As Diane Pernet once mentioned: “what makes a good fashion film is exactly what makes any good film: direction, lighting, acting, script, sound” (Roberts, 2018, p. 8).More precisely, when delving deeper into the mechanisms of how fashion films function 20in terms of majorly contributing to the creation of a powerful brand and brand world, it is necessary to acknowledge the importance of the role of storytelling and serialization within fashion films.
This is because both of these elements, serve as extremely effective sources when it comes to building brand engagement (Soloaga & Guerero, 2016). In the previous section, fashion films were characterized as a seductive genre, and the establishment of a superb story is indeed the key to fruitfully seduce viewers as well as to engage them.
There are types of narrative choices in fashion films and they are essentially three. The first type is the “telling a story narrative”. This type of brand narrative predominantly focuses on visual identity and the symbolic and value concept, which will be discussed more in depth later on in this part, that assist in defining the brand’s experiential world. Also, the second type is based on the drawing of a personality whereby individuality represented through character protagonists takes precedence.
Finally, the third type is referred to as “the creating an atmosphere” narrative where the narration primarily focuses on the mood of this brand’ s world, which is a form of translation of the brand’s style through filmic codes (Buffo, 2017). Although it can be argued that there are distinguishable types of fashion films, for a lot of directors and brands working together, there is a strong consensus on the idea that all storytelling has to be able to follow a lucid classic narrative line.
After all, fashion films, especially the ones that exceed two minutes, will not have the ability to keep viewers hooked and engaged unless they have a captivating narrative in play (Soloaga & Guerero, 2016). Over and above that, it is a widespread fact that fashion films serve as brand identity building tools. What many people might perceive as just entertainment at first glance is actually a strategically engaging narrativization of the brand’s world, which is actually one of the greatest strengths of this communication tool (Buffo, 2017, p. 296).
Now, how does the narration sequence, affiliated with either type of fashion film narrative, engage the consumer in an experience from within the fashion film? First and foremost, narration is considered an interconnected process of accomplishing from one side an effective balance between functionality in alignment with the brand in question, and from the other side the curation of pleasure for the consumer.
Moreover, narration has to do with structured events in a sequence that make up a story. This story is told and communicated to thecustomer. Hence, storytelling constitutes a core part of fashion films, as the communicated story along with the imagery propels the consumer into an experiential brand dimension (Buffo, 2017).
Storytelling by definition, although the annotation does not only insinuate oral narration, was previously associated with folkloric narrations and famous stories, as a tool that is extensively exploited in branding (Fog, Budtz, Munch, & Blanchette, 2003, p. 28). In addition, storytelling is summarized in its ability to generally take the generational human characteristic which is narration and expand it in its own right to a broader marketing field.
There is a reason why an audience interacts and fondly indulges with a fashion film, and it is because this phenomenon goes back to the story behind it. According to Ricoeur (1996), human identity is built through the narration of our own story, and consequently, the coherent events of the narration result in the creation of a character’ s identity (Soloaga & Guerero 2016, p. 53).
In fact, this phenomenon applies exactly to the reality of how brands create a world of their distinct identity through storytelling. Besides, fashion film uses narrative to juxtapose clothing along with a creative story in a very precise manner that provides the audience with a multisensory experience that in due course has a real-life effect on the consumers extended experience of wearing the garment in real life.
I quote: “fiction enables fashion and fashion becomes fiction” (Wang & Juhlin, 2020, p.127). From another point of view, it is not just about the extent of the délire concocted in the tale being communicated in the fashion film, or even about the products of the brand behind the fashion film; in reality, it is rather about the function of narration which is the conveying of significance.
The whole equation of narration and significance gives meaning to a certain consumer identity, and when it comes to the consumption discipline, this equation is exactly what renders the act of buying meaningful to the customer.
In reality, the variety of chosen characters in different fashion films stand for something whether it is liberty, honor, or revenge as these are all values that lie underneath the stories and the world that the brand is proposing to the consumer and enticing them to get aboard on.
For example, Channel’s fashion films tend to incorporate a rebellion-based plot which is a value that was especially strongly emphasized in the late Karl Lagerfeld’s era. Another example, is Moncler’s “Don’t steal the jacket” fashion film which portrays children’ s innocence when stealing the jacket as a significant crime.
Some brands have internationally established values that are directly associated with them. More specifically, when the occurrence of branded content being communicated story along with the imagery propels the consumer into an experiential brand dimension (Buffo, 2017).
Storytelling by definition, although the annotation does not only insinuate oral narration, was previously associated with folkloric narrations and famous stories, as a tool that is extensively exploited in branding (Fog, Budtz, Munch, & Blanchette, 2003, p. 28).
In addition, storytelling is summarized in its ability to generally take the generational human characteristic which is narration and expand it in its own right to a broader marketing field.
There is a reason why an audience interacts and fondly indulges with a fashion film, and it is because this phenomenon goes back to the story behind it. According to Ricoeur (1996), human identity is built through the narration of our own story, and consequently, the coherent events of the narration result in the creation of a character’ s identity (Soloaga & Guerero 2016, p. 53).
In fact, this phenomenon applies exactly to the reality of how brands create a world of their distinct identity through storytelling.
Besides, fashion film uses narrative to juxtapose clothing along with a creative story in a very precise manner that provides the audience with a multisensory experience that in due course has a real-life effect on the consumers extended experience of wearing the garment in real life.
I quote: “fiction enables fashion and fashion becomes fiction” (Wang & Juhlin, 2020, p.127).
From another point of view, it is not just about the extent of the délire concocted in the tale being communicated in the fashion film, or even about the products of the brand behind the fashion film; in reality, it is rather about the function of narration which is the conveying of significance.
The whole equation of narration and significance gives meaning to a certain consumer identity, and when it comes to the consumption discipline, this equation is exactly what renders the act of buying meaningful to the customer.
In reality, the variety of chosen characters in different fashion films stand for something whether it is liberty, honor, or revenge as these are all values that lie underneath the stories and the world that the brand is proposing to the consumer and enticing them to get aboard on.
For example, Channel’ s fashion films tend to incorporate a rebellion-based plot which is a value that was especially strongly emphasized in the late Karl Lagerfeld’ s era. Another example, is Moncler’ s “Don’t steal the jacket” fashion film which portrays children’ s innocence when stealing the jacket as a significant crime.
Some brands have internationally established values that are directly associated with them.
More specifically, when the occurrence of branded content being often featured through storytelling is considered, it is significant to recognize that these precise values divulged in the fashion films, and not even slightly the products, to become yet another character in the fashion film plot and part of the brand’ s world experience (Soloaga & Guerero, 2016).
The innovative creation within a fashion film is also equally a mesh between the author’ s symbolic value signaling as well as the brand’ s commercial clout (Roberts,2018, p. 8).
Nonetheless, when addressing storytelling from a point of view of engagement with the audience and the ability to reach the customer, it is also important to consider environmental context in addition to the previous attributes discussed.
To clarify, it is the spatial contrast that reinforces the distinctive power of fashion films in contrast with a simple fashion editorial, as it is the structure of the narrative film that uncovers throughout the tension between the opposing visual imagery, language of style, and drama (Roberts, 2018, p. 8).
Fashion films are all about creating an alluring world that the customer will associate with a certain brand, and the key to properly accomplishing this is understanding that fashion films speak to individual’ s aspirational experiences, rather than portraying who they “really” are (Wang & Juhlin, 2020).
What’ s more when companies are constructing their brand that entails a unique universe to it, they partner up with film directors to make artistic collaborations that will allow the brand to shore up its luxury placement to project a certain aura of immaterial timelessness (Roberts, 2018, p. 8).
For instance, fashion film series such as Lady Dior , which entails a number of fashion films that belong to a fashion film series released by the brand, which is in this case Dior, do not only entail the creation of a world that represents homage to the muse, which is in this case Lady Diana and the values she stood for, but they are also communicated to the audience through a very detailed and gradually thickening plot line that creates a certain state of limbo suspense and leaves the consumer engaged, captivated , and eager for the upcoming episode release (Soloaga & Guerero, 2016).
Another example of a brand series is the tales of Miu Miu ’ s “Women Tales” series which are premiered and awaited yearly at the Venice Film Festival. In addition to their engaging suspenseful nature, they project a value of empowering women and are purposely generally produced by phenomenal female directors (Roberts, 2018).
Consequently, in reality people do not buy brands, they buy into the archetypes symbolized by the brand and into the brand world itself; thus, the momentous of the narrative communication form is its ability to stir up emotional engagement and attachment with the brand’ s attested or invented histories.
Moreover, this phenomenon elucidates the reason for why the lure of the narrative cinema is still so used for branding by fashion houses and seen as mighty for the discursive economy of designer brands, and this is due to the fact that this form of intrinsically two-way communication channel and engagement with the audience actually represents a dynamic means of experimentation with the moving image and experience creation through this type of visual storytelling within a promotional context (Roberts, 2018, p. 8).
The commercial point of the film is to sell the brand’ s lifestyle through organizing an experience for the consumer (Roberts, 2018).
Overall, digital platform branding is concentrated on maintaining a continuance of communication potency to sizeable audiences in order to preserve the desire of distinction through the knowledge its spreading about itself via its content.
And of course, the greater the buzz around a brand, the more viewers it attracts; and when using tools such as fashion films, the ability of a brand to immerse its consumers into its brand universe through storytelling in its fashion film gives birth to a generation of professional brand connoisseurs (Soloaga & Guerero, 2016).
As a matter of fact, in a digitally savvy world, the use of storytelling in order to create an experience is becoming something more.
Although luxury fashion brands such as Hermes, Channel, and Dior have been recognized to be at the helm of the production of visual narrative since early 2000s, other less international brands such as Scotch & Soda and COS have started not so long ago to produce and share their very own creative fashion films.
Jason Denham the founder of the brand “Denham”, which is yet another upcoming brand that recently started to engage in the production of fashion films, stated, while talking about this communication tool, and I quote: “These short films are our slightly absurd way of exploring our inner denim demons” (Hendriskez, 2015).
Fashion films are something more because the branding strategy behind these creative narratives is proving to contribute to a very woke and sensible acknowledgment of the power of the reach of brand resonances in relation to an authentic brand narrative (Van Loggerenberg et al., 2018).
In 2014, Arie Weiss, a Cannes juror for the branded content and entertainment category of 2014, expressed verbatim: “We can never forget that at the end of the day it’s all about that one thing: human connection” (as cited in Van Loggerenberg et al., 2018).
Undeniably, branded content is a thriving online method of mixing advertisement and entertainment for the sole aim of provoking an emotional connection with a sensible and real potential client.
In truth, a narrative is a portrayal or manifestation of a particular story, rather than the story itself, i.e., the entirety of the creative content is about way more than the story itself (Mills, 2015, as cited in Van Loggerenberg et al., 2018).
Therefore, the authentic narrative, which is gunning for brand resonance in consumers, not only behooves to embody the brand, but it also ought to adhere to the inherited properties that should be found in brand narratives because the brand’ s aim should be to institute a powerful emotional connection with the target audience and consequently elicit lasting customer engagement (Dahlén, Lange, and Smith 2010, as cited in Van Loggerenberg et al., 2018).
Brands invite us to their lifestyle, and they use the medium of film in order to create a certain level of immersion in the fashion moving image.
Also, fashion films draw on the full range of senses in order to propose possible soundscapes for fashion through the story they are communicating to us (Roberts, 2018).
Actually, fashion films open fashion to a dimension of experiential complexity (Uhlirova, 2013).
Lastly, in a digital world where consumers are constantly bombarded with a massive amount of information and product proposals, brands are very easily subject to intense public scrutiny as well as they are potentially becoming invisible in a sea of knowledge and an assortment of trademarked sellers.
For these reasons, brands feel the heat even more to reinforce their core identity values, and they have found in the narrative communication format of fashion films an effective way of transmitting these core values and positioning themselves well.
On top of that, storytelling is an incredibly fitting tool that can influence viewers who watch these fashion films voluntarily and thus do not perceive this form of communication as intrusive or pushy like the traditional types of media (Soloaga & Guerero, 2016).
Storytelling used in branding aims to create an experience for its consumers, and this experience is the depiction of a potent story that reinforces brand resonance through appealing to the consumer and then inviting them to join the brand’ s world.
However, credibility and sincerity play focal roles in establishing resonance (Keller, 2013, as cited in Van Loggerenberg et al., 2018).
Therefore, the more authentic the narrative storyline used, the more influential and enjoyable the generated experience.
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