Creative Director's Cut: Levi's 'Creek' and Alexander McQueen's 1999 epic show make the cut in the 'Nostalgia' issue

One of my favourite journeys is down memory lane to what appeared to be simpler times.

We call it 'nostalgia' and smile fondly but really, simpler times had its own set of problems. Isn’t it lovely the way the memory filters out the shit?

Rose tints on, and sticking with the journey metaphor, I’m on my way to pluck some work that pops a smile on my Covid-19 times masked face.

I pass by the sea and pause to admire the glorious Guinness Surfer, before making my way through a beautifully shot riot with a VW Polo at its centre, before my final destination.

I am now in the ’90s, in black and white, to observe “Creek“ in a time when Levi’s ads were everything.

We used to leave our offices in the creative department and excitedly crowd around the TV and watch this over and over. It was very much pre the open plan, laptop-staring, internet-surfing headphone-wearing creative departments pre-pandemic. Who knows what they’ll look like post-crisis. And it really does bear repeat.

Everything about it from the casting, the cinematography, the inspired use of music which was, if my memory serves me correctly, one of the first to break into culture and enter the pop charts.

It was one of a long line of stunning films, all simple narratives beautifully told, and crafted within an inch of their lives that built Levi’s legacy.

'Laundrette', 'Swimmer', 'Procession' and 'Drugstore' are all worth a look.

Oh my. They don’t make them like they used to. Or rarely do.

For me, McQueen was a once in a lifetime creative genius.

He was a true visionary and craftsman and even now you can still feel the impact he had, not only in fashion but, I guess, in pop culture itself. He pioneered the way we view and experience fashion.

I’ll never forget the moment I saw this piece for the first time.

I had never seen anything like it. If there was ever a time I wanted to be a fashionista and on the front row of a catwalk show, this was that moment.

Inspired by the arts and crafts movement, and the art of Rebecca Horn, the show's climax was that of a model - Shalom Harlow - emerging in a white strapless dress. She stood in between two industrial robots (the ones used to paint cars). Then the magic happened.

She was spun around on a circular platform, where the two robots sprayed her dress in a carefully choreographed dance. Even when it was over, Harlow practically stumbled into the audience; carrying on the raw emotion of what she had just endured.

Pure theatre, right to the end.

This moment is imprinted on my brain forever; it was beautiful, incredible, new, daring, exciting, theatrical, and modern. It’s when tech met art. It will forever inspire me.