Fashion Meets Film at SVA

Whether it’s Sundance or Cannes or the Academy Awards, the question on everyone’s mind is always, “Who are you wearing?” At the New York Fashion Film Festival, the stars not only answer the question, but make fashion the focal point of the entire presentation.

Now in its third year, the School of Visual Arts MPS Graduate Fashion Photography Department beautifully crafted a film reel highlighting 21 of the best fashion films from the past year. The presentation was followed by a panel composed of Quintin Jones, an illustrator and filmmaker, Maria Gallagher, the executive producer at RSA Films and the moderator, writer Glenn O’Brien.

“[The films picked] were not just an authoritative choice,” Stephen Frailey, one of the department co-chairs, said, “We chose works which we thought had the most amount of width, creativity, and technological innovation.”

While all of the short films were visually interesting, Monica Menez’s “Hor D’oeuvre,” Marco Roso’s “Watermarked” for the Kenzo F/W 2012 collection, David Sims’ Alexander McQueen F/W collection film, Mikka Lommi’s “Grind,” Roman Polanski’s “A Therapy” and Alexander Wang’s “2013 Premiere: Bon Qui Qui SP 2013” stood out.

“Hor D’oeuvre” showcased the movement of the clothing in a whimsical three part film following the actions of a woman in her apartment. Meanwhile, the Kenzo film took a Zoolander approach by featuring three attractive, impeccably dressed young men giving the same enthusiastic smile to the camera in different situations.

Departing from the traditional films that simply showcased the clothing, Sims created a film that O’Brien exclaimed, “It reminded me of being on acid!” McQueen’s clothing took the back burner as the trippy and psychedelic background captured viewers’ attention.

Continuing on the avant garde path, Lommi’s film featured women twerking to the extreme. “The booty dance follows the trend from last year,” Gallagher explained. “[Films] are easy with motion because it is interesting to look at.”

However, Jones did not seem to appreciate women who were not size zero dancing in the film. “Do you really want to see that in slow mo?” she questioned. O’Brien quickly combated her comment with a humorous interjection: “Not everyone can do that. It also shows you that men don’t think like [skinny women]. We like to see a little body fat.”

Despite the differing views in regards to Lommi’s “Grind,” the unanimous favorite was Roman Polanski’s “A Therapy.” Featuring Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Kingsley, the film showcased Prada’s clothing by incorporating the pieces into the story of a rich
woman seeking help from her opulent but lonely life. “The film gives the essence of Prada,” Jones said. “They always do interesting work that pushes and plays with the brand.”

The festival ended on a humorous note with Alexander Wang’s film. Bon Qui Qui reappears on the stage as a new retail assistant in one of their stores. From her rude remarks to her “Imma cut you rap,” Wang perfectly melded humor with style. “It was a good, interesting mix that evolved from last year. It had a lot more humor,” Gallagher said. “[The films are] interesting because people are subverting the drama since they are aware what could be boring within the genre of fashion,” Jones continued.

The festival and films themselves illustrate the progression of the fashion industry. These films are not mere advertisements, but showcase a move towards more provocative editorial works. The fashion film is an evolving part of media entertainment that truly shows fashion and film as two respected art forms capable of complementing one another.