On August 19th, we are so excited to be debuting VIV, an animated fashion film created in collaboration with motion designer Luke Parker and design director Joyce Chen. I've loved all kinds of animation since diving into stop-motion animation from William Kentridge to Jan Svankmajer in my high school years - its ability to tell stories created by its own world, led by its own rules, where the actual process of telling the story has infinite creative possibility - has always held immense appeal for me.
It has been a real joy working on this project with these young creatives who just moved to New York from Kentucky; their focus, dedication, and willingness to keep pushing and learning something new really stood out. For some highlights along the process, check out our Behind-The-Scenes blog post. Leading up to the launch (keep your eyes here) , I wanted everyone to get to know Luke and Joyce a little more!
TELL ME WHAT YOU DO AND HOW YOU GOT STARTED.
J: I was originally in marketing, but I felt like it wasn't as creative as I imagined it to be. So, I took an Intro to Graphic Design course and just really fell in love with it.
L: A few years ago, we were in a Starbucks hanging out, and I discovered my design hero, Ash Thorp. From the moment, I saw his work I knew I wanted to be in motion design.
WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?
J: I'm working on exciting cosmetic packaging hitting the market soon.
L: I'm doing a lot of exploring and experimenting right now. I've been sort of focused on organic forms, maybe those experiments will become a short animation.
Process of creating VIV
WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK?
L: It's always new. I find myself learning tons and tons of new material every day just to get the work done, and that's really exciting to be growing like that.
WHAT PURCHASE OF $100 OR LESS HAS MOST IMPROVED YOUR LIFE RECENTLY?
J: We bought a dog carrier that lets us bring our dog, Roscoe, with us places. That's been a lot of fun seeing how he reacts to the city!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF WORKING ON VIV, THE ANIMATION? WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
J: Playing with the initial ideas and story. It was really invigorating working on such an abstract narrative. The biggest challenge was probably balancing the personal project with all the other work we had to do to pay the bills.
L: I really enjoyed working with Jenny to design the garment, and working with Mike Truesdell's music to establish the narrative. But dealing with all of those cloth simulations was super tough on my machine and left me with a lot of days where I was "waiting" for something to happen as opposed to actively designing.
Process of creating VIV
WHAT IS AN UNUSUAL HABIT YOU HAVE?
J: I'm secretly really good at darts!
L: Oh I don't know...I'm a decent photographer? Actually I draw on that background a lot for the work that I do.
IF YOU COULD BE OR DO ANYTHING ELSE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
J: I think I would enjoy being an influencer: Establishing a lifestyle aesthetic and empowering/entertaining other people with beauty and fashion advice would be a lot of fun.
L: In a lot of ways, I'm already doing my "If you could do something else...". I'm right where I want to be.
Joyce is wearing NOT's One Sleeve Dress and Luke is wearing NOT's Zipper Shirt.