Diane Pernet
Q&A with the Fashion critic, Curator, Video Journalist, Founder of A Shaded View on Fashion Film
Legendary fashion critic, curator and video journalist Diane Pernet needs no introduction. A photographer and fashion designer in the 80s, as well as a documentary filmmaker and talent scout, she’s also the founder of the first ever fashion film festival. She has been a member of the BOF 500 since 2013 and is currently a member of the BOF Hall of Fame, reserved for those who have demonstrated sustained achievement over the course of their careers.
As a Curation Hour network member, we’ve had the pleasure to ask her some questions about her curatorial voice and the fashion brands that she considers most interesting in how they communicate with their audience.
A Shaded View on Fashion Film was set up in 2008. You are now in the 14th edition of the event. We definitely won’t be asking you for a definition of this genre, but we’d love to know how you have seen it develop and where you think it’s heading.
In 2006 I created my first fashion film festival. It was called You Wear it Well and it screened August 3rd at Cine Space on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles then travelled around the globe. It was the first film festival dedicated to fashion, beauty, and style on the planet. At that time, I spent a lot of time explaining what a fashion film was. Now, 16 years later there is not a single brand that does not believe in the power of a fashion film. I would say that is proof of the merit of fashion films. The forms that fashion films take and will take are varied; AR, VR, video games, Tik Tok are some of the paths for the future in both communication as well as their use in the retail sector.
What do you look for in a fashion film? What makes you tick? What does ASVOFF’s curatorial voice sound like?
Very diverse. Clearly the foundation of ASVOFF is to preserve, support and illuminate the artistic aura and perceptual uniqueness of independent voices in fashion and film. It has been the DNA of ASVOFF since its inception. What we look for is something that passes an emotion and has a reason to exist. What makes me tick personally is simple - instinct. There is no magic formula to hand out. The creator of the film needs a voice and if that voice is authentic, it will resonate with the jury. Diversity is also the foundation of an international festival and although it makes it difficult to compare apples with oranges, that is what is required of the international jury given the task of deciding which films get awarded in the main competition.
Do you feel that brands understand the potential of fashion film for their communication? In your opinion, who’s doing something interesting and staying relevant in how they communicate with their audience? Can you share some examples with us?
Most definitely brands understand the potential of fashion film, we can see that by the fact that they are all using fashion film to communicate the atmosphere of their brand. During COVID we could see how some brands were totally lost and others jumped on the opportunity to express themselves in ways that they had never considered before.
Two completely different brands that I find very successful are Balenciaga and KidSuper. One has a huge machine behind it that allows for the masterful result. That, of course, is Balenciaga but if Demna was not such a visionaire all the money in the world would mean nothing. The other is KidSuper - as an independent brand they were able to make an impact and we can see that in its development. Prada and Miu Miu have always made great films and took risks using directors that were less celebrated in the world of fashion, but gave a unique vision to their films.
Fashion films that resonate stay with us; they do not have a sell-out date. For instance, in ASVOFF 6 She Said, She Said by Stuart Blumberg still stays in my mind as an excellent fashion film storytelling for the brand CO. Had it not been for the film I might never have heard about the label. JUMPER was the grand prize winner of ASVOFF 7 when Dries Van Noten was President. In less than five minutes the story was perfectly articulated and the director Justin Anderson is now about to present his first feature film. Another director that was awarded at ASVOFF is Nadia Lee Cohen. She too is currently working on her first feature film. Demna, with his special episode of the Simpsons, was epic, as was his experiment in gaming and more recently re-creating The Lost Tape with Harmony Korine. KidSuper is as good at directing films as he is at designing. He won two awards at ASVOFF 13. Other brands that consistently make great films are Saint Laurent, GUCCI, Kenzo - Sean Baker won Best Film at ASVOFF 9 for Snowbird.
You’ve always been a great supporter of young talent. Who should we be following now? Who’s on your fashion film radar?
Many that I’ve mentioned above like Colm Dillane aka KidSuper, Nadia Lee Cohen, ASVOFF 13 Student Prize Sabrina Elman, Suzie & Leo, Akinola Davies, Jr., Thomas Gerard, Fiorella Pomarino who won the best Digital Fashion film, Ebeneza Blanche who won Best Black Spectrum award, Jordan Blady who won Grand Prize at ASVOFF 10 and already made his first feature film, Matt Lambert, Autumn de Wilde, Ivan Olita who I think makes the most interesting documentaries, Elisha Smith-Leverock, Mazdey Snob, Justin Ambrosino who made a film Hungry for Love that won Grand Prize at ASVOFF 8….the list goes on but perhaps that is enough for now?
ASVOFF is known for its outstanding jury, which has included names such Pam Hogg, Rick Owens, Michele Lamy, Dries Van Noten, Rossy de Palma and Jean Paul Gaultier. What can you tell us about the upcoming edition? How can we take part?
I’m very excited about the Jury for ASVOFF 14. We have Caroline de Maigret as President and Jean Charles de Castelbajac as President of Honour. Then the musician Jay-Jay Johanson, the artist Jose Levy, the influencer Hanan Besovic (better known as ideservecouture) - someone that truly makes me laugh and I think one of the freshest voices in that genre. But also Matthieu Orlean, Artistic Adviser in charge of temporary exhibitions at the Cinematheque Francaise (you probably know some of his exhibitions like David Lynch, Almodovar, etc.), Sara Driver, film director and actress and producer (we will screen her documentary on Jean Michel Basquiat at the opening), Laura Albert, the author and activist that is known for J T Leroy (a film was made about her starring Laura Dern as her and Kristen Stewart as J.T.). If we manage to bring her here from San Francisco, she will give a master class in writing. She wrote Elephant (2003) directed by Gus Van Sant and The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things directed by Asia Argento. Pam Hogg is on the jury again, as well as Andrew Taylor-Parr - Director of Visual Image for Comme des Garçons - and artist Romain Eugene Campens, Djeason Valerio and Lucien Heritier from 35/37, the editor Klaus Stockhausen and journalist Katia Kulawick Assante. There are also separate juries for Student Films: Cori Coppola, film producer and Miguel Villalobos, artist.
In addition, I selected a curator for the following themes: Amber Jae Slooten, co-founder of the Fabricant, who has the theme of Digital Fashion, Charles Daniel McDonald, who was given the theme of Animation, Giorgia Cantarini, Conscious Fashion, Camille Mervin-Leroy and Gemma A. Williams, Chinese Film, Melissa Alibo, Black Spectrum, Ivo Barraza Castaneda, TikTok and Alex Murray Leslie, Fashion Moves exploring artists and scientists on how fashion moves societal challenges. Each curator selects their own jury.
Submissions are open! Submit to ASVOFF by September 30th https://filmfreeway.com/ASVOFF