This afternoon in Paris, Kenzo creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim unveiled Here Now, a new short film for the brand’s Fall/Winter 2015 collection. Directed by Gregg Araki, our fave iconic director who has become synonymous with giving the angsty youth a (stylish) voice with cult classic films like The Doom Generation and Nowhere. Luckily for those of us outside of Paris, Please! magazine Founder Olivia da Costa covered the press screening for OC and shared a chat between Humberto Leon and Gregg Araki about Araki’s landmark films, collaborating on Here Now, and giving Rose McGowan her big break.
Earlier this afternoon, I was comfortably seated in the cool Germain Paradisio cinema with an intimate group eager to see Here Now, a Gregg Araki film that Kenzo creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim commissioned for their Fall/Winter 2015 collection. Araki is an iconic underground Californian director best known for depicting disillusioned American youth in the cult status Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy films Totally Fucked Up, The Doom Generation, and Nowhere. Hailing from the suburbs of Los Angeles, Carol and Humberto grew up on Araki’s cult-films, and if you know anything about their past collections for both Opening Ceremony and Kenzo, you surely realize they are nostalgic-junkies. This trio is a match made in rebellious heaven.
This season, Carol and Humberto pay homage to Araki’s subculture that they hold so dear with their Fall/Winter 2015 collection and accompanying film. Here Now is a short film that features a mix'n'match cast of colorfully strange characters—all dressed in Kenzo men’s and women’s collection pieces. As the film begins, we discover a lovey-dovey couple (played by Jake Weary and redhead siren Nicole LaLiberte) passionately devouring a hamburger together, a guy (played by Avan Jogia) having relationship problems with his promiscuous girlfriend (played by Jane Levy), and a slightly unhinged girl (played by Grace Victoria Cox) dressed as a nun preaching Jesus’ word. All of this takes place in the same dark obscure bar in LA that Araki wanted lit as dark as possible, like the stage of a theater, in order to put all the focus on the characters and the clothing.
During the press conference, Araki confessed to not knowing much about fashion, but admitted that he was immediately put at ease by Carol and Humberto's designs. “I couldn't have made a film for a brand that didn't fit in my universe,” Araki stated. “All of my friends knew Kenzo and told me that it was a hip and cool brand.” Araki says that he stylizes the truth, similar to what all fashion designers do with their collections. Here Now was Araki’s first commercial project and needless to say, he dove right in. In fact, the film was shot in one day, which is miraculous compared to his usual projects, which can sometimes take several years to be completed.
Humberto Leon and Gregg Araki talk about the experience of c