News & Trends: In a new film, Diane Von Furstenberg brings together an international merging of talent between a Russian model, multi-media artist and advertising guru as part of a new and different campaign for the iconic fashion house.
Although she has long been a favorite in the fashion world, Diane Von Furstenberg is constantly exploring new ways to grow her brand and expand her image. Through a nearly silent film, the elegance and energy of her clothes are brought to life with a photographer unfamiliar with fashion and a model unused to dressing or arranging herself for shoots, all under the supervision of a man used to working with the most luxurious products.
Francois-Marie Banier is filmed photographing Russian muse and model Natalia Vodianova under luxury marketer, David Lipman's, direction. Banier is a contemporary artist who combines photography, paint and writing all in one work.
Von Furstenberg has long been an admirer of Banier's work, whom she has been friends with since the early seventies. Although the project was Von Furstenberg's idea, she was not present as the trio walked through the streets of Paris, Von Furstenberg explains, "I feel like my absence was stronger than my presence." She was spot on because the team's mutual admiration for the designer allowed them all to work with confidence and create some amazing photos, 50 in all.
It was Banier's first time working with a model, and there were no stylists present, so the process was almost as natural as Banier's work with anonymous persons he sees on the streets, without planning or posing them.
Wearing DVF designs without the aid of being told which to wear, Vodianova expresses the clothing through expression and movement that Banier captures on film, "the soul of a woman." Vodianova read Von Furstenberg's autobiography to help her prepare and understand the unusual project and found a kindred spirit in Von Furstenberg, whom she says, "is a little bit of a survivor, like me."
Once photographed, Banier returns to his studio, where he adds bold brush strokes and writing to complete the final work.
Of the process of watching Banier and Vodianova work together, Lipman reveals, "It was the art that mattered. We knew we were all taking chances. In this world of plastic surgery, with so many images in magazines that are so retouched, to go in the opposite direction and show the soul of a woman is the most beautiful thing I've seen in my career. It's aggressive and strong in the most elegant way. The courage of Diane Von Furstenberg is the courage of this campaign."
Although they had never before met, the team brought together by the far-reaching vision of Von Furstenberg managed to create a simple, elegant and unusual work of art unlike any that has come before.
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