Young Hearts Are Free (The SELECTion)

25 octobre 2010

Maaike, Amy, Ellie, Frida, Lottie, Katie, Nia, Nadia, Cassie and Odile Coco @ Select (London)

At this exact moment (writing this piece) we're still hesitating between two distinct titles. Usual dilemma, less usual feature. Shall we go for the inspiration of the moment, which would be Young Hearts Are Free or something like that. Or for the nickname we gave to the project while working on it: The SELECTion. Because that's where our hesitation is, between putting emphasis on what we see now and how we felt working together with photographer Jessie Craig on the casting of her most recent series published on Vs. Magazine's website along with the video shot by Joost Vandebrug as a lovely extra to echo the atmosphere of the fashion story. The SELECTion as all these young ladies are from Select in London, with three of them being favorites of ours from SPS in the Netherlands (Amy, Odile Coco and Maaike). The SELECTion as it was all about selecting who's got to be here (and) now, who embodies the new generation of Select girls, who fits for such a new wave, new vibe, new mood. That would be cool to talk about this but we were just another brick in the wall in the whole process and wouldn't feel right to put so much emphasis on our own tiny little part. Maybe what we see and feel right now has much more weight. And is what matters most.

So, let's consider ourselves as simple viewers, even if that's not entirely possible. But let's try and just tell what we see and feel. Now, right now. Enjoying the visuals, regardless if we're talking about fashion pages or girls in motion. Enjoying the soundtrack of the video and keeping it in mind while going through the story picture after picture. The atmosphere, the mood, the vibe. All what keeps hauting us after having a first quick look at everything. An atmosphere, a mood, a vibe. Or many vibes crossing each others in one same movement. Youth, freedom, carefree states of mind that have been carefully captured, it's all deep and lighthearted at the same time, all built on and relying on subtle contrasts that keeps us miles away from the casual violence of all we see through our window, that keeps us in another world where we still have dreams. Cause we still have some, many. And that might be the topic here: having a glimpse into a better future, one you would build with your own hands and heartbeats. It's getting a tad too poetic and lyrical but that's also what fashion is made for. Realising some of your dreams to keep dreaming and the circle goes on. Nervously yet full of hopes. Might be off-topic already, might be spot on, might have to go back to the true title of that story. Chapter One. Cause this is it, a first chapter of what we believe to be a long story for everyone. For Jessie Craig and stylist Rose Forde, for Joost Vandebrug, for all the models involved in this project (count the amazing Frida and Ellie as well for the video and all others listed under the editorial pictures). And for us, even if we were just passing by in this story. We are all free and passing by, after all. So, both titles should work and that's what we went for in the end. Check out the full editorial here and a behind-the-scenes bonus on Jessie's diary.