Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,
Dutch duo Lernert & Sander are amongst the most prolific art directors today; prolific in quality though not necessarily quantity, and they insist on keeping their studio to just two people; themselves. It’s clear that this works for them, not only because the work of Lernert & Sander is consistently excellent and specific to their aesthetic, but also the way they interacted with one-another during their presentation was as if they were best friends, or even family.
Presenting a selection of their work during ASVOFF 8 at the Pompidou Centre focusing on their films, their sense of humour and moral compass quickly came through. There’s a strong satirical tone that runs throughout their projects. They’re playful whilst revealing certain concerns or commentary they have associated with fashion. Take for example their film for Nowness titled “Natural Beauty”, where they applied 365 days-worth of makeup in one go. It’s beautiful and stylistically simple, and makes a very clear point. Likewise, their project ‘Everything’ combined samples of every new perfume launched in 2012 – all 1400 of them – to create ‘Everything’, a new fragrance by Lernert & Sander launched in Colette in Paris. The excess that the industry creates was reflected back onto itself, in two very important fashion spaces.
Lernert & Sander are charmingly anti-establishment by insisting on taking briefs as literally as possible, and sprinkling them with notes of frivolity. Their most recent films for Brioni, 3.1 Philip Lim, COS and Fantastic Man are testament to this vision. Oftentimes, they noted, their proposals for brands are rejected, though their point of view and uncomplicated aesthetics are most often bringing them more offers for work than what they can take on. Of course they could hire a bigger team, but why compromise family?
All photos © Christian Tarro Toma – www.ctarrotoma.com
Happy Monday,
Sophie Joy Wright
