Christophe Decarnin | Source: Homme a la Mode

Balmain Exit (Vogue UK)
“Christophe Decarnin is leaving Balmain after spending five years as creative director. A successor has not yet been appointed…. Decarnin joined the French fashion house in 2005 as a designer before being made the creative director in November 2007. He is largely credited for introducing the rock and military-inspired look… that the label is currently known for.”

Reviving the Russian luxury market (Reuters)
“Russia’s luxury market may be worth only half of what it was pre-financial crisis, but its thirst for excess is making somewhat of a comeback, though uncertainty over its ability to grow lingers. ‘Slowly, slowly, people are starting to live again,’ said Alla Verber, Russian clothing mogul and head of fashion at plush designer store TSUM, Moscow’s answer to Saks Fifth Avenue.”

Boom time for boutiques in Australia (The Australian)
“Burberry’s flagship store in Sydney’s CBD has marked a trend…for bigger, more lavish and, of course, more expensive boutiques in the booming top end of the retail market. … ‘Our new Sydney store is the most ambitious and expensive boutique we have ever opened,’ TAG Heuer chief executive Jean-Christophe Babin said. ‘After just two months of operation, it was already our No 1 store in the world.’”

Twitter to offer brands Facebook-style pages (Marketing Magazine)
“Branded pages, through which advertisers could deliver tailored messages, are under consideration, along with other plans to increase the long-term revenue potential of the social network… The pages would work in a similar way to Facebook Pages, providing brands with their own space to deliver content and encourage Twitter users to follow them.”

Dazed Live: Ruth Hogben (Dazed Digital)
“The pioneering London filmmaker Ruth Hogben is Director of Fashion Film at SHOWstudio and will be speaking at Dazed Live about her collaborations with Gareth Pugh and the resulting, inimitable visual style of her unique films. She has created iconic fashion films with Matthew Stone and Dazed’s own Katie Shillingford, not to mention her work with Nick Knight and Alexander McQueen.”

But what makes a good fashion film? And are these the same primary concerns that go into a good fashion photograph? While these questions have been circulating since SHOWstudio’s early experiments in moving image, this season, as the medium of fashion film matures, we saw the debate condense around two distinct points of view.

Some industry figures say that creating a successful fashion film is very different to creating a fashion photograph and underscore the primary importance of elements like narrative and acting. “What makes a good fashion film is exactly what makes any good film: direction, lighting, acting, script, sound,” said Diane Pernet, influential fashion blogger and founder of A Shaded View on Fashion Film. “These are elements that go beyond a static photo shoot,” she continued.

Ms. Pernet’s emphasis on the fundamentals of filmmaking was echoed by Alistair Allan, Digital Director at Dazed Group: “Anything near or over two minutes needs to have some form of narrative to keep the viewer engaged. The pace of editing is also important, as is the correct use of cinematography technique, which sadly a lot photographers don’t understand or sympathise with.”

Others think that great fashion films are driven by exactly the same concerns as great fashion photographs where the visual or stylistic story comes first. “I don’t think there are any rules when it comes to communicating a feeling, but for me, a fashion film is always led by the fashion — the lines, the colours,” said pioneering fashion filmmaker Ruth Hogben, who frequently collaborates with Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio. “Rather than film, it’s better to think about fashion: what makes a good fashion communication? It’s exactly the same as a photograph,” she emphasised.

Over the last two fashion cycles, we’ve brought you our seasonal ranking of the Top 10 Fashion Films. This season, the Top 10 includes powerful narrative films, like Karl Lagerfeld’s “Remember Now” for Chanel, as well as stunning films driven primarily by a stylistic story, like Ruth Hogben’s latest film for Gareth Pugh. We’ve also included “Act da Fool,” Harmony Korine’s controversial piece for Proenza Schouler, a piece that, we think, manages to place equal importance on narrative and visual storytelling. As you sit back and enjoy the films, let us know which approach you think works best.

(RSS and Email subscribers, click here to view the films).

1. Gareth Pugh S/S 2011 by Ruth Hogben

Starring a future-forward, silver-haired Kristen McMenamy, Ruth Hogben’s 11-minute geometric epic for Gareth Pugh captivated hundreds of editors, buyers and other industry insiders at Paris Fashion Week, where it was projected at giant scale in the Palais Omnisports in Bercy. Since then, it’s been beamed across the world via SHOWstudio and video sharing sites Vimeo and YouTube, entrancing thousands more. Directed by Ruth Hogben and conceived in collaboration with a close-knit team that included artist Matthew Stone, stylist Katie Shillingford and set designer Simon Costin, this is a film that puts fashion first, exploring Mr. Pugh’s S/S 2011 collection with laser-like focus. But the film also demonstrates with great effect how a designer can leverage abstract, visually-centered storytelling to perfectly communicate a collection and articulate a broader brand vision in one powerful communication.

2. Proenza Schouler “Act da Fool” by Harmony Korine

Proenza Schouler gave Harmony Korine, writer of “Kids” and director of disturbing features like “Gummo” and “Julien Donkey-Boy,” carte blanche to create this controversial film about teenage angst, resulting in what is possibly the most controversial fashion film released since the movement began a few years back. Shot in Nashville, Tennessee (where Korine lives) the film follows a group of African-American girls in as they drink, smoke, write graffiti and skulk around a schoolyard in Proenza Schouler’s Fall 2010 collection. “It’s about girls who sleep in abandoned cars and set things on fire,” said Korine. “It’s about the great things in life. The stars in the sky and lots of malt liquor.” While the film has attracted both severe criticism and praise — provoking a raging debate and discussion online — we rate it highly because it feels like an authentic piece of cultural content and perfectly integrates both narrative and visual storytelling by threading a poetic and mesmerising voiceover through a series of beautifully composed “moving stills.”

3. Chanel: Remember Now by Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld’s “Remember Now” for Chanel is a great example of a successful fashion film that’s driven primarily by narrative. Pascal Greggory stars as a veteran playboy who encounters a young and glittering group of friends played by a high-wattage cast including Elisa Sednaoui, Baptiste Giabiconi, Heidi Mount, Abbey Lee and others. We think the film nicely complements Mr. Lagerfeld’s nostalgic, Riviera-inspired 2011 cruise collection and tells a powerful brand story that perfectly captures the gilded and care-free hedonism of summer in Saint-Tropez. Mr. Lagerfeld’s cameo appearance is fun. But our favourite part is the brief intro sequence where Leigh Lezark plays Coco Chanel.

4. Iris by Barnaby Roper

Barnaby Roper’s techno-robotic “Iris,” starring Iris Strubegger, is a stunning visual experiment that dissects a range of fall looks from Stella McCartney, Miu Miu, Givenchy, Céline and Proenza Schouler. We love the way Roper — who has directed music videos for bands like Razorlight, Snowpatrol and Moby, alongside his work for fashion magazines — hypnotizes the viewer with his surgically precise editing technique. “It’s the rhythm of the edit that’s the key to the film, the key to all films,” said Roper in an interview with Nowness, where the film first appeared.

5. H&M Designer Collaboration Teasers (series)

H&M developed a brilliant short video teaser campaign to get consumers excited for the launch of their annual designer collaboration. Featuring stereotypical designer types like a man in a skinny dark suit and a woman in an extreme blouse and chunky jewelry, the series of black-and-white videos engaged viewers in a collective guessing game on the identity of the yet unannounced designer, dropping a sequence of clues specifically designed to lead fashion-savvy viewers one way, then another. Discussion raged on YouTube, spilled onto Twitter and sparked countless posts in the fashion blogosphere that named Carolina Herrera and Thomas Maier of Bottega Veneta among suspected collaborators, before the identity of the real designer was revealed to be Alber Elbaz of Lanvin. Overall, we thought this was a fun and highly effective use of the short video format that was intelligently conceived to generate positive conversation across the social web. Bravo.

5. Holly Fulton by Quentin Jones

“Holly Fulton” by London-based illustrator, animator and director Quentin Jones is a riot of flash bulbs, humming birds, lions and Manhattan skyscrapers that brought a great big smile to our faces, and recalled the signature aesthetic of one of London’s rising design talents. Commissioned by British Vogue art director Jaime Perlman for her experimental fashion platform TEST, we think the film is a perfect complement to Fulton’s bold and graphic, 60s meets Art Deco collection.

7. Burberry Acoustic (Series)

Debuting three days before the brand’s menswear show last June, the “Burberry Acoustic” series cleverly highlights the brand’s longstanding connection to British rock bands with a collection of nicely styled music videos that populate the brand’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. The short films feature Burberry product, integrate with in-store happenings and function as a kind of digital support platform for emerging British music talent. Plus, the music selection is great.

8. Chronology by Luca Guadagnino for NOWNESS

NOWNESS commissioned Luca Guadagnino, director of “I Am Love,” to create this abstract, surrealist film featuring a stunning Mariacarla Boscono in tightly edited highlights from the fall 2010 collections of luxury fashion etailer Net-a-Porter, styled by Cathy Edwards. In a characteristically sharp move from Net-a-Porter, famous for their shopable weekly web magazine and accompanying iPad app, the video content leads consumers directly to commerce opportunities. When the film launched, all the looks seen on Boscono — including fashion from Christopher Kane, Chloé, Miu Miu, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Sigerson Morrison and Azzedine Alaïa — were available for instant purchase.

9. Nike Gyakusou (Dark Edit) by Jamie Morgan

Jamie Morgan created this evocative film to launch the first collaboration between Nike Sportswear and Jun Takahashi’s cult brand Undercover: the Nike x Undercover Gyakusou performance running collection. The slow-motion visual treatment and playful yet deliberate soundtrack brilliantly capture the surreal sense of pace, stamina and inner focus that lies at the heart of performance running. We think the rain and smoke looks amazing as well.

10. Black Light by Suzie Q & Leo Siboni

Commissioned by Diane Pernet in collaboration with Vogue Italia, Suzie Q and Leo Siboni’s Blacklight appeared at A Shaded View on Fashion Film in Milan last May as part of a special series of one-minute fashion films inspired by “light.” The film plays on codes of fantasy and sporadically immerses the viewer in a blacklit netherworld to dramatic and haunting visual effect.

Did we miss someone? Which fashion films captured your imagination this season? Let the BoF community know which films you liked most.

LONDON, United Kingdom — As the fashion industry continues its march into the digital age, London — always known for its raw creativity and emerging talent — can now add digital innovation to that list.

This is no overnight story. To the contrary, it’s taken ten years for fashion players here to plant seeds which are only beginning to bear fruit now, as fashion’s digital tsunami really begins to take hold.

The British capital, after all, is home to revolutionary fashion website SHOWStudio, e-commerce pioneer Net-a-Porter, and online hub of youth culture Dazed Digital — all of which were founded many years ago. These seminal businesses have created a foundational and fertile seedbed for other digital businesses and attracted and developed digital talent that has gone on to shape and inspire other online companies here including mywardrobe.com, Fashionair and farfetch.com. And, while American Vogue is in the midst of setting up its website now, British Vogue has had its own website for fifteen years.

London-based mega-brand Burberry, widely considered to be the most innovative fashion company in the digital space, was one of the first to stream its catwalk show live on the Internet last season. Having decided to show in London again this time around, Burberry is not content with resting on its digital laurels. A few weeks ago, the iconic British brand announced its plans to stream its show in 3D to a host of cities around the world, from Dubai and Tokyo to Paris and New York, creating the world’s first truly global fashion show.

But it’s not just big brands and websites that a digital capital make. The East End of London is a hotbed of fashion creativity and digital innovation. Emerging fashion creatives like Ruth Hogben, digital art directors like Jaime Perlman, and independent film production studios like Pundersons Gardens, have been working with independent designers like Gareth Pugh and Richard Nicoll to show the fashion world what is possible when creativity meets digital technology.

And, the British Fashion Council is the first of the major organising bodies in fashion to fully embrace digital technology, having set up its own digital schedule for fashion films and live-streams of selected on-schedule shows, accompanied by live commentary using curated tweets from fashion insiders and fans alike via Starworks Conversations.

As for the designers themselves, they are going digital too. Following in the footsteps of that giant of fashion whose shadow is looming over this London fashion week, designers like Mary Katrantzou and Erdem Moralioglu are using digital techniques to create out-of-this world prints, which have become defining, technology-based signatures of their work.

As Naomi Attwoods said in her review of Katrantzou’s A/W 2010 collection shown on Saturday, “Katrantzou’s strength is her eye for a print. The digital technology that has revolutionised and regenerated the trend for colourful, printed clothes gives designers so many possibilities but with Miss Katrantzou’s pieces, the source material is clearly visible and this sets her apart.”

And so, as London Fashion Week hits full tilt on Monday and Tuesday, the city seems poised to leapfrog Milan, Paris and New York as the definitive digital fashion capital, furthering the nascent comeback of London Fashion Week after years of struggling in the shadow of its fashion capital brethren.

Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion

Tramps, Past, Present & Couture - Dior Couture A/W 2001 | Source: SHOWstudio

LONDON, United Kingdom — For many fashion companies, 2009 was the year the internet arrived. In the face of an unprecedented economic crisis and overwhelming evidence that affluent consumers are highly active online, senior executives across the industry are finally starting to embrace digital media with a new strategic seriousness.

There was no better sign of this than the impressive gala held during London Fashion Week to celebrate fashion website SHOWstudio and its groundbreaking exhibition at Somerset House, “Fashion Revolution.”

When it was launched by photographer Nick Knight in November of 2000, SHOWstudio was ahead of its time. Indeed, “Fashion Revolution” celebrates nine years of restless experimentation and digital innovation. But for the majority of brands, retailers and publishers, who are still struggling to understand the radical impact the internet is having on fashion communication, the retrospective also offers urgent lessons for the present. We think it’s a must-see for executives, creatives and editors alike.

The exhibition is organised around three main themes – Process, Performance, and Participation – that are each integral to understanding how digital media is different and what that means for the future of fashion communication.

PROCESS

The openness of the internet has given consumers access to the behind the scenes of fashion like never before. From the beginning, SHOWstudio understood and embraced the transparency inherent in the new medium, inviting their online audience to consume the creative process of fashion, not just the end product. Many of these early experiments are documented in “Fashion Revolution.”

As far back as 2004, a SHOWstudio project called Power of Witches, developed in collaboration with Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, laid bare the entire creative process around a shoot for the Autumn/Winter 2004 issue of AnOther Magazine in a live three-day webcast.

In Phonecarte, another project in the exhibition, SHOWstudio asked models Karen Elson, Lily Cole, Irina Lazareanu and Lily Donaldson to record voicemails as they shuttled between fittings, shows, after-parties and hotel rooms during the hectic fashion week season. Streamed on-demand over the internet, the recordings gave consumers unprecedented personal access to the first hand experiences of the world’s top models at work and play in New York, London, Milan and Paris.

As increasingly influential bloggers armed with laptops and web-enabled cameras follow in the footsteps of SHOWstudio’s experiments, expectations amongst consumers are evolving. No longer content to merely purchase finished products, they want more immediate, insider access to the people and creative process of the fashion industry. We think it’s time for forward-thinking brands to open up their organisations and deliver.

PERFORMANCE

According to Nick Knight, SHOWstudio’s live fashion shoots sometimes became more conscious “performances,” with the photographer, the stylist, the designer, and the model all taking part. As part of their exhibition at Somerset House, SHOWstudio has placed an active photo studio inside a room-sized glass case and invited the public to watch the action unfold, as imagemakers including Jason Evans, Alice Hawkins, Craig McDean and Sølve Sundsbø shoot fashion editorial and portraits.

During the course of the exhibition, Mr. Knight himself will appear in the live studio space to photograph “100 of London’s Beau Monde,” including models, actors, musicians and artists. But what’s perhaps most interesting about these “performances” is the crucial role they played in the development of a new kind of fashion experience: the fashion film.

Between 2005 and February 2009, Nick Knight and Ruth Hogben, then his assistant, documented Mr. Knight’s shoots for magazines like British Vogue and uploaded the results to SHOWstudio. Ms. Hogben was charged with capturing and editing the footage. But with Mr. Knight’s support, she soon started experimenting with her edits and adding music to the visuals.

In 2008, at the side of a landmark shoot for British Vogue’s December issue, they filmed models Lily Donaldson and Jourdan Dunn in some of the most sensational clothing of the decade. Called “Fantasia,” the final edit was simple, but provocative. It appears in the exhibition alongside a selection of captivating short films that use movement and music to communicate fashion in a way that static editorial simply can’t.

What began as simple documentation is, today, on the verge of becoming something much bigger. Pioneered in experiments like “Fantasia” and powered by video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo, fashion film has emerged as the most influential new format for fashion communication. Powerful brands like Yves St. Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Chanel have used the format to complement runway shows and accompany advertising campaigns. But that’s just the beginning.

Bringing together fashion, film and music, this new format is going to explode. According to ABI Research, by 2012 the number of broadband video consumers will surpass one billion. As viewership skyrockets and marketers continue to move dollars online, we predict the industry will see a seismic shift away from stills towards short fashion films, with brands competing to create compelling video content of their own. This will be especially true as companies set their sights on millennials, an entire generation of young fashion consumers who expect their world to be instant, dynamic and online.

PARTICIPATION

The internet is also an inherently participatory medium. While magazines were essentially one-way monologues to mute readers, the internet allows dialogue and exchange, with and amongst consumers.

Right from the beginning, SHOWstudio gave their viewers a voice, encouraging them to respond, discuss and contribute. In a project called In Camera, SHOWstudio let a global audience pose live questions to interview subjects like Kate Moss, Björk, Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, giving users rare and privileged access to engage with key creative figures at the top of the industry. Another project called “24 HRS” let consumers influence the narrative of a short film for Stefano Pilati’s Edition 24 collection for Yves Saint Laurent, while “Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down” invited viewers to style model Liberty Ross for a live photo shoot.

Today more than ever, people want to be part of the action. And according to a study by market researchers Forrester, luxury fashion consumers are more active than most. Not content to be passive spectators, they are twice as likely to participate online. We think fashion companies should take a more open and collaborative approach with consumers and create interactive content that lets them participate and engage with the brands they love.

“We are in the midst of a revolution,” says Nick Knight. As fashion brands study and seek to capitalise on what Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts calls the “digital tsunami,” we think understanding the three P’s – Process, Performance and Participation – is an essential precursor to effective action.

An afternoon at Somerset House is probably the best place to start.

SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution on view until 20 December 2009 at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA.

Vikram Alexei Kansara is a digital strategist and writer based in New York.

Screenshot from David David fashion film | Source: David David

NEW YORK, United States — Fashion film was everywhere this season. Emerging and established designers alike dreamt up new ways to use the medium, proving it to be an increasingly powerful and flexible format for capturing, heightening and transmitting the energy of the collections.

In New York, designers Gareth Pugh and Tim Hamilton presented films that acted as prequels and sequels to their respective Paris runway shows, extending their presence across multiple fashion capitals. While in London, DAVID DAVID presented a series of clean and cost-effective films in lieu of an expensive runway show, Richard Nicoll showed a haunting short to introduce his catwalk outing, and luxury knitwear manufacturers Pringle of Scotland returned to London Fashion Week with a beautiful film featuring Tilda Swinton.

Fashion film was a powerful force in Paris, as well. Alexander McQueen integrated film into his visionary, technology-infused show, creating a heightened, multimedia experience for the editors and buyers in attendance, while beaming the spectacle to the world via twin robotic cameras and a link up with Nick Knight’s website SHOWstudio.

Fashion film also made an appearance alongside the collections. In a timely homage to an early pioneer, Parisian department store Le Bon Marché held a beautifully installed exhibition titled “Guy Bourdin: ses films.” Meanwhile, across the Seine at the Palais de Tokyo, fashion blogger Diane Pernet staged her second annual fashion film festival, screening recent films by Steven Klein, Nick Knight and others.

What follows is a BoF Best of the Season selection of what we think were the most innovative and captivating fashion films (and fashion film happenings) we saw this season. (RSS and Email subscribers, click here to view the films).

1. ALEXANDER McQUEEN

Alexander McQueen’s show at the Omnisports center in Paris was utterly extraordinary, not least because of the way the designer integrated revolutionary new technology into his runway outing. Presented on a 60 foot LED screen behind the catwalk, a mesmerizing digital film by Nick Knight, featuring Raquel Zimmerman coiled with snakes and melting in and out of a watery tomb, drove home the dystopian themes of the collection. We think the film provided a perfectly immersive backdrop to the clothes and turned this spectacular show into a multi-sensory blockbuster.

2. GUY BOURDIN: SES FILMS

“This may be one of the most moving displays of fashion imagery I have seen,” tweeted BoF editor-in-chief Imran Amed from the private view of “Guy Bourdin: Ses Films” on the second floor of venerable Paris department store Le Bon Marché. We think Bourdin was a true pioneer. His experiments in fashion film, shot long before digital video or the internet, blend sex and surrealism with an undercurrent of violence that has inspired fashion filmmakers ever since.

3. GARETH PUGH

Gareth Pugh Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: SHOWStudio

This season, Gareth Pugh established his first presence at New York Fashion Week with four abstract films, created in collaboration with fashion filmmaker Ruth Hogben and presented on a giant monolithic cube in the darkened loading dock at Milk Studios. Inspired by the four elements – earth, water, wind and fire – we think the films were a perfect trailer for Mr. Pugh’s Spring Summer 2010 runway show in Paris, creating just the right dose of mystery and heightened anticipation, without giving away too much.

4. RICHARD NICOLL

Produced by Jaime Perlman, Art Director of British Vogue, and directed by Kathryn Ferguson, we love the beautifully layered short film that set the mood for Richard Nicoll’s S/S 2010 runway show. The film also appears on TEST, Ms. Perlman’s new online platform which brings a new sense of transparency and democracy to the making of moving fashion imagery, presenting finished work alongside creative inspirations, behind the scenes moments, and profiles of everyone involved in the creative process.

5. VANESSA BRUNO

Also launching this season was Vanessa Bruno’s film with longtime collaborator Stephanie Di Ciusto, featuring Lou Doillon. Released in lieu of a catalog, Bruno’s “visual poem” beautifully depicts Doillon as she evolves from cave dwelling wild child to contemporary urban warrior. But what we find most interesting is Bruno’s decision to use fashion film to speak directly to consumers. In a smart move, she decided to launch the video on vanessabruno.com and YouTube, as a gift to her loyal fans, and feature the A/W 2009-2010 collection that’s currently in stores.

6. DAVID DAVID

David Saunders of DAVID DAVID presented his Spring Summer 2010 collection with a series of fashion films that had us hypnotized. We like how the films stayed focused on the clothes, playing with music, subtle visual effects and the bold geometric prints of Mr. Saunders’ elegant shirt dresses and swimwear to create an entrancing mood.

7. A SHADED VIEW ON FASHION FILM

This season, Diane Pernet staged her second annual fashion film festival, “A Shaded View on Fashion Film.” As the medium continues to grow, we think the importance of an annual event like this to help incubate and recognize both emerging and established talent cannot be overestimated. The festival featured a stunning selection of films by Ruth Hogben, Steven Klein, Undercover, Georgie Greville, Chris Cunningham and others, including our favorite: a “video portrait” of Rick Owens by fashion film pioneer Nick Knight.

8. COMPLEX GEOMETRIES

Montreal-based label Complex Geometries bypassed the traditional fashion week outing altogether, deciding instead to show their Spring Summer 2010 collection, “Perpetual Leisure,” exclusively on film with a beautiful short created by Jason Last. We think this approach makes sense for emerging designers with limited budgets and love how the film elegantly combines music and slow motion to conjure up a powerful mood, while showing off the clothes to full effect.

9. TIM HAMILTON

Tim Hamilton’s Rope and Climb were created in collaboration with contemporary artist and photographer Collier Schorr. Screened at New York Fashion Week, we think the simple, but evocative films beautifully complement each other and were a smart way to give the brand a continued presence in New York, following Mr. Hamilton’s decision to show both his women’s and men’s collections in Paris.

10. E. TAUTZ

In London, Savile Row “sporting and military tailors” E. Tautz created a quirky animated fashion film to launch their Spring Summer 2010 ready-to-wear collection. Created by Quentin Jones, we think the film lightens things up, while getting at the specifically English sense of style and humour that underlies the elegance of Savile Row.

HONOURABLE MENTION: PRINGLE OF SCOTLAND

Pringle Film Screenshot | Source: Style.com

Luxury knitwear manufacturers Pringle of Scotland celebrated its return to the London catwalk with a short film that perfectly complemented the colour palette and sensibility of the new collection that followed. Starring Tilda Swinton, the brand’s current muse, and shot by Ryan McGinley near Swinton’s home in Inverness, the film was beautifully conceived and executed. But we have to question Pringle’s distribution strategy. The film debuted during London Fashion Week and has been discussed on the internet, by both the fashion press and consumers, but curiously will not be available online until the Spring.

Which fashion films got two thumbs up from you this season? Let the BoF community know which films you thought were special.

But even before the regular jam-packed four week fashion marathon was Fashion’s Night Out — possibly the biggest global fashion extravaganza ever­. This was followed by a month full of magazine and book launches, the U.S. Coco Avant Chanel film premiere, and the debut of perhaps the most anticipated high street fashion line ever, J+ by Jil Sander for Uniqlo.  The fashion pack is understandably exhausted.

Lucky for you, we at the BoF have been scouring the shows, talking to CEOs, observing the front rows and getting the skinny on all the important news and market trends over the past month. So, in what has now become a seasonal tradition, here is our take on Spring/Summer 2010, the season that was.

1. THE BURGEONING BLOGGERATI

Tavi on the cover of Pop Magazine | Source: Pop Magazine

It’s already been discussed at length here on BoF and elsewhere, but worth mentioning again. Independent media mavens – aka bloggers – were treated to top-flight access at shows in all of the fashion capitals. Tavi, the thirteen year-old Chicagoan and front page star of POP magazine, was in the front row at show after show in New York, joined by a gaggle of other girls with successful fashion blogs. In Milan, bloggers like Bryanboy were given front row seats at D&G, where live blogging stations were installed at their seats.

But it’s the fashion photobloggers that emerged as the real bloggerati royalty. Tommy Ton (recently featured on BoF) was named the new streetstyle photographer for Style.com. Sonny van de Velde feted his exhibit of backstage fashion photos at the Tribeca Grand. And the original superblogger, Scott Schuman, had parties in multiple cities to celebrate the launch of his new book, aptly entitled The Sartorialist. At Liberty in London, a queue of hundreds dressed in their spiffiest duds, snaked around the basement floor of the venerable department store for a few moments with fashion’s ultimate superblogger.

But for how long? Bryanboy was circumspect about all the newfound attention fixated on fashion bloggers. “I wonder if it’s just the latest trend,” he said to me outside Milk Studios in New York. “Will they get tired of us in a few seasons and move onto the next big thing?” It remains to be seen, but for now, the bloggers have arrived in full effect.

2. CONTEMPORARY CRAZE

Rad by Rad Hourani | Photo: Tommy Ton

As one designer put it to me, “Everyone is asking for better quality, better design, and lower prices.” A seemingly impossible feat. But a quick visit to meet with Stella Ishii at The News showroom in SoHo confirmed that many young designers are turning to the still hot Contemporary sector to try and meet these expectations.

Doo-Ri Chung’s Under-Ligne, Richard Chai’s LOVE, T by Alexander Wang, Rad by Rad Hourani, and others are now offering their design DNA at accessible price points.

But will these small businesses be able to meet the operational demands of the Contemporary segment? With multiple deliveries per season and buyers’ expectations to reorder best sellers, this market segment requires operational finesse and active relationship management, something young designer businesses are not known for.

For a best-in-class case study, would-be Contemporary players should talk to Wen Zhou and Phillip Lim, whose business is turning over more than $50m annually and was profitable from year one.

3. THE MARRIAGE OF SPORT AND FASHION

Yohji Yamamoto and Zinedine Zidane | Source: Coutorture

A funny thing happens during the Spring collections in New York in September. The U.S. Open is held around the same time as fashion week, so a weary fashionista can catch the men’s final in between shows for a bit of a break from the fashion hullabaloo. This year, after a brilliant Patrik Ervell show, followed rapidly thereafter by a beautiful Sophie Theallet show, I caught the U.S. Open men’s final and watched a young Argentinian beat the long-time incumbent, Roger Federer.

Sometimes you’ll even see Mr. Federer at a show in New York, sitting next to Anna Wintour, his number one fan. Not this year, however. Instead, Federer showed up in Milan to attend the Armani show with Ms. Wintour two weeks later.

Sports stars also appeared on the New York fashion runway itself. As if to further cement the relationship between Zinedine Zidane and Adidas, the French soccer star made a front-row appearance at the Y-3 show in some stylish red shoes and afterwards, proceeded to take penalty shots with Yohji Yamamoto, with a paparazzo playing goalie.

It left a smile on everybody’s face.

4.WHITE KNIGHTS

Dita von Teese in Christian Lacroix for Russian Harpers Bazaar | Source: Just Jared

Towards the end of Paris Fashion Week, I spotted Christian Lacroix with a noticeable spring in his step, as he bounded towards his waiting car. A few days later, a rumoured investment from an Emirati sheikh was confirmed by Lacroix, guaranteeing, at least for now, the future of the company he has built since 1987.

Yohji Yamamoto also found a white knight to call his own. Simultaneously while announcing that his company had filed for bankruptcy protection, officials at Yohji Yamamoto in Japan confirmed that Integral Capital stepped in to help the widely-respected designer make it through slumping sales in its home market. But investment does not come for free. Yamamoto is now a minority shareholder in his business.

And finally, the Italian press was rife with rumours that another white knight, this time in the form of Indian steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, would come in to save another troubled fashion business, Gianfranco Ferre. This has yet to be confirmed. But as they say, two times is a coincidence, three times is a trend. Stay tuned.

5. FASHION FILM’S FIRST STAR

Fashion films made multiple appearances during the Spring/Summer 2010 collections. Gareth Pugh’s four-sided film cube installation in New York gave away little of the grey-hued modern luxe collection he showed in Paris, but it was a clear demonstration of the vibrancy of technological creativity erupting in London’s East End, changing the face of fashion communication forever.

The undoubted fashion event of the season saw Alexander McQueen blow everyone away with a spectacle that combined fashion, film and music, disseminated widely and rapidly across the Internet, crashing the SHOWStudio site which streamed McQueen’s show live from Paris. Louis Vuitton and Burberry also streamed their shows, but on the more mass market Facebook site.

The Paris collections closed with the A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival, presented by Diane Pernet, with a jury chaired by Rick Owens. Amongst the honorees was Ruth Hogben, Gareth Pugh’s longtime film collaborator. I caught up with Ruth outside the SHOWStudio Fashion Revolution launch in London, where she told me a bit about her burgeoning client list including Topshop and others.

It looks like Ms. Hogben has become the go-to girl for fashion films. And, if this season was any indication, her talent will be in high demand for some time yet. She is certainly fashion film’s first bonafide star.

6. BEING TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL ISN’T COOL

Mary Ping Installation Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Mary Ping

This New York Fashion Week felt different. Julie Gilhart summed up the mood: “Being too cool for school isn’t cool,” she told me over tea.

Although the schedule was absolutely packed, the overall mood was definitely more low key. Indeed, at Mary Ping’s intimate event entitled “Slow and Steady Wins the Race,” the emphasis was on bringing together a creative community to celebrate “slow fashion” in a thoughtful, considered way. In comparison, the super high-octane shows and presentations, chock-full with celebrities and paparazzi, felt a bit out of tune with the times.

In the evenings, a torrent of small dinners were organised. These turned out to be the best way to really get to know new people. For example, at Nadja Swarovski’s dinner in honour of Atelier Swarovski’s jewelry line designed by Zaha Hadid, I met former Louis Vuitton shoe designer Michael Lewis, whose fledgling eponymous business is making waves. Great dinner companions magically make fashion week stress disappear at the end of a long day.

7. NEW VENUES DEBUT

London Fashion Week at Somerset House | Source: BFC

It was “all change” at London Fashion Week, which debuted its brilliant new location at Somerset House, creating a real buzz and community around fashion week events that was never possible at the Natural History Museum or Battersea, LFW’s previous homes.

Between shows and presentations that made full use of the historic building, including a subterranean Fashion East show, bloggers and curious onlookers mixed with models and media hordes looking to capture the odd celebrity. Only one complaint: why erect a big, black tent in the middle of the courtyard when everything else is such a beautiful off-white?

In New York, there was also a new venue on the scene. I spent more time at Milk Studios than at any of the other longstanding show locations. The energy created by bringing the city’s hottest young designers – Proenza Schouler and Joseph Altuzarra among them – into one space, day after day, made this the hottest venue in town.

At a dinner celebrating Gareth Pugh’s film installation in the Studios’ loading docks, Estee Lauder’s John Dempsey, who sponsored the space through the company’s MAC make-up brand, said he was very pleased with the results. Looks like there will be more from MAC at Milk Studios in seasons to come.

8. COSTUME JEWELRY JUNKET

Donna Karan and Lanvin Costume Jewellery | Source: Donna Karan and Style.com

Of course, there is much fashion attention placed on designer shoes these days, but many smart fashion businesses are also focusing on costume jewellery, designed to add pizazz to fashion basics.

The true master of this growing segment is Alber Elbaz, whose stunning Lanvin show left editors with a high that lasted well beyond fashion week. Most of all, everyone seems to want Elbaz’s colourful, intricate jewelry. Colorful and covetable jewellery concoctions also appeared at Dries van Noten.

Another favourite was an ultracool Donna Karan necklace in plated gold, incorporating larger-than-life sabre tooth shaped pendants balanced against layer upon layer of fine gold chains.

The costume jewellery trend may just be taking off, but if the “must have-it” urges of editors are anything to go by, it is here to stay.

9. SIZE WARS

Somewhat predictably, the size wars erupted again this season, but this time for different reasons.

When Mark Fast decided to send plus-sized models down his runway, a scandal erupted when Fast’s erstwhile stylist, Erika Kurihara, was asked to leave. Since then, the whole thing has turned into a ‘He said, she said’ debacle, with Fast claiming that Kurihara would not work with the size 14 models and Kurihara saying that she simply did not think they were professional enough. Either way, the scandal raised Fast’s profile immeasurably, with major news outlets including CNN and the BBC covering the story.

For Ralph Lauren, the news was not so good. When an almost alien-like Photoshopped image of a model sporting the American designer’s Blue Label collection was posted on the internet, a firestorm of criticism forced the company to acknowledge that it had erred in its judgment, even after attempting to quash the publishing of the photos which were spreading around the internet like wildfire.

Since then, a second Ralph Lauren image of a seemingly emaciated model has emerged. The designer’s reputation as the icon of American fashion has been tarnished. To wit, a Google search of ‘Ralph Lauren” and ‘Photoshop’ returns 344,000 results. What’s worse, a search of just “Ralph Lauren” now serves up at least three articles referencing the “Photoshop disaster” on the first page of results.

Brands beware: the Internet never forgets.

10. TWITTER FATIGUE

Alexander McQueen tweet after SHOWStudio crashed | Source: Twitter

Last season, editors tweeted en masse from their front row seats, adding a new energy to the fashion week media buzz. But this time around, all the tweeting seemed a bit stale and repetitive. Over and over again, we read the same reports of celebrities in the front row (usually something to do with Rihanna or Lady Gaga) and hot parties and events. Next season, editors should look to find their own Twitter voice that attracts interest, as opposed to joining the repetitive chatter and noise.

Some sites, including Fashion Tweek and Style.com’s The Fashion Feed attempted to address this by creating a curated list of the best fashion twitterers. Unfortunately, it seems there are are so many tweets on a given day (and some prolific twitters whose sheer volume of tweets just drowns out everyone else) that even this kind of editing is not enough. Rather, we a partial to the approach of Refinery29′s Twitter Troll, which edits the most interesting tweets of the day the old fashion way: manual intervention.

But, by far the best addition to the fashion week Twitter frenzy was from the man himself, Alexander McQueen. His regular (but not overwhelming) 140 character reports from pre-show prep to the post-show aftermath gave fans a view into the mad creativity and sheer effort that goes into creating a McQueen show. We hope to hear directly from more designers in seasons to come. It’s a great way to bypass the media and PR babble and communicate directly with a brand’s biggest fans.

Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion

Gareth Pugh Spring Summer 2010 Film Installation

NEW YORK, United States — In recent seasons, digital fashion film has been gaining momentum as an emotionally charged and cost-effective presentation format. But this season is the first time designers have started using film in a way that tightly complements their runway shows and lets them extend their presence across multiple fashion weeks, in different geographic markets.

Yesterday evening, English enfant terrible Gareth Pugh, who has been showing in Paris for the last two seasons, established his first presence at New York Fashion Week by showing not one, but four short films. Created in collaboration with fashion filmmaker Ruth Hogben, the films set the tone and outlined the inspirations for Pugh’s upcoming Spring Summer 2010 collection to be unveiled on the Paris catwalks in early October.

After speaking with Ruth about her previous films for Gareth, I was especially excited to see what the two had dreamt up. Their stunning installation did not disappoint.

Inspired by the four elements – earth, water, wind and fire – the four films were presented on four sides of a monolithic cube designed by Simon Costin. Accompanied by a soundtrack by Matthew Stone that was at once futuristic and medieval, the cube sat in the darkened loading dock at Milk Studios, before editors including Suzy Menkes and Jefferson Hack, looking like it had landed from somewhere far away, carrying the elemental essence of Mr. Pugh’s forthcoming collection with it.

Mr. Pugh hasn’t been the only one experimenting with fashion film this week. Having relocated his men’s runway show to Paris this past June, CFDA award-winning designer Tim Hamilton staged a film screening over the weekend in New York, high above the city on the 22nd floor of the historic Art Deco AT&T building in Tribeca.

Rope and Climb, two simple but evocative films created in collaboration with contemporary artist and photographer Collier Schorr, brought pieces from Hamilton’s Spring Summer 2010 men’s collection to life for the assembled editors and buyers, giving the brand a continued presence at New York Fashion Week and proving that digital films can conjur and extend the energy and emotion of a collection as both prequels or sequels.

Vikram Alexei Kansara is a digital strategist and writer based in New York.

Watch in High Quality at SHOWstudio.com

LONDON, United Kingdom — Digital fashion film has gained real momentum over the last couple of seasons. Using sound and movement to communicate fashion in a way that’s emotionally charged, cost-effective and easily distributed, the format has been adopted for online editorial and fashion week presentations alike. But it’s important to remember that new formats are only as successful as the image-makers and stylists who embrace and sustain them with their creativity.

Over the last year, on the strength of two breakthrough films for Gareth Pugh, London-based Ruth Hogben has emerged as one of the most influential and passionate young filmmakers working in fashion film today. It’s a genre she helped to pioneer while assisting Nick Knight between 2005 and February 2009, both as his first photographic assistant and editor of his fashion film projects for SHOWstudio.

With her third major film — a short for Christopher Kane’s highly anticipated new Topshop collection — due to launch during London Fashion Week, BoF recently caught up with Ruth to talk about her first experiments in film, the power of sound and movement, balancing concept with clothes, the importance of the internet, and her hopes for the future of fashion film.

BoF: Let’s start at the beginning. When did you first start experimenting with fashion film?

At the very beginning of my work with Nick Knight, I spent about two days writing down timecodes for a project on SHOWstudio. It was called Editing Fashion and it was basically about 8 hours of footage sent out to different editors. There was a porn editor, a wildlife editor, a Hollywood director. It just opened my eyes and I thought: “This is such an exciting medium!”

Nick used to film everything for copyright reasons and for his archives. And one day, I picked up a video camera and started filming beside him. The very first film I made was called Beasting. It was with Simon Foxton and John Galliano’s A/W ’07 menswear collection. I had half a day with an editor, teaching me how to use Final Cut Pro, and I’ve just been working at it and trying to embrace my mistakes ever since. I started out wanting to do photography, but at the end of two years, I realized I’d been spending every single evening and all weekend shooting and editing films.

BoF: How did you move from documenting photo shoots to making your own films?

I guess I was always frustrated shooting on the side of Nick’s shot because you don’t get somebody looking down your lens, they’re always looking at the side of the lens. But we did Hussein Chalayan’s show about four or five seasons ago, and we did something for Bernhard Willhelm. It all felt really exciting at the time and we were learning quite a lot. We did lots of stuff on SHOWstudio like 24 with YSL.

But the first time I felt that I was actually able to understand the medium properly was when I did the films for Gareth Pugh. “Insensate“ was a film that I made with Nick on a Dazed & Confused shoot with Gareth. When I first started thinking seriously about fashion film, the only thing in my head was Gareth’s clothes.

BoF: Your films for Gareth are stunning. “Insensate,” as you mentioned, accompanied the cover shoot for Dazed & Confused’s October 2008 issue, while your second film screened during his Autumn/Winter 2009 presentation in Paris. What’s the difference between creating a film for editorial and a film for a fashion week presentation?

The pressure is very different! I spent about three months on the “Insensate” film, while I spent five days on the presentation. You have to wait until the clothes are ready, so I shot it in a day and edited it in four days. The difference is the adrenaline and the pressure, like “I’ve got to get this finished and there’s going to be Suzy Menkes watching this and hating that it’s a film!”

That’s the thing you’re up against. You’re removing your audience from the clothing. Unless the clothes have dimension like Gareth’s that let you use film to your advantage. You wouldn’t have been able to see that balloon ladybird coat as well on the catwalk. It worked really well on film. But to show a film is not easy. The journalists and the editors and the stylists, they all want to see the movement, the textures, the colours. So I think it was quite brave of Gareth.

BoF: It must be quite difficult capturing detail and texture. What are the challenges of communicating clothing on film?

When I start to do a film, it’s always led by the clothes. As you say, the challenge is textures and making the right movement for the right piece of clothing. If you’ve got something really strong and solid in front of you then it’s got to be a very different movement and direction to what you’d do if you have a see-through dress. Just like a fashion photograph, everything is led by shape, movement, style and the woman inside the dress.

BoF: Some fashion films are more like moving photos that really focus on the clothes, while others are more narrative and focus on communicating a more abstract concept or mood. Where on the spectrum do you think fashion films are most successful?

I think the most successful films, just like the most successful photographs, are the ones that are from someone’s heart and are passionate and understanding. Film is such a vast medium. But for me, I like the idea of a fashion film being like a picture, but moving.

You can have a film that has a story and words. But I like the idea of it being more about the clothes and more about the motion. But it’s quite hard to know. One day I might want to do scripts!

BoF: How does shooting movement and sound impact your approach to casting? Have you ever considered using dancers or other types of performers instead of models?

If it was right for the clothes and the film. But if you get to work with someone like Lily Donaldson or one of the other great models, their hands and feet and legs and arms: it’s elegance from start to finish.

When you’re watching Lily on the side of a Vogue shoot, when she’s not in front of the camera for stills, she’s just absolutely incredible. It’s complete performance. If you’ve got a great model, the movement in between positions is what you use for the film and it’s going to be exquisite.

I think fashion films are really exciting for the new young models, because they’re the generation that are on the internet and are looking at clothes online and it’s not just stills anymore. They’re the ones sharing stuff on Twitter and YouTube. So it’s exciting for them to know that their shoot is part of a whole new fresh medium.

BoF: Of course, moving images have been around since the late 19^th century. What do you think makes “fashion film” a new medium? What role has the internet played in its development?

There’s been a lot of experimentation over the years. There are loads of experimental films by fashion photographers like Guy Bourdin. But he didn’t really have a platform. Basically in the past, companies haven’t been able to afford to put these types of films on cinema screens or they haven’t always been able to afford TV advertising.

But now, because of the internet and because of places like SHOWstudio and Style.com, there’s a platform. Net-a-Porter are playing films now! Everybody’s just sort of realizing that it doesn’t have to be still and I think people are realizing how incredibly powerful that is.

BoF: People sometimes draw parallels between fashion films and music videos. Do you think there is potential for crossover between the two?

The difference is, what should lead a music video is the lyrics and the music and the beat, while the lead for a fashion film is the clothes. I’m not sure I’d like it if the genres ever crossed. I’d like to think that fashion film is strong enough not to look like music video, and not to look like anything else but it’s own genre.

I also think it’s really important that whoever is filming or editing a fashion film actually understands what a pencil skirt means to a woman, or what ankle socks communicate. All those little things.

BoF: What is the future of fashion film, for your work and as a medium?

I think everybody is still learning how to make a good fashion film and what it means to make a fashion film. I’m spending all my time and energy making fashion films. So I hope as a medium it blossoms into its own niche in the market.

If you’re making an 8 minute film, then somebody’s actually got to be quite interested. It’s not as immediate as a photograph you can digest in 2.4 seconds. But if it’s made the right way, the communication can be really powerful.

I’d like to make my films about equality and women being powerful and intelligent and not always just being sexual. You put movement and music to something and it’s got so many different facets and layers to it, that what you’re saying almost has to be deeper. It’s got more depth to it. You can say so much more with 30 seconds than you can in a single frame.

Vikram Alexei Kansara is a digital strategist and writer based in New York.