FASHION & FANTASY | PART 25

Renowned for its minimalism, clean lines, and shapes, the Nordic aesthetic is something that we are all familiar with. For this month’s Fashion and Fantasy, I wanted to share what this aesthetic would look and feel like on video and specifically what topics and themes are being approached across fashion film, music and lifestyle. The selected directors are exploring how countries and their borders are changing, our struggle and longing with defining ourselves—whether we are talking about gender or nationalities—and are expressing a general sense of dissatisfaction and unsettlement with what the future holds for us. What I find interesting is how these are in fact global themes and trends, but they are being approached visually in unique ways according to the different cultures.
 

Uniform Of Great Hope SS17’ Tobias Birk Nielsen. By Philip Peng Rosenthal.

Uniform of Great Hope sits somewhere between dystopia and utopia, combining the clean Scandinavian aesthetic and with the melancholic journey of a man. The film was inspired by the late 30s flatlands of Ostrobothnia, during which the Finns fought the Russians. The video features Tobias Birk Nielsen’s collection effortlessly, fitting beautifully into the post-apocalyptic scenario highlighted against Denmark’s stunning landscapes.
 

Les Deux + Kopenhagen Fur / Beyond Borders. By Stefan Pflug & Nicklas Hemming.

Directors Stefan Pflug & Nicklas Hemming shot the film at a time when integration policy was a priority. It was a way to send out a larger message, a passion project to highlight how creativity exceeds the limitations of geography. The film is a collaboration between lifestyle brand Les Deux and fur auction house Kopenhagen Fur, and sees two dancers from different backgrounds wondering what they stand for and how “we are the generation charged with proving that we can live together”.
 

ºıı˙∞˚ ‡^˚ ’^^˚. By Daniel Wirtberg

ºıı˙∞˚ ‡ ^ ˚ '^^ ˚, directed by Daniel Wirtberg, brings together The Acid, fashion designer Henrik Vibskov, and designer Anna Natalia Siemonsen. It’s video work as well as an exhibition, merging the boundaries between installation, music video, film, and art projects with elements of fashion design and performance. The theme itself takes us to a place beyond our overly saturated digital lives and and our need to feel constantly connected. It becomes a spiritual retreat, able to cleanse and leave us in an almost euphoric state.
 

Ivy. By Sara Samsøe.

A brave story to be told, Ivy. tells us the story of transgender model and activist Ivy Rosenauer. In this mini doc , we are told about the other side of gender reassignment surgery. A side in which we are having to come to terms with our new self and learn how to deal with our doubts and uncertainties. Produced by the talented creative production team and talent agency Persia, this film approaches a very current theme showing a side that we don’t often hear about.