Fashion Special: A More Flattering Cut

Fashion films have matured into more specific and unique pieces of storytelling. While the fashion commercial continues to embrace the aesthetics of art film, fashion film is much less clear cut and exists in a grey area, falling between commercial and art film.

As fashion films are predominantly made for online viewing, length isn’t confined to a commercial’s 30-sec, 60-sec or 90-sec boundaries, which in turn give the editor the freedom to inject their own style into the film’s form.

Narratives can be loose with more emphasis on style and often they demand a more creative approach to storytelling – allowing for greater experimentation of sound design and effects; to craft something more bespoke. These are very exciting opportunities for editors to really collaborate with the director in crafting a film that evolves organically in the edit.

I come from a background in music videos that requires a similar approach to building the edit. I enjoy trying my own creative ideas and having the freedom to experiment. Often fashion films rely heavily on music and working the story into a musical rhythm can be a challenge. The piece of music may change or the structure of the edit may evolve – which could affect the whole cut and sometimes causes the entire edit to be redesigned. These challenges come up time and time again in editing, because of the huge significance and impact that music has on the cut. People sometimes neglect to think of sound and picture as being 50/50 in the edit, but both are equally important. Even the old, so-called 'silent' films used live piano music – they were never completely silent.

Fashion films – rather than fashion commercials – also have challenges related to their form. Budgets are often tight which create various constraints, such as scaling back or compromising on an idea. Perhaps some shots can’t be realised on a shoot because time is running out – so, set-ups are re-prioritised; or certain equipment such as a crane, used for high angles, are out of reach financially. Occasionally, a fashion film is just an extension of the look-book stills, which remain the brand's top priority. The film may have to use the same studio, models and set on the same day, which increases the film director’s pressure to make the most of his time with the models.

Working with stills models is different to using professional actors. Shots work best when stills models aren’t required to act, as this keep it more natural. A long take works well, as the magic moment is more likely to be unearthed. Internal Extensions Intended Intensions, a film for Vogue [below] which I worked on with Partizan's Zaiba Jabbar took this approach – we worked hard to craft the long takes of the highly-stylised vignettes until we found a film emerge beneath the footage.

Fashion commercials, on the other hand, are more formal concerning storyboards and their expectation of length. However, cutting a fashion commercial comes with greater freedom and creativity as strong aesthetic, style and originality is often encouraged. I’ve found that clients are more accepting of a stylised cut that has broken away from the standard form. The fashion industry at its core celebrates fresh ideas and new ways of doing things, which is reflected in the increased acceptance of a creative approach towards editing.

Mulberry's 2015 dance-inspired film, Cressida Bonas and The Buttercup Dress [below] was an example of a film that was initially structured but that had enough opportunity to grow in the edit. Although we started with a storyboarded idea, as the edit progressed we inserted a few creative cuts to utilise time and add flair to the unfolding dance sequence.

Interestingly, fashion now plays into many industries other than retail – such as sport and tech. People are increasingly wearing sports brands for style purposes, rather than just for practice. Advertising sportswear as fashion, calls for a different form and tone: for example, Nike's recent Fuel Band spot [below] used a fast-cut, documentary aesthetic. While with adidas Originals film Superstar, helmed by Caviar’s Karim Huu Do, we adopted a hyper-stylised look and feel.

In fact, one of the fashion films I’m most proud of doesn’t feature humans at all. Friend’s directing duo Tim and Joe shot Dogs with Sunglasses for Diesel, where the sunglasses were modeled by a group of stunning dogs. A subtle twist on the classic approach revived what was otherwise becoming a staid and cliché way of advertising sunglasses.

As with fashion itself, fashion films and commercials are always being reinvented and are constantly evolving. These films can push the boundaries of storytelling, especially when compared with traditionally-structured commercials. Fashion brands are increasing investment towards making these types of films as their understanding of the form and how to use it matures. They’re becoming integrated into each fashion brand’s overall advertising strategy as we realise their importance, finally.