Woken from an icy sleep, a primitive - Encino woman if you will - wanders atop a snow peaked mountain, her zombie daze invoked by an eternity spent comatose in some glacial bed. Called forth by a distant cry, she emerges from her isolated tomb, delivered to the lonely roads and forest beds adorning the mountain. Wandering, wondering; not so much searching as she is aimless, her haunting presence reminds me of something lost and beautiful; a marriage of nature’s unforgiving landscapes and our attempts to fit within them and camouflage ourselves against these arresting, ancient environments with our fabricated skins.
This is my story at least. Carly Hunter tells me the story behind her video collaboration with Alex Goddard is a ‘chose your own adventure’ ordeal - and I’ve let my imagination run wild with it. So beautiful is this portrayal of the Australian landscape, the enigmatic nomad and Carly Hunter’s A/W11 collection, that for fleeting moments in the video I’ve either felt my spine tingle or yearned that I too could traverse such isolated roads and embrace whatever primordial magic makes Australia so gloriously mysterious (because, unlike most western civilizations, our culture fits within an achingly brief niche of time - what came before, how many million years of histories we are still unaware of, is compellingly intriguing).
Forgive my digression - I was lucky enough to talk to both Carly and Alex about their amazing collaboration, and have both of these emerging Australian artists shed some light on their joint production and what we can look forward to seeing next…
The first thing that struck me about the video was the isolation - it reminded me a lot of Cormack McCarthy’s ‘The Road’. What was the inspiration for the video and how did the landscape inform the film?
Carly: The collection was based on the theme of human hibernation and warmth and being wrapped up, so of course what better place to take it than to the top of a freezing cold mountain! Alex and I were thinking about films like Gus Van Sant's Jerry and Last Days where there are these characters just wandering around beautiful environments like they are lost or exploring, and capturing these very long shots of them. The landscape was a major inspiration for the film, there was so much fog and rain and we were the only ones up there, so it's quite dark and lonely and I think you even feel cold watching it, or at least get shivers.
So what’s the story behind this lone girl wandering on such an icy, lonely backdrop? Who is she, where did she come from and where is she going?
Carly: She is no one and she comes from nowhere. She’s just a girl, walking around in the rain on top of a mountain! The story is up to the viewer to decide, a kind of 'choose your own adventure'.
What is the relationship between your AW collection and the haunting mood invoked in the film?
Carly: I was reading up on human hibernation, how people in very cold climates can get themselves into a trance-like state where they can sleep for days to preserve their energy and body temperatures. So we wanted the model to look like she was sleepwalking or stuck in a dream but to also look a bit animalistic and raw. But I also think the landscape and the music evokes that haunting element.
Your ranges are always quite directional but remain distinctly Australian - how do you maintain this delicate balance in an industry that normally demands practicality/comfort above design?
Carly: Hmmm I’ve never really thought about this ...maybe that’s why? I do pay attention to what my friends wear and what I would wear and try to think about this when I design, but now in Australia I think more people want to be wearing something different and more fashion forward, so designers can let their imaginations go. I guess I keep the balance by keeping some classic shapes in there and distorting the rest.
I’m always so excited to see your work- what have you got up your sleeve next?
Carly: My gosh, I’m working on the Summer 2012 collection now... I always let music affect my designs and I’ve had U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' stuck in my head for a while so who knows what could happen!
Tell us about working with Carly- how did the two of you embark on the creative process and what challenges did you face?
Alex: I loved working with Carly, we have the same aesthetic outlook on things so when she mentioned filming in snow, I jumped at the chance. That said, the snow was a bit tricky to film in. When we first arrived we shot in the deep forest (featured at end of film) and we were a bit stuck on how we were going to continue in those conditions. Suddenly we came across this deserted circular carpark that was a location scouter's dream. We repeated the shots using this space until Courtney, the model, froze to death.
What was your inspiration when making the film (other than Carly and her wonderful collection of course!
Alex: I had invisioned a nice simple dark and eerie film, I like the idea of the audience as unaware of and (hopefully) intrigued by where she was walking to. We did tracking shots similar to the style Gus Van Sant uses. I would of been happy to do it just in one take, but as it is a lookbook after all, we had to feature an array of Carly's pieces.
How did the soundtrack develop and what did you have in mind when it came together with the visual?
Alex: Kane Ikin did the score, the man is a genius, he is one half of Solo Andata who are one of my favourite bands at the moment. I only briefed him mildly on when tones should enter on certain shots... he took it away from there. In my view that guy made the film!
What other projects to you have on the horizon?
Currently in development for Spring Summer 2012 designer films and also about to start getting back into narrative drama. Just received funding for my second short film that begins filming early 2011 staring Tiah Eckhardt. Very excited to get back into storytelling. Need to take a bit of a break from fashion!