Without a doubt the most talked about event at Paris Fashion Week, KENZO’s SS18 show did not disappoint as it presented the playful mix of colour and pattern fans have grown to love after all these years. Guests were left awe-struck, not simply because of the beautiful aerial dancers that interspersed its womenswear and menswear collections, but because of the label’s praiseworthy casting decisions. With 83 different looks comprising its show, designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim utilised a cast of exclusively Asian models – a revolutionary move in an industry that’s still so white.
It’s no secret that the fashion industry still has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to diverse representation. That’s why the choice to forgo the typical whitewashed cast, especially from such an established house, makes it clear that representation on the runway is not an issue of ability but rather one of choice.
Sleek spoke to the man who helped actualise this vision, the show’s casting director Noah Shelley. Shelley heads AM Casting with partner Angus Munro. The two are some of the most influential casting directors in the business, having worked with Opening Ceremony, Joseph, Helmut Lang, Dazed and many more. Following KENZO’s historic presentation, we spoke to Shelly about the role of casting in creating a story, and pushing boundaries within fashion.
First off, the show was incredible, a real highlight of Paris. Whose decision was it to choose an all Asian cast of models?
Conceptually this was Humberto’s brainchild. I’ve been working with Humberto and Carol for quite a while now, and it’s an idea that had definitely been tossed around in the past, but this collection was the right time and place. And then of course we had to figure out how to make it work, and how to do it in the right way. I could tell it meant something to Humberto and Carol, and that was infectious. It very quickly became a real passion for me to get it right and deliver an amazing casting selection.
“Respecting and appreciating cultures is a great and beautiful thing… However when it’s done without any humanity or any intelligence then it can easily become calculated and heartless, and that ignorance is what’s hurtful” – Noah Shelley
Two muses, Sayoko Yamaguchi and Ryuichi Sakamoto inspired the show. How did referencing these Japanese talents affect your work?
These are the muses for the collection, and I have always been a strong believer that when a designer spends as much time as they do trying to tell a story through design, it’s the casting director’s responsibility to make sure that story is told on the runway with the models as well. While it’s hard not to be inspired by Yamaguchi and Sakamoto, when I walk into the atelier I want to immerse myself in the way that inspiration has ben transformed by a designer and then parallel the new story and help participate in the telling of this now original story. Models are one part of the story, and I wanted to find the right talent that had the energy and charisma to communicate and wear this vision.
Were you also involved in casting the aerial performers?
I was not, so I was just as blown away as everyone else to see how beautifully all the pieces came together.
What statement do you believe the KENZO show made about representation in fashion?
I will let Humberto and Carol speak to what statement KENZO made as I would rather not put words into anyone’s mouth – let alone people I know and respect who are very eloquent and outspoken about their ideas. What I can say, is that I believe we made a creative decision that hopefully speaks beyond simply aesthetics. There is a lot of talk about tokenism in casting and inclusiveness. Simultaneously there is also a lot of internal discussion among creatives about how to be true to an idea.
I think the show we produced did something special by communicating a pure aesthetic and emotional story, while addressing some bigger ideas about identity and human aesthetics. I know that the majority of models that participated in the show were really empowered and moved by the project and felt it spoke to them in a way perhaps other jobs haven’t recently. One thing I was really aggressively intent on addressing is that Asia is not a country and the almost 100 models in the show were from a striking array of places and backgrounds. Hopefully that diversity is something people also felt strongly about.
How was the casting process different from any other show? Did you find all the models in Paris? Were any street cast?
The process was different from the start. To be brutally honest, while I have seen the largest increase in diversity in the last couple years since I started working in the 90s, the percentage of “ethnic” models compared to caucasian models is still a very small number. Without politicising this too much, that makes my job very difficult sometimes.
Knowing this, I started this project early and began by addressing pretty much every agency I work with all over the world, to start putting together a really large selection of talent from which to pull. So in the end it was a combination of models in Paris, international street cast and talent who were overseas. In fact, we flew in around 30% of the show. I was really excited by the end result, especially considering that a lot of great Asian models do not have visas to work in France.
Representation is a delicate subject, and the reception of this show may have been less positive if the brand did not have its Japanese origins or if the designers were not Asian themselves. How do you think other brands can go about making progressive creative decisions without exploiting cultures?
I think that’s a very valid point. But again, as a caucasian male in his late 30s I don’t feel comfortable speaking for anyone, let alone “minorities”. That would be both pedantic and presumptuous of me, so I won’t speak for KENZO.
“Speaking to the world as a whole is the only responsible thing to do as a company” – Noah Shelley
I can say that one reason I felt really positive about the project is exactly as you said — with the history and current incarnations of designers at KENZO being Asian and Asian-Americans, with the inspiration for the collection being Asian artists, we thought that story we were telling would feel truthful and wouldn’t be perceived as solely intentionally political.
The world has been flattened by the internet to show us that we are not as culturally divergent in our needs and wants as perhaps we once assumed, but still have rich heritages and unique cultural identities. So speaking to the world as a whole is the only responsible thing to do as a company.
We live in a post-modern world where all this information is there to to pick-and-pull from, and cultural appropriation has existed for centuries. Historically of course it’s had its low spots, but at its best it has been a flow of ideas in all directions – not just one. Cultural movement and trade and exchange is steeped in history and part of the story of all of us. Respecting and appreciating cultures is a great and beautiful thing. We should be open to all these ideas and possibilities for remix that are out there. However when it’s done without any humanity or any intelligence then it can easily become calculated and heartless, and that ignorance is what’s hurtful.
Which city is your favourite to cast in for fashion week?
Paris. Always Paris.
What other brands do you think are doing something truly new or exciting with their model choices?
In recent years, some newer brands who are really showing an exciting perspective through casting and seem to be communicating it intelligently right now in my opinion are Grace Wales Boner (full disclosure: they are a client) and Ekhaus Latta. I think both have something personal to say and are saying it well. I also thought the family-focused story in the men’s Balenciaga show in June was both beautiful and well-conceived.
“My biggest concern is when brands try to look to casting as way to stay on trend…You can tell when it comes from a place of expression or when it seems calculated” – Noah Shelley
But then you don’t have to be new to be vibrant in that storytelling. Someone like Rick Owens has always had a truly beautiful and singular vision that is also communicated on the runway with models (again, full disclosure: Rick is one of our oldest clients).
I’d also like to say that there is a lot of talk these days about the aesthetic sensibilities pushed by people and brands like Gosha Rubchinskiy, Lotta Volkova, Vetements – this is a great example of how not everyone is going to understand or respect your vision. I think this is a story these creatives feel passionate about and are trying to share with the world.
My biggest concern is when brands try to look at casting as way to stay on trend, and then find themselves copying people because it feels current. You can tell when it comes from a place of expression or when it seems calculated. That’s important to me. I try not to work with people looking to buy a pre-existing idea – I want to find a way to work with people who have something to say and help them say it. I think this show with KENZO was one of the most exciting ways I have been able to do that so far.