Fashion Film: Lepus Cornutus
The haunting fashion film for Japanese brand Helmaph & Roditus is inspired by classical paintings and surrealism.
The haunting fashion film for Japanese brand Helmaph & Roditus is inspired by classical paintings and surrealism.
Georgina Evans: Tell me about the storyline behind Lepus Cornutus.
Kenji Hirano: Lepus Cornutus means 'horned rabbit'. It is a fictional animal found in 16th to 18th century text. The animal epitomises the brand I’ve featured entitled Hemalph & Roditus. The brand name comes from hermaphrodite - a hybrid of man and woman. Their identity is that girls want CUTE but a bit COOL like a man. The Lepus Cornutus’ horns feel male in nature and a rabbit feels female. The story sees the character troubled in life but she realises her own different desires.
GE: How do you approach the inclusion of fashion in a shoot?
KH: Fashion photography is often shot with vertical or square image but film screen is always horizontal image. So I try free width in film. I want to consider cropping images for every each shots. I made the composition in which she crawls on her hands under the table because of an idea of capturing her head-to-toe, all in one shot in wide horizontal composition. Good and interesting garments tell stories. I pick up the garment’s voice and imagine the scene and then, I make a story to connect the scene. I am always using famous drawings and pictures as reference. I prefer baroque painting and surrealism - the balance of reality and fantasy is very important for fashion images.
GE: How did you get into filmmaking as a medium?
KH: For a filmmaker, fashion film is the most limitless method for expression now. As unlimited as music videos. Fashion is most attractive in motion, and it expresses emotion. Digital films are easily run all over the world by SMS.
