Fashion meets film
The symbiosis of fashion and film is not only a topic of conversation because of the start of “House of Gucci”. Elsewhere, too, people are playing with the myth of the two glamour worlds. The Florentine label Salvatore Ferragamo, for example, invited star director Wim Wenders to stage its autumn/winter collection 2021/22.
What was your first reaction when you were offered the opportunity to shoot a fashion short film?
When the first request came, I was quite excited. I have not shot anything for a long time because of the pandemic, but I had good experiences with fashion topics in the past. Ferragamo’s proposal was interesting and gave me the freedom to bring in something of my own. A few years ago I read the book about the founder Salvatore Ferragamo and his life story, which took him from Naples to the East Coast and then on to Hollywood. That gave me a connection ... What role has fashion played in your work and what does this movie have to do with it?
I developed an awareness of fashion relatively late, when I made a film about Yohji Yamamoto. In the process, we both realised that our professions are very similar and often follow the same patterns of storytelling. I learned so much about fashion that year that I am still open and interested in this phenomenon afterwards. Our short film ties in with this by showing a lot of fashion on the one hand, but also integrating all this into a plot that makes it quite obvious and natural. Your work documents the making of a film. What role does postmodernism play in this work and in the 2020s in general?
Self-reflection, so to speak, was the best solution to an otherwise difficult task. A film with a sci-fi feel, but with an optimistic perspective throughout. That may sound simple, but if you think about it, the sci-fi genre is always bleak ... My film within a film solves those problems right off the bat. I thought I can handle postmodernism if it comes in the form of a love story!
Is love the answer?
Yes. It has been at all times, in the past, in the present, and love will be the answer in the future as well.