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Nathan Burland joins Kode
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With roots in South London, Ghanaian heritage, and formative years in Toronto, Burland brings a globally informed, culturally rich perspective to the Kode family.
Kode announce the signing of Nathan Burland, the director known professionally as This Was Needed, to its roster.
With roots in South London, Ghanaian heritage, and formative years in Toronto, Burland brings a globally informed, culturally rich perspective to the Kode family.
Known for his vibrant, documentary-driven style that fuses fashion aesthetics, music culture, and narrative storytelling, Burland has directed work for Adidas, Hoka, Channel 4 and Google.
As both director and creative director, Burland spearheaded a collaboration with Epidemic Sound that ran at London’s Outernet. Originating from his collective’s idea to amplify creative voices across fashion, design, and music, the project gained support from Outernet and Epidemic Sound. The result was a month-long series of content that fostered connection and showcased community.
Working early in his career assisting directors including Director X and Daps, Burland built a solid grounding in creative collaboration and refined his understanding of large-scale production processes.
Burland comments “I’ve been able to imprint my tone across my work, a balance of grit, vibrancy, and cultural authenticity. Now I want to expand, to challenge myself. The UK has such an appetite for bold, grounded humour, and I want to contribute to that conversation.”
Burland’s upcoming projects include a comedy piece playing with cultural touchpoints, as well as a fashion film in Canada, which he describes as pivotal in shaping his visual identity for the next chapter. Kode's leadership welcomed Burland with enthusiasm, citing his distinctive voice, grassroots authenticity, and ability to bridge documentary, fashion, and commercial filmmaking.
“Nathan Burland is exactly the kind of director we want to be backing at Kode. His passion, eye for detail and ambition to experiment across fashion, comedy, and culture put him in a really exciting position to take on bigger, bolder projects here in the UK,” says Jack Goodwin EP at Kode.
