Although select designers have been producing arty fashion videos on and off for years, it seems the medium has become bigger than ever of late, with designers focusing more on their own websites, adding video components as well as e-commerce.
Big fans of the fashion short, which has the ability to be more personal yet often a lot more vague than a fashion show or print campaign, include Christian Louboutin, who has been directing his own quirky videos, one of him tap-dancing, Yves Saint Laurent, Marni, Prada, Rebecca Taylor, Reem Acra, and Donna Karan, who hired Kelly Cutrone to handle a movie about her wrap sweater, which in turn was featured on Kell on Earth, and has another glossy music-video–like film starring Christina Ricci.
The Wall Street Journal reports that shooting these videos for around $50,000 and less is considered a steal compared to $1 million for a 30-second television ad, but we’re wondering if that amount (or even $15,000, in the case of Steven Alan’s latest project) really pays off.
Of course, the initial release of the video causes thousands of people to flock to the designer’s website and stay for a few minutes, but sometimes the overly arty quality of the videos, which often feature unclear shots of the clothing, just make us scratch our heads. And then we forget about them altogether.
Although we get that they are about sharing the feeling behind a collection, rarely is that feeling portrayed in an awesome enough fashion to make us want to watch twice.
But what do you think? Do you dig the fashion-short trend?
Cinema A La Prada [WSJ]
