The symbiotic relationship between the worlds of fashion and film is evident on screen when moving pictures utilise wardrobe to tell a story, making it a character in the narrative, just as scenarios and locations do in some cases. Thus, professionals and aficionados in both areas need to study and understand them.
In a three-day event taking place from June 3-5, the London College of Fashion (LCF), part of the University of the Arts London (UAL), presents the UAL Future Fashion Film Festival, highlighting emerging talents in film and fashion. The festival showcases diverse and innovative voices from today by spotlighting work from students, staff, and alumni. The event will be held in at London College of Fashion’s new home on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and will also feature workshops and talks with members ranging from BAFTA Albert to the Stanley Kubrick Archive, as well as special guests such as designer Maximilian Raynor, actor and activist Victoria Emslie (The Theory of Everything), and AI filmmaker Omar Karim. The judging panel will comprise recognized professionals, including the team behind NOWNESS. By showcasing the new crop of talent in fashion and filmmaking in the UK and connecting these talents with those who make the decisions, UAL will point towards the endless possibilities in the symbiosis between film and fashion.
Fashion plays essential roles in pictures like ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ (1961), ‘American Psycho’ (2000), and ‘Miami Vice’ (2006), and there are those that portray its industry as ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (2006), ‘Neon Demon’ (2016) and ‘House of Gucci’ (2021) or major players like the Angelina Jolie’s TV movie ‘Gia’ (1998), to name a few. In real life, fashion designers have collaborative friendships with cinema auteurs such Yohji Yamamoto and his collaborative friendship with Wim Wenders and Takeshi Kitano, not to forget that Tom Ford is both a fashion designer and a filmmaker. These examples and the names brought to the event are just a glimpse into how important the upcoming UAL Future Fashion Film is.
In an interview with the Big Picture Film Club, award winning filmmaker and artist Vicky Mather, who is also a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for London College of Fashion’s MA Fashion, Film and Digital Production course and Co-Director of UAL Future Fashion Film Festival, talks about the intersection between fashion and film, the relevance of UAL Future Fashion Film for young and veteran talents, and how art is part of film and fashion.
Gabriel Leão: What is the London College of Fashion’s aim in hosting UAL Future Fashion Film? What do you expect to come out of the event?
Vicky Mather: The aim of the festival is to go beyond the idea that fashion film is simply fashion advertising or clothing in motion. We want to explore what expanded conversations we can have through fashion and film, and to foster collaborative relationships between fashion designers and filmmakers.
GL: Can you tell us about the logistics and demands of setting up a large-scale three-day film festival?
VM: Setting up a three-day festival, much like a film production, needs a core team of people with complementary skills, a shared vision, trust and a commitment of time outside of the daily grind. There are three of us making this happen, Lindsay Pentelow Head of Cultural programming whose goals are in getting this lovely building on East Bank buzzing as this area of London transforms, Mirren Kessling, Events Producer, who is carefully curating the events and thinking about how people might receive the festival in a person-centred way. I’ve been lucky enough as a Senior Lecturer on MA Fashion, Film and Digital Production to bring in my industry network of filmmakers in all sorts of roles to share their skills and inspiration expansively in a fashion context. It’s a dream team, and we all have curly hair.
GL: How are filmmakers incorporating fashion into their work? Are there any innovative technologies being used?
VM: In this building (London College of Fashion’s new East London HQ), we’re lucky to be able to just walk upstairs and meet the new generation of fashion designers and costume makers. Many students are using Clo3D and Marvellous Designer for designing clothing and Fashion Film students might be using Unreal Engine to generate digital environments. They might use AI in conjunction with more traditional film techniques or our state-of-the-art cinema-standard photogrammetry suite where students are scanning themselves into incredible 3D garments. Some of the best projects are where students have engaged with multiple tools to complement their storytelling. We’re working with a great company called CUBE Studio who will be donating the use of their enormous virtual production screen for our grand prize, along with mentorship from Park Village Studios who will represent our winning director for commercials, fashion and music video. WHAT A PRIZE!
GL: What does the festival offer to fashion students and attendees in terms of contact with renowned names from cinema and the fashion world (through workshops, seminars, and meetings)?
VM: We’ve got a collaboration with the HI-FI initiative who are investing in and championing new fashion designers who may have access issues when it comes to launching a collection in the first iteration of their careers. Their creative agency, Hidden, are holding a live brief competition for UAL FFFF selected filmmakers to learn about a new fashion designer and to pitch their film ideas to contribute to the launch of their collection. The winner will receive a development period with Hidden Agency as well as a shoot sponsored by Panavision, Panalux and Island Studios, and when you zoom out, this prize would cost upwards of 50K in industry.
So, providing unique opportunities like this, with industry practitioners that have a vested interest in new talent for example; NOWNESS are on the Jury and looking for a film to showcase on their platform, this kind of exposure is so important for filmmakers early on their careers to be noticed by wider industry.
We’re lucky enough to have the Stanley Kubrick Archive at UAL and having them transport items from 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining is so inspirational. There is a bit of a Kubrick throughline this year with a screening of ‘Who is the Painter?’ a film about a collaboration between Christiane Kubrick (Stanley Kubrick’s wife), and JW Anderson. The filmmaker, Jack Hobbs, is joining us to discuss his experience of capturing this collaboration between artist and fashion designer.
GL: UAL is the highest-ranking arts university in the People & Planet’s University League. How important is it for fashion and film to care about environmental issues as part of their world-building, storytelling and production practices?
VM: We must rethink the way fashion is produced and address waste in film production. This starts with education, where we can embed these values through the projects and the industry we choose to engage with, to shape the future. We’re so pleased to be hosting the Albert Scheme – the sustainable arm of BAFTA to host a costume hair and make-up workshop as well as Greenpeace who will be talking about social media in an environmental context.
GL: What would you say to people who don’t consider fashion to be a form of art? Where do you believe this prejudice comes from and does fashion film help to change that perspective?
VM: Fashion is a form of art, but it’s also commerce – it sits in that intersection. Fashion is whatever you want it to be, sometimes it’s art, sometimes it’s clearly commerce, sometimes it’s both. Ultimately, it’s a reflection of who we are – as is film. That’s why these two cultural entities are a perfect match!
