Reality Inverse, a Short Film by Maison Margiela and Nick Knight

A stylishly surreal mash-up of monumental 60s pop, AI innovations and creative excess.

Maison Margiela’s short film ‘Reality Inverse’, unveiled at the Serpentine Gallery during London Fashion Week, is a visual conversation between creative director John Galliano and photographer Nick Knight.

“Detecting a new era of decadence, John Galliano portrays the oversaturation of a presence painted in computer-generated imagery,” a press release explains. “Shot through an inverted lens, light is flipped into dark in a subverted and three-dimensional view of the familiar, evoking the illustrative and illusionary facets key to the new codes of the house.

“Perpetually-connected, dwellers of the digital age become nomadic, travelling through a virtual reality of curated information. Overstimulated by artificial impressions, reality degenerates into the unsettling and ultimately unreal. The illusions generate a longing for authenticity, for intimacy, and reducing the filters that surround us to their core.”

Scored by Jeremy Healey, the soundtrack samples the ode to nocturnal fantasies In Dreams by rock ‘n’ roll great Roy Orbison (who last year appeared in holographic form in a show of the same name). The film features Duckie Thot and is released in a standard version as well as an edition captured in 360-degree vision; turning science fiction into science reality, the 360-degree edition allows the viewer to move freely through the moving image with the click of a mouse, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. 

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The project will be screened at the Serpentine Gallery on February 16th and 17th and will be open to the public.Visitors to the Serpentine Gallery – and selected Maison Margiela stores through the spring season – will be able to experience the film with Oculus Go, an all-in-one VR headset, for a truly immersive 360-degree experience.

Creative concept
Nick Knight & John Galliano
Creative direction
SHOWstudio
Director
Nick Knight
Music
Jeremy Healy
Casting
Duckie Thot @Newyorkmodels
Hair
Sam Mcknight
Make up
Val Garland
Editing
Raquel Couceiro & Myles Hall
3D scanning
Todor Ivanov
Production
Liberte Production