As part of Miu Miu’s latest advertising campaign, a new short film invites us to get closer – but not too close – to its insouciant new girl gang
Steve Mackey, the ex-bassist of 1990s Britpop band Pulp, Douglas Hart – one-time member of The Jesus and Mary Chain – and Jeanette Lee, notable for her stint in post-punk ensemble Public Image Ltd., collectively operate under the moniker Call This Number. Together, they produce an analogue music show from the basement of a Central London building, broadcasting lo-fi live streams that reject the plasticised nature of the contemporary digital landscape. It is fitting, then, that Miuccia Prada – a woman also known for doing things her own way – entrust the trio with producing the second part of Miu Miu’s latest campaign: a film, a series of 15 short clips chronicling the equally insouciant nature of the brand’s A/W18 girl gang.
Originating as a test shoot, the resulting campaign is distinctly Warholian in its aesthetic. Filmed on a 1970s Sony Portapak (a piece of equipment favoured by the late-Pop Artist), and titled Other Conversations, it invites us to get a little closer – but not too close – to the rebellious youths we saw on this season’s runway; replete with their towering Ronnie Spector-esque beehives, kohl-rimmed eyes and bolshie attitudes. Starring sisters Adwoa and Kesewa Aboah, Georgia May Jagger, Ariel Nicholson, Zoe Thaets and Harriet Verney, each is dressed in the Cookie Mueller-inspired clothes – another contemporary of Warhol’s – amalgamated by Katie Grand. In addition, there are four actresses added into the mix: Rowan Blanchard, Gwendoline Christie, Elle Fanning and emerging star Raffey Cassidy, each playing up to the familiarity of the camera’s lens, as a voiceover with an American twang recalls the merits of various hairstyles over a crackling phone line. “They are in control of their wardrobe because they are in control of their lives,” Miu Miu explains – ushering in a new, punk-spirited age for the brand.
