AnOther speak to Vincent van de Wijngaard about his recent work for AnOther Magazine and 3.1 Phillip Lim
White leather skirts, raw-seams, sweatshirts embroidered in furling swirls: 3.1 Phillip Lim’s new campaign by Vincent van de Wijngaard and styled by Nancy Rohde, captures the monochromatic landscapes, rock formations and sense of exploration that inspired the S/S14 collection. The film, entitled A Mirror’s Edge was shot over two days in Cape Town, across various stretches of vast white sand, rock bays and historic remains. Dutch model Anna De Rijk wanders through the dessert wilderness and floats languidly over glittering reefs, ending on the tip of a boulder holding a mirror out to sea.
The serenity and quiet ruins permeated throughout the film are also apparant in Wijngaard’s collection story for AnOther styled by Cathy Edwards, shot in Dungeness using another Dutch model, Saskia de Brauw. The story denotes the spirit of fearless youth which runs throughout the issue. Here, AnOther speaks with Wijngaard and Edwards about both shoots, and what it means to be fearless.
What is the story being told in the film?
Vincent van de Wijngaard: The essence of the campaign is freedom. For me, it’s also about quietness and escapism.
How would you describe the mood of the film?
VW: The film is quite serene but also has a sense of expectation, discovery and a certain melancholy to it.
"The essence of the campaign is freedom. For me, it’s also about quietness and escapism"
What inspired the location?
VW: The film was shot on location just outside of Cape Town in a place called Atlantis. We were looking for a diversity of locations that inspired us. I am fascinated by deserts or desert-like places. The light was just incredible.
What inspired the collection story in the new issue of AnOther?
VW: We shot in Dungeness – it’s just fascinating, in a way also a kind of desert. There is a strangeness to the place that I love.
Cathy Edwards: We were inspired by the issue theme and wanted to shoot a character who seemed free and spirited in her environment. The fashion always had a feeling of sport or ease even if it was just a trainer worn with a traditional evening look. I was very inspired by collections this season like Céline and Kenzo that mixed sport, and in particular sport footwear, with high fashion garments. I think in these collections you get that youth culture inspiration, skateboarding etc, which feels exciting and fearless. Saskia was also a great character for this. She braved -2 degrees centrigrade weather in Dungeness. Truly fearless!
The theme of the issue is the spirit and fearlessness of youth. Can you recall a time when you were at your most fearless?
VW: If I'm honest, I think I am as fearless now as I was back then. But in a way, between my 25th and 35th birthday I travelled a lot without thinking too much about the dangers that were occasionally involved in some very unsafe areas I travelled to. In any case, I think it’s very important for me to keep the investigative spirit, which is in the heart of my images.
CE: I think I was most fearless at around 14/15. Just before you start to understand the consequences of your actions. However the most fearless thing I've probably ever done was in adulthood on my first ever AnOther story shot in South Africa. After the shoot the whole team went diving to see great white sharks. Having always been particularly petrified of sharks and open water, floating in a cage in the ocean surrounded by man-eating sharks was probably my bravest moment. Maybe second only to having children!
Text by Mhairi Graham
