Burberry and beyond: the evolution of fashion films

Whichever way you rack it or stack it, in-shop or online, brands like to look their best whatever the platform.

With film in particular, they want to look young, cool and ahead of the curve – or at least neatly draped over it - and while changes in fashion come and go, quality and ambition are two cuts of the cloth that should always stay in style.

Gone are the days of pure decoration – models pouting into camera against a glamorous urban backdrop or some stately rural idyll the rest of us would have to drug the game-keeper to enter.

Over the past few years, and in the wake of seismic cultural, societal and technological shifts, fashion brands are telling new kinds of stories to address the raft of new contexts impacting the sector – driven by the twin engines of diversity and identity especially, as well as how we view fashion itself, and how its stories are changing to accommodate a wider range of perspectives on what is beautiful.

Indeed, fashion films have been on something of an adventure. Gone are the days of pure decoration – models pouting into camera against a glamorous urban backdrop or some stately rural idyll the rest of us would have to drug the game-keeper to enter. 

In their wake comes a new generation of big, ambitious, story-driven high-end cinematic spots for the likes of Burberry, Prada, Dior and Calvin Klein, with Burberry especially sweeping the boards and picking up the prizes for its extraordinary, CGI-led spots, Night Creatures and Open Spaces. 

Above: Burberry - Open Spaces, directed by Megaforce.

Night Creatures’ sci-fi scenario, spliced with the street culture of London’s night buses, is a ground-breaker, admired across the industry. “It’s so fun – Burberry has always been such an innovator in their category, says Georgia Head, Head of Business Development at Studio RM, which handles post-production for a range of fashion and luxury brands. “It makes sense that they’re using technology in this innovative way. And the idea of the night bus was something we all resonate with.” 

We’re definitely moving away from pretty images without any meaning behind them. People want to understand what’s going on.

Arresting as they are, the VFX of Night Creatures are not completely new to fashion spots. “The luxury labels have always created work that is high-concept and cinematic because they are selling an aspiration,” says Head, “but the ‘look’ of aspiration and luxury has changed, it’s less serious about just the ‘clothing’ and more about creating something that resonates culturally. Like the retail experience and runway shows, to make an impact with new audiences, content needs to be more entertaining, have more depth, or be visually extraordinary. Therefore, we are seeing more brands partner with a variety of directors from different backgrounds to tell stories in new and exciting ways”

Above: Burberry - Night Creatures, directed by Megaforce.

Another fan is Niccolo Montanari, the publicist and festival strategist who established the Berlin Fashion Film Festival in 2016. “Burberry is a great piece of content, but it’s not common for something like that to be produced and that’s why it’s won everywhere,” he says “In terms of Burberry’s sense of aesthetic and the feeling behind it, people want to see that great care has been put into the way it looks and feels, and the emotional journey.” 

He points to the rise of more engaging narratives in fashion films, rather than the well-trodden ‘here are some beautiful people in lovely settings’ route. “We’re definitely moving away from pretty images without any meaning behind them. People want to understand what’s going on, like, ‘what’s going on here and how does it make me feel? What’s the feeling behind it? Does it make me feel I want to connect with that brand and what it stands for?’.”

For a long time [fashion] campaigns were influencer-driven, specifically made for social media short-form and more of a visual impulse than a real story. I’m really glad we’re turning that page.

Open Spaces and Night Creatures both used CGI to create a gravity-defying balletic display, with actors swooping and flying over night-time London and sun-dappled countryside, while the latter’s sci-fi theme is mirrored in Eastpak’s Built to Resist ‘Martian’ campaign out of Mutant.

“Fashion and retail industry has fully embraced long-form storytelling again,” says Mutant’s founder and ECD, Odin Saille. “For a long time their campaigns were influencer-driven, specifically made for social media short-form and more of a visual impulse than a real story. I’m really glad we’re turning that page. Look at what Prada is doing with Nicolas Winding Refn’s short film, Touch of Crude. I think we’re just seeing the beginning of it and I’m super-inspired to take it even further for our next Eastpak campaign.”

Above: Eastpak - Built to Resist, directed by Maky Margaridis.

The Eastpak spot’s Martian theme is compacted around leading questions that probe far beyond fashion and apparel. “When we were briefed, I felt it was important to look for an iteration that fit the questions we ask ourselves today,” says Saille. “The most pressing question of all is: what is going to happen to us and our planet? Are we going to have to emigrate? How are we going to ground there? Are we going to make the same mistakes and consequently experience the same cycle on another planet?”  

Physical events will probably increasingly be the stage for new forms of communication. We need to detach ourselves from the devices and shake hands.

Heavy questions for hard-wearing garments. And just as Burberry draws on sci-fi tropes of hostile alien invasions, Saille used his favourite Nineties movie, Total Recall, as a mood board for Eastpak. “We’re all influenced by the films we watch in our own downtime,” he says. “And we wanted to show a more recognisable way of life on another planet, to bring it closer to home and make people ponder the possibility of this actually happening.” 

Above: Trussardi - The Dispute, directed by Giulio Squillacciotti.

While storytelling is enjoying some widescreen chutzpah in today’s fashion films, some creatives are now looking at trends beyond the frame of screens altogether. “Live events and film are going to start meshing more,” says Saille, pointing to Diesel’s X-rated inflatables show in Milan choreographed by designer Glenn Martens. “I couldn’t help but wonder how an amazing film could be linked to this event. I think film and live fashion shows will continue to merge into one experience – for those attending and the millions watching.” 

There’s a trend to creating more experiential content, with audiences wanting to be a part of the story, not just watch it.

Leone Balduzzi, founder and creative director at production company C41, agrees. “Digital art will necessarily have to balance itself with physical contact. Therefore, physical events will probably increasingly be the stage for new forms of communication. We need to detach ourselves from the devices and shake hands.”  

Above: Dr Martens - Nu Souls, directed by Filippo Raineri.

Among studio C41’s recent fashion spots, The Dispute directed by Giulio Squillacciotti for Trussardi stands out. Like Burberry’s Night Crawlers, it’s a balletic beauty, with a succession of male models giving each other the hair-dryer treatment, shot using a circular dolly and based, says Balduzzi, on “the spectacularity and theatricality that an ordinary life event such as an argument can arouse”. Nu Souls for Dr Martens, meanwhile, is a cultural deep dive that arrows in on the millennial underground music scene in Milan. 

We are seeing a shift away from retouching flawless skin, to something that feels more real, celebrating imperfection and natural skin.

“They have changed completely,” says Balduzzi of the past few years. “Especially since high fashion has mixed with street wear – contamination is very important for brands.” He points to Calvin Klein’s audacious hook-up with street-smart UK skater brand Palace as a prime example. 

Studio RM’s Georgia Head agrees on the power of cross-pollination. “Collaborations are not a new trend in the fashion and luxury world, though the Calvin Klein-Palace collaboration felt fresh and fun,” she says. 

“The tongue-in-cheek film is an ode to the cities that have come to define these two labels. Visually, there’s a nod to the grainy film textures of Palace’s 1990s skate videos, mixed with high-contrast, iconic, black-and-white style studio shots synonymous with the Calvin Klein brand. Though each’s brand’s identity is clear, it felt that Calvin Klein and Palace didn’t take themselves too seriously, which made for an entertaining watch. The film offers another dimension to each brand and an opportunity for them to reach a new audience.”

Above: Calvin Klein x Palace – A Tale Of Two Cities, directed by Alasdair McLellan.

Another trend changing the nature of fashion spots is to celebrate beauty at any age, and to reign in the retouching (which has become illegal in France and Norway). Where once they sported flawless beauties, now they have action and a nod towards realism, or at least magical realism. Filters are out, freckles are in. One sized does not fit all. 

We’re seeing fashion films that not only experiment with elevated surreal imagery, but also tell stories and introduce compelling visual themes.

“It’s exciting to see brands shifting towards celebrating individual beauty and beauty at every age,” says Georgia Head. “Though this might not feel like a new concept, we are seeing a shift away from retouching flawless skin, to something that feels more real, celebrating imperfection and natural skin. Then there’s a trend to creating more experiential content, with audiences wanting to be a part of the story, not just watch it. Which feels more integrated.”