is the perfect marriage between this school of thought and also classic American styles. This is seen in the designer’s juxtaposition of both classic cuts and traditional garment construction with innovative draping and pattern work. Described by the designer  as, ‘both feminist and feminine in philosophy, the line explores the multiple juxtapositions of a woman’s natural being and interprets these abstract ideas into tangible garments,’ allowing each Suzanne Rae piece to be both beautiful yet edgy.

Another very important element to Pelaez’s work is her use of sustainable fabrics that ‘are used to enhance both the quality of the garments as well as the softness on the skin,’ according to the designer. Pelaez believes ‘it is her responsibility to create designs for women that are locally made and with sustainable fabrics whenever possible,’ collaborating with local artists to create unique prints for each collection and supporting local industries by making all samples  in-house and with 100% of production done in New York City’s Garment District.

To celebrate her Spring Summer 2013 line, Pelaez teamed up with director Patrick Biesemans and writer Zach Fleming to create a gorgeous fashion film that highlights each of her most recent designs in a new, exciting and tangible way. Director Biesemans ability to explore and examine human emotions and scenarios is a focal point of the piece that although has a focus on fashion still has an interesting and engaging story to tell. Biesemans said of the experience, “I really saw this as an opportunity to explore the memories that we all have from touch. That tactile muscle memory we have when we’re reliving moments from our pasts. Suzanne’s line, her designs, and her inspirations really resonated with this concept. And I think we really created something sincere.”

Portable spoke to Pelaez ahead of the launch of her latest collection at  Henrik Vibskov in SoHo this Friday, about her evolution as one of New York’s best up and coming designers.

Portable: What is your background in fashion? When did you first become interested? What is your first fashion memory?

The post Suzanne Rae Debuts SS13 At Henrik Vibskov Combining Classic Style With Innovative Minimalism appeared first on Portable.tv.

While the old saying that “it takes two” ensures a win-win, a newly emerged non-profit group, The Young Designers Project, expands upon this concept exponentially. As a troupe of creatives who have developed an online platform to present up-and-coming designers, YDP has kicked off their innovative mission with the inaugural theme, “Internet as Democracy”. The evolving seasonal project intends to team up creatives (such as stylists and photographers) with U.S.-based young designers to emphasize the importance of artistic collaboration whilst promoting increased visibility for designers who may have difficulty gaining leverage onto the grand stage of New York fashion.

In effort to materialize their inaugural “Internet as Democracy” theme, YDP chose two local designers to present an Autumn/Winter collection for 2013: The Parsons-educated and Norway-born designer Aina Beck, and Raun LaRose, a menswear designer best known for honoring his Brooklyn roots in street-wear with a school-boy sensibility. As a team, it was Raul Guerrero, Tiffany Patton, Sarah Perillo, Jesse Selchow, Dominik Tarabanski, Conan Thai and Takayoshi Tsukisawa who all worked tirelessly, fusing their varied artistic talents to bring the entire theme to fruition.

“Lacking the financial backing to produce shows or presentations, we figured that the best approach would be to combine our resources and to give them a voice,” says Raul Guerrero, a team member of YDP. For his group, YDP is a collective labor of love, working as a non-profit with the sole interest of illuminating the work of emerging designers. “YDP began mostly out of frustration at seeing talented individuals not being able to display their work to a larger audience.”

YDP’s altruistic display has made its rounds through social media outlets as well as the fashion industry locally, making a splash at the start of New York Fashion Week. As the designers with deep pockets staked their claims around Lincoln Center, YDP made a quiet, modest appearance online with a virtual presentation displaying the oppositional designs of Beck and LaRose, forces to soon be reckoned with. While YDP acknowledges that internet-based fashion monoliths the likes of Style.com have already paved the way for democratizing the fashion show experience, the group has found its niche in providing a digital platform for young, relatively unknown designers.

In deciding who to present for “Internet as Democracy”, YDP had sourced two creative standouts from their very own address book. The YDP team revealed, “We had already worked with [Aina Beck and Raun LaRose]… we saw potential…a defined aesthetic and strong determination to survive as young businesses.” From there, the collaborative process was set into motion, encouraging creative freedom for both designers to interpret the core idea for their respective collections. “Looking at colors, fabrics and other inspirational materials they have collected spark[s] their initial design process. Following the base of each collection, the collaborators involved bring their voice to form an overall concept,” YDP team explains.

Raun LaRose, a Brooklyn-born and bred menswear designer, studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology and launched his eponymous label in late 2009. LaRose is a renegade in the industry who has abandoned the desire to define himself with a particular design aesthetic. “For me, the pure beauty in design is creating challenges for myself, developing new concepts… I once considered my work to fall under the category of “avant-garde”, But I feel as if that term is [now] used a little too loosely.”

“This season I was feeling a bit rebellious in terms of wanting to break out of my comfort zone and tap into my native roots of Brooklyn,” says LaRose as he explained how his inspirations dovetailed with YDP’s theme, “Internet as Democracy”. Four years after the launch of his label, LaRose had once again found himself moving against the grain, but this time with reservations, as he shared, “At first when I was approached with the concept of YDP I was a bit hesitant. Design is something that is very personal to me, so to be able to share the entire process and allow other creatives to impact the final output of the collection was a bit scary. After a series of meetings with the team and after hearing the different ideas and level of commitment I knew I wanted to be a part of YDP.” LaRose, like any artist, is territorial and intuitive about his designs: “In a figurative sense, my work is my child. It lays dormant in the recesses of my mind until it gets called upon and, even then, it takes a bit of coaxing to come to fruition. Upon this recognition, it’s still a misshapen form that requires a bit of discipline and time to figure out the voice of the collection.”

YDP’s “Internet as Democracy” presentation showcases an acrobatic feat of entrusting one’s craft to another, as LaRose points out, “There’s always the sense of apprehension when working with other creatives – why hand the reigns over to a third party? There’s the worry that ideas become diluted when more elements are added into the equation.” As LaRose’s collection picks up steam thanks to The Young Designer Project’s website, he reflects upon the collaborative process as organic and fulfilling. “In a way, they served as consultants in the process of fleshing out the voice of my collection, aiding me in the times of need and providing the structure to stay on track.”

So what is next for LaRose? After an internship in Paris under Zac Posen and rave reviews from the style bibles Vogue Italia and Dazed and Confused, he remains humble, simply stating, “Not sure. I just plan to continue to devote my life and career to my craft.”

Following her studies at ESMOD in Norway and England, Aina Beck joined the groundbreaking MFA Fashion Design and Society program at Parsons The New School for Design, gradually making a name for herself as a New York-based designer. Beck is precise when she describes her design framework, as she emphasizes, “I am very textile based, my shapes are usually very minimalistic when it comes to shape. The relationship I have with the textile development is very important to my design process. Most of my textiles are handmade and printed myself, I find a great deal of inspiration from the textile development to the finished garment.”

Initially, stylist Sarah Perillo and Raul Guerrero invited Beck for a shoot for Fiasco magazine to her showcase Spring/Summer 2012 collection, and the good chemistry from that project led stylist Jesse Selchow to call upon Beck to front YDP’s upcoming Autumn/Winter 2013 campaign. Ultimately, Beck echoes LaRose’s sentiments on what YDP has done for her professionally: “It is tough enough out there, and there are hundreds of graduates every year wanting to make it- but as a young designer you often don’t have the support or the financial backing to be able to start up. YPD is a team of just pure talent that has come together to help and support young designers today with knowledge and support that can help a designer in different arenas within the fashion world. To be part of a collaboration is so important today and that is what is so great with the team of YDP – they brought together a team that was very inspiring to work with as a designer.”

Beck’s sculptural and luminescent collection was also showcased in New York alongside work from her graduating class at Milk Studios in September 2012, and that is only the beginning. After receiving favorable reviews from Vogue.com and Women’s Wear Daily, Beck says, “I am working on textile and print developments at the moment and you will probably start seeing pieces from my collection in stores this summer.”

The future of YDP and its improvement upon the art of collaboration is promising, with an open call for designers to apply for the next season’s project and admiring fashion websites fueling YDP’s increased visibility online. As for expanding outside of the U.S., YDP prefers to focus on expanding its innovative approach stateside, where the team feels that “fashion as a whole is still conservative”. Raun LaRose believes the need for YDP is not only justified but invaluable, stating, “As a young designer, I am more than well aware of the barriers in this industry for new talent and I commend them for their contributions. I understand what they are trying to create and continue… I can’t express how much gratitude I feel towards them.”

The post Power in Numbers: Meet The Young Designers Project appeared first on Portable.tv.

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Portable is thrilled to introduce Taking Back Retail, a new book by founders Andrew Apostola and Simon Goodrich.

Due to be released in June this year, Taking Back Retail outlines how traditional retailers and fashion brands can reclaim the ground lost to e-commerce over the past decade. Exploring everything from online video to Facebook commerce, the book is a comprehensive guide to taking any fashion brand online.

Andrew and Simon have interviewed a whole series of industry professionals, analysed a range of elements that contribute to successful business, and asked how technology can drive production and online success. Combined with over a decade of experience working alongside fashion brands, Taking Back Retail is the result of practical experience.

With over 90% of the book already written, Taking Back Retail, sticking true to its words, will be published in digital and hardcopy format. To do this, we’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign to help us get the final production — design, programming and printing — underway. You can show your support here .

We’re excited to see our latest project at Portable come to life. Between now and June we’ll be sharing production updates, our progress on Kickstarter, and excerpts from the book. Make sure you sign up to our Taking Back Retail newsletter to stay in the loop.

The post Taking Back Retail Online Launch appeared first on Portable.tv.

The L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF), together with Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Portable.tv and Fed Square, is pleased to announce the finalists of the inaugural Fashion Film Series.

The inaugural Fashion Film Series is a national initiative that showcases Australian short fashion films across Melbourne and Victoria. This new initiative provides a platform to support the burgeoning fashion film industry and celebrate exceptional home-grown talent.

The films will debut at a private screening at Fed Square, Melbourne where the three winning films will be announced. The winning filmmakers will be invited to attend a masterclass with Quynh Mai from New York’s Moving Image & Content on March 19th.

The post The L’Oréal Melbourne Festival Fashion Film Series 2013 Finalists Announced appeared first on Portable.tv.

Mat Maitland is the creative brain behind some of music’s most colorful and unique album campaigns, and now he is lending his pop art aesthetic to the ever-evolving world of fashion. Kenzo Creative Directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony reintroduced the jungle aesthetic back into the brand. Kenzo’s latest collection is a blend of neon leopard prints and safari inspired pieces.

However, the Big Active produced video for the collection is as, maybe more so, electrifying as the clothes themselves. Maitland transformed his pop art collage style into a video format, something that he was not initially commissioned to create. Just as Kenzo is in the process of a reboot, Maitland may have just heightened the creative standards for fashion films. Portable spoke to Maitland about his video for Kenzo’s 2013 Resort Collection.

Portable: You’ve created some of the most imaginative brand campaigns, what drew you to Kenzo?

Mat Maitland: I was aware that Kenzo was going through a rebrand with Humberto and Carol at the helm and thought that what they were doing was really exciting. I was initially approached to create some illustrations but then they suggested the idea of a film.

P: As an Art Director for musical campaigns such as Beck, Goldfrapp and Basement Jaxx, how does the transition from print material to viral video affect your process?

Mat Maitland: It’s the first time I’ve worked in this medium so it was thrilling to see my images come to life. Ultimately though, whether it be for print of film, it needs to project the right message and be faithful to the brand (or album). What I love about fashion and music is that even if essentially there is a product to sell there’s a lot of freedom to express ideas because the product is enhanced by the fantasy and therefore the creative process.

P: Your illustration style and Kenzo’s 2013 line are similar in aesthetic. How did you delve deeper into the psychedelic jungle?

Mat Maitland: Much like the collection itself I really wanted the film to be based on the jungle but to make it more surreal and colourful, as if seen through the eyes of Willy Wonka. The brand has such a great energy so this was also an important part of the film, the way we used flashes of solarized strobing and fast editing.

P: What tools and mediums did you use?

Mat Maitland: The model was shot on a green screen, then I created a whole portfolio of collage worlds, snapshots if you like, for the film which then suggested what we could do in each scene. Much like when I create a still image, there needs to be some room to be creative to not script it all out 100%. Natalia Stuyk (who did the animation) and I would then work on each section until we were happy.

P: While the clothes and background consistently shift shape, color and pattern, what inspired you to cast different hues and patterns on the model’s skin?

Mat Maitland: I imagined the model as though she was an inhabitant of this neon jungle, almost like an exotic animal, so I wanted the patterns to immerse her as well as the environment around her. Also, Kenzo had some amazing prints in the collection so it was a nice way of using these.

P: Much of your illustration is pop inspired, with colors and collage techniques that are reminiscent of 80′s/90′s style. How did you get started using this technique in your work?

Mat Maitland: It’s really hard to say, I guess so many things influence you, I have an insatiable appetite for pop culture and I guess the 80’s/90’s made the biggest impression on me because of my age. My illustrative career started after having created imagery for a few music campaigns such as Goldfrapp’s ‘Black Cherry’ album. It was a refreshing change from art directing other image makers.

P: The model in the video has a near catlike appearance and fluid movements, did you intend to incorporate her as more of an animal rather than person within the jungle?

Mat Maitland: Yes, that was the idea. We wanted Gana to be otherworldly and almost un-human, almost as if this jungle was on another planet.

P: Do you see yourself lending your talents to fashion more often in the future?

Mat Maitland: Definitely. I love working in fashion and tend to focus my imagery towards it.

The post Exclusive: Kenzo’s Electric Jungle And Interview with Mat Maitland appeared first on Portable.tv.

Another beautifully shot video in Dazed Digital’s “Model Behaviours” series, Katia Ganfield directs the ethereal and adorable Marine Ven Outryve for Esprit’s SS13 collection.

At just 18 years old and signed to One Management, Marine Ven Outryve has already walked for fashion powerhouses Calvin Klein, Vivienne Westwood and Erdem just to name a few. She exhibits the quintessential angelic bohemian girl, thoughtful and nomadic.

The video shows Ven Outryve lazily wandering around a rooftop, clad in a snug leather jacket and checked skinny pants. Flashing subtle yet intense gazes at the camera, she embodies the Esprit aesthetic of adventurous and angelic.

The post Marine Ven Outryve’s Bohemian Charm for Dazed Digital appeared first on Portable.tv.

Directed and shot by Astrid Salomon, Melbourne label Hardwick’s latest collection focuses on femininity and sexuality. With an emphasis on classic glamour, Hardwick’s second foray into the world of mainstream ready-to-wear fashion for Autumn/Winter 2013 (the first being ‘Range 1′ for Spring/Summer 2012)  is nothing short of impeccable. Coming from a bridal background, Mariana Hardwick‘s creations are made for women to feel comfortable in their own skin and to feel their very best all the time, not only on their special day. The aptly named ‘Range 2′ focuses on ‘dark luxury’ with an emphasis on the underlying concept of transforming the raw and organic into something refined and luxurious. This is further highlighted by the ‘dark crystal’ colour palate which although dominated by black, shades of aubergine, and metallic grey hues make subtle appearances.

Hardwick’s craftsmanship and design is stunning and is only further imagined on screen as the models move and slink around in the luxuriously wearable pieces. While the peplum trend is clearly evident in the current collection, there is something timeless about the way Hardwick has put together her pieces and through the use of natural fibres and intricate lazer cut designs, statement pieces such as a feather leather mini skirt and feather collar and the the undeniable focus of the Byzantine leather garments, the designer has managed to really find a niche away from her bridal aesthetic. Bringing this collection to life really allows the consumer to imagine the covetable garments, something which director Salomon explained to Portable in this exclusive interview.

Portable: What is your background?

Astrid Salomon: I am originally from Berlin and lived in Hamburg for a couple of years, then for a little bit in New York. When the financial crash happened, I had to return home to Germany, because there was no work to start over in New York, but then a very close friend moved to Sydney and I visited her and after the second visit (somehow always at Christmas) I spontaneously decided to stay longer, just to come back to Berlin and meet my now boyfriend who is from Melbourne, so it took me back to Australia in December 2011 and here I am…still.

P: When did you first become interested in photography and why?

Astrid Salomon: Coming from photography, I still am a photographer at heart. I studied at a rather old fashioned school near Berlin. I think it is important to learn your skills properly. Later I moved to Hamburg and quickly started to work as a freelance photographer in 2006. As a photographer I worked for clients such as Elle, Vogue, Gala, Flair, Haaegen Dazs, Adidas, Nivea and Closed. Since I left my Hasselblad behind and started shooting with Canon, I discovered the film possibility and that’s how it started. Then I got recognition with that as well and brands were also interested in that aesthetic. Working with Edward Goldner as a DOP on this project was just wonderful. His portfolio is so impressive and it is great to equally exchange your ideas with someone on set.

P: What are you inspired by for your work and who are your influences, and what in particular inspired and influenced this film?

Astrid Salomon: Human behaviour and role play in general is a great source for inspiration. I like the glossy surfaces, but only with all their revealing crackles. In fashion photography you are telling little fairy tales, inventing characters with the model and it is more so the dark sides that are interesting even when everything looks shiny. For this film, the always enchanting image of a woman in the media was the basis. A pretty girl sends out her charm and the lovers follow her call. Our film shows a girl, that does not necessarily want to behave this way, but finds herself doing all those little seducing and loveseeking behaviors subconsciously. She is not sure how to think of herself. Is she just missing a lover? Is she just playing a game? Is she just bored by the same old story?

P: What is it about the marriage between fashion film and photography that interests you in particular?

Astrid Salomon: I always like to explore the possibility a tool offers you which you are working with and when I bought the Canon four years ago, I found myself not shooting with my Hasselblad anymore because the smaller camera gave me more freedom (it is a lot less heavy and I rarely use tripods) so of course I was tempted to try everything and I started filming and experienced a lot of joy with the fact that you are not just focused on one frame, or eight to ten images for a story. It also influenced my aesthetics in my photography work, I am not as static as I used to be. I would say this love affair started like a big flame and now they are figuring out how to grow longterm into a perfect team.

P: What perspective do you think film brings that a still image can’t and vice versa?

Astrid Salomon: Film has more character development in their actors and works with much more time to create it, while in photography you have to put all you want to say into one image. People can look at this one image as long as they want while in film you decide how long a scene is going to be and then its gone. Also you are working mostly with models, which makes it different again, and if you want to work out a certain character in your fashion editorial, you have just one day, on set, while shooting.

P: What interests you about fashion film as it becomes more widely recognised?

Astrid Salomon: It is just a nice new playground really, and as digital media becomes more and more important , it is good to play with different possibilities to tell a story and place your garments in movement. I personally also look forward to collaborate with cinematographers, so I can create these worlds together with them.

P: Why did you approach Hardwick in the first place, what draws you to their design and aesthetic?

Astrid Salomon: I got in contact with Hardwick through Monique Malone, who is producing for them and was my booker in Sydney, when I was living there for six months back in 2011. We stayed in touch and enjoy working together so everything is quite a collaborative process. Their ready to wear range is new, coming from the traditional Mariana Hardwick design of bridal wear, and this film shows part of their second collection evening wear. It’s just beautiful craft and design. When I first came to their warehouse in Brunswick, I was truly impressed by the fact that everything is handmade and the whole atmosphere is just very friendly and inspiring. Helping them launch their first ready to wear collection, which is of such a high level of quality is exciting to me as well.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Hardwick’s Belle Du Jour appeared first on Portable.tv.