You may not have heard of him, but you’ve definitely seen Andy Hines’ work. His are the videos that accompany works by Kanye and Big Sean, bringing their lyrical geniuses to life. The director has since worked on a collusion between fashion and music in collaboration with Marcelo Burlon, whose streetwear brand County of Milan focuses on minimal styles mixed with graphic prints.
The film, first showcased at the Milan Fashion Film Festival, is titled ‘County of Los Angeles’ and is the visual interpretation of County of Milan’s AW17 collection – though don’t be surprised if your eye isn’t drawn to the clothes. “Marcelo wanted to downplay the clothing and focus more on the atmosphere – I couldn't have agreed more,” Hines tells us of his creative process with the designer. “County of Milan is the only clothing we see, so it can fall into the background and let the characters step forward into the story.” The narrative slowly materialises itself through the help of a gang of street-cast models styled by Ilaria Norsa, who flirting with danger and exploring the urban landscape of East L.A.
Hines, who takes cues from the work of Helmut Newton, Martin Parr and Philip-Lorca diCorcia, does not consider his style to be typical of his contemporaries. “Music videos pander to a "crash bang" ideology of slamming whatever ‘looks good’ together into a mixed media mash-up of meaningless imagery,” he confides, painting more of a picture of how he creates such atmospheric work. “My approach to this project was to create something new and different we haven't seen before. I wanted to make something that feels like a part of a larger narrative.”
Watch the video exclusively below.
