Fashion Films In the Spotlight at London’s City Arts & Music Project

LONDON–A recent flood of fashion films is promising to bridge the velvet-roped gap between front-row editors and the glossy-buying populace while giving designers yet another medium through which to express and control their brands. At London’s City Arts & Music Project the public was invited to a S/S 11 Video Re-See of films by handful of London Fashion Week’s most promising young talents including knitwear designer Craig Lawrence, art deco printmaster Holly Fulton and Alice Dellal collaborator and jewelry designer Dominic Jones. Here are the highlights, as well a word with Craig Lawrence on being a fish out of water:

1. Holly Fulton’s architecturally-inspired maxis of sorbet-colored skyscrapers become a stop-motion Dada playground at the hands of director Quentin Jones:

2. Dominic Jones casts reptile skulls, crocodile jaws and scarab beetles into in dangerously sexy jewelry. He’s already got the nod from Anna Wintour and though we’d love to show you the film here, co-partner and model in the film, Alice Dellal’s French-and-unabashed bosom prevents us from doing so.

3. Menswear designer James Small teamed up with Jamie Hince to send us off into a soft-focused summertime reverie with topless boys in floral washed denim playing tag, petting horses and driving a Rolls through the British countryside.

4. Now in his fourth season of fashion film making is NewGen recipient and knitwear designer Craig Lawrence. Directed by Ben Toms and styled by Katie Shillingford, the black and white seaside shoot overlayed with eerie audio brings his delicate column dresses to another world. We asked the designer what it was like to take his sirens out for a day at the beach:

Fashionista: Where was this shot?
Craig Lawrence: We went to Eastbourne to shoot the film, with white chalk cliffs. I hadn’t had three nights sleep and we were jumping from rock to rock. My interns (none of which were harmed in the making of this film) were all hoppin’ along and I was half an hour behind because every single rock I tried to step on I had to get my balance. So I was just like the old granny at the back.

Your inspiration for this season?
Siren mermaids, just like me…. I like to sing my song, entice boys….and then break their hearts (smash them on the rocks) therefor metaphorically killin’ ‘em.

So your knit dresses are actually like nets with which to catch them?
Yeah totally.

Sailors in particular?
Yeah, sailors are quite hot. Firemen, police sometimes, when they’re not me telling me off.