Friday, March 4, 2011

A New Genre for Advertising: The Art Film/Commercial Hybrid



Fashion advertising is headed in a new direction-- as exemplified in the recent short film-ad campaigns for Opening Ceremony and Oliver Peoples, respectively. Gia Coppola and Tracy Antonopoulos' short for Opening Ceremony, released last spring, stars film and fashion darlings Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman (did you expect anyone else?) wearing clothes from the spring 2010 collection in a bittersweet, tongue-in-cheek Nouvelle Vague-inspired love story set to music by Coconut Records, Schwartzman’s own band. Lisa Eisner’s short for Oliver Peoples stars musical visionary Devendra Banhart and his real-life girlfriend, Rebecca Schwartz, as they traipse through the gorgeously modern yet intimate Rainbow House, John Lautner’s one-of-a-kind Californian architectural masterpiece, wearing an array of Oliver Peoples spectacles and sunglasses from the spring 2011 collection (all this, of course, set to Banhart’s own soulful freak-folk). Both films are whimsical explorations of young love and intimacy, making bold forays into a newly playful, artistic and utterly compelling direction for fashion advertising. Watch both shorts below:

Devendra Banhart at Rainbow House from Oliver Peoples on Vimeo.

Of course, an even "haute-er" couture version of the fashion film-ad comes from prolific filmmaker David Lynch in his 16-minute Lady Blue Shanghai, which he wrote and directed for Dior in May 2010. The illustrious Marion Cotillard stars in the characteristically haunting short.

The entire film can be watched in parts on YouTube, but here's a taste...


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