Vol. 32
From moving stationary in the German Alps, to decks and creps in Northern Italy, to full festival vibes in Tenerife - take a vicarious summer holiday through the latest volume of Cut Culture. All we’re missing is a trip to Wales for an intro to an Emmy Award winning DOP. Hang on… we’ve got that and all. Don’t forget your towel.
Cut Culture
Fountain Pen of Youth.
Bangers and mash. Gin and tonic. Ant and Dec. Gareth Southgate and waistcoats. 14 years of inept governance and a diminished global standing. Some things just work better in pairs. And now we can add Montblanc x Wes Anderson to that illustrious list. To mark a century of the Meisterstück, the German luxury goods company partnered with our mate Wes to create a campaign journeying into the Maison’s world as seen through the filmmaker’s eyes. And if we had to describe the style of the video, we would say that it’s rather… Wes Anderson-like. Sorry, but what do you want from us? If you book Wes Anderson to make you an ad, you’re gonna get what you pay for. Nobody wants to hear Hackney Diamonds, just shut up and give us some Sympathy for the Devil. From the use of colour, to the symmetry, to the set design, to the ostensibly dull but strangely engrossing dialogue, the ad is just so quintessentially Wes Anderson that it simply couldn’t be mistaken for anyone else. Well, except the many charlatans who shamelessly attempt to rip him off. Sincerest form of flattery, I suppose...
The Italian Job.
It’s Puma. It’s AsphaltGold. It’s Gigi Buffon. It’s… magnificent. Or should we say magnifico? To launch their new collaboration Palermo sneaker Puma travelled to, you guessed it… Milan. And while they were there, they sat down for a few hands of scopa with a stupendously sartorial Italian goalkeeping legend - along with three elder statesmen living up to all the stereotypes by chaining cigs and mainlining espressos the whole time. When in Milan, init. Complete with macro detailing, golden lighting, a beautifully-grainy filmic grade and transitions slicker than Buffon’s impeccably-maintained bouffant, the film is certain to make you want to pack your bags and head to il bel paese to enjoy a taste of la dolce vita. Although I’m pretty sure the Palermo was a silhouette originally favoured by casuals, so if you’re of a certain age and possess a temperament befitting Dante’s Inferno, it might make you want to go and have a tear up. But at least you’ll be the best-dressed hooligan in the holding cell. Well, until someone bigger and scarier demands your shoes.
BTS
Summer’s here. You know what that means. Longer days, better weather, and. naturally, fresher fits… courtesy of JD Sports and The North Face.
We headed to the gloriously (and, at times, concerningly intermittently…) sunny Tenerife to kick off festival season in style. We would have done it closer to home but UK festivals tend to be less sunsets and precious memories and more muddy puddles and warm lager. While someone k-holing in a collapsed tent might make for entertaining viewing, it doesn’t exactly say wholesome summer vibes.
The stage is set… and the set is the stage. Tents assembled, sound-systems built, multiple AV executions, reels and stills captured featuring an array of models from the UK and Spain… all in one day. We don’t like to make life easy for ourselves, do we? There’s probably some inspirational quote about ambition we could drop in here, but we can’t be arsed.
All things considered though, things couldn’t have gone much smoother. Aside from an acutely burnt director who didn’t pack any sun cream. All for the greater good.
The campaign is now live in-store nationwide and across JD’s social channels. And since this is Cut Culture… we’ve included a little BTS sneak peak of how the salchica is made. De nada.
Radar
We first worked with Leighton when he was just coming up, when we had the pleasure of spending 3 weeks together in Russia (disclaimer: this was quite a while ago…) for a New Balance Football project around the Euros. Since then, he’s gone from strength to strength to stratospheric. Having earned his steadicam stripes Leighton went on to work on All or Nothing: Manchester City before recently winning an Emmy for his work on Welcome to Wrexham. And even more recently than that (last week), in a career highlight that no-doubt dwarfs his Emmy, he worked with us on a shoot for Google Chrome x McLaren, returning with all the masses of knowledge, understanding and composure he’s accrued over the last few years. Still has the same trim, though. If ain’t broke.
If you want to see more of Leighton’s work, check out his website and Instagram.