With the menswear shows behind us, we revisit our trio of RISE fashion films. Here's Zoe Hitchen and Green's collaborative effort
To celebrate the inaugural London Collections: Men, Dazed Digital invited filmmakers to produce fashion films for a trio of the most talented and upcoming designers in London. Honouring both the creative trait of moving images and the Dazed DNA of supporting new talent, RISE Menswear S/S13 saw Alex Mullins team up with Alex Sainsbury, Claire Barrow film with Fumi Nagasaka and a collaboration between Craig Green with Zoe Hitchen. Now, once the dusted has settled and this season's menswear shows are over, we look back at the three films and talk to the designers about their journey, the collection and their films...
I was fascinated by out of the ordinary British tradition and the effigy of Guy Fawkes
Dazed Digital: What have you been up to since graduating in Feb?
Craig Green: I've been given the opportunity to show my new collection with Fashion East in their menswear installation. So other than being busy with this I've been working on a few projects for other people.
DD: What you want your work to be appreciated for?
Craig Green: I hope it would be appreciated for its strong visual impact with an importance on adventure and fantasy, as well as having well considered and accessible clothing.
DD: Tell us about the inspiration for S/S 2013.
Craig Green: I was fascinated by out of the ordinary British tradition and the effigy of Guy Fawkes. I focused a lot on the potentials within various fabrics, concentrating on developing fabrication techniques and unusual finishing methods. Treating each of the garments as a separate D.I.Y project in a way, I aimed to give the collection a minimal feeling with well-considered accessible pieces.
DD: What was the direction for the film you created with Zoe Hitchen?
Craig Green: The film was of my MA collection and from the outset we wanted to make something that tried to stay away from a lot of traditional ideas of fashion film, in an attempt to make something that was just about strong colour, light and movement. The inspiration was taken from the ideas of light and dark, and the use of colour and light projections within the collection.
DD: How did you find the overall experience?
Craig Green: Film isn't something that I was very familiar with using within my work. It was very exciting to explore this medium with someone like Zoe who is very experienced and professional within her trade. The turn around was very short but we had a great team and I think we managed to make something great. I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to explore film within my work.
DD: Why you think London is ready for a full menswear week?
Craig Green: The progress and growth of menswear in London has been very rapid in a relatively short period, which is very exciting to see. I think it’s great that menswear has the chance to stand alone here.
Film by Zoe Hitchen
Watch Alex Mullins' film HERE and Claire Barrow's HERE. More info on the project HERE