How Warm Memories Are at the Heart of This Clothing Brand
Launching its Spring Summer ‘23 collection, clothing brand The New Originals is taking audiences back to their childhood. Hearing a poem narrated by Yohan Kebede, the spot captures a warm sense of nostalgia and with jazzy music in the background, evokes a sense of calm that takes us back to simpler days.
The brand started as a blog and DJ collective based in Amsterdam and has always had roots within the creative arts. With a background in fashion, the founders of the brand Rizky, Eben and Maru decided to bring the clothing collection to life in 2016 and have since made that the core of their business.
Combining the past and present through stylisation, the soundtrack of this spot solidifies a sense of being in the past, and the clothing brand’s mascot Freddy carries the audience through the story. Created through cel-animation, 3D and 2D to capture “a dream-like, hand-drawn and wobbly effect”, the team made sure Freddy was in keeping with the feelings of nostalgia which anchor the campaign.
The New Originals co-founder Maru, Studio Studio director Rutger and Ambassadors creative director Justin Blyth speak to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani about bringing Freddy and the campaign to life.
LBB> Let’s start by hearing a little bit about The New Originals and how the brand came about.
The New Originals> We started the clothing brand in 2016, with the idea to make performance clothing for creatives. The roots of The New Originals started way earlier, as a blog and DJ collective based in Amsterdam. With this deeply tied connection to the creative industry and the city, we wanted to give something back to what inspires us so much. Individually, Rizky, Eben and Maru (founders of The New Originals) have a background in fashion, which resulted in starting the brand with clothing as a core business.
LBB> What characterises the clothing, and how did you bring that into this spot?
Maru> To be able to carry out our belief of making performance clothing for creatives, we design taking individual performance as a main objective to support. Durable, and often inspired by utility wear clothing, with a style that fits all different types of occasions within the ‘ready-to-wear’ realm.
Rutger> This specific collection sets itself apart by its incorporation of graphic textures, such as ducks and flowers, but also more subtle references to Ethiopian fabric styles. These all stem from TNO’s perspective on childhood memories and the idea of domestic poetry. We brought them to life through animation and weaving them through the production design on a visual level, but it’s also being shown through the overall, warm vibe of the film.
LBB> When it came to creating this campaign, how did you land on childhood memories as an underlying theme?
Maru> Nostalgia can be complex and our film tries to capture and articulate that. We wanted to tell a story that is close to us as a brand, while inviting people to relive their own nostalgic memories.
LBB> Tell us a little bit about the discussions of childhood that first informed the project. What were some of the formative moments and nostalgic aspects that you were keen to include?
Maru> The campaign film shows the home of an Ethiopian family in which we feel the warmth and see intimacy and intergenerational ties in a family environment. The goal of the campaign film is to cherish memories and give them a place in our minds that are different from reality, so that we can experience these memories in a new way.
LBB> When did the idea of ‘domestic poetry’ come into play and how did you create the narration?
Rutger> There was this core feeling we wanted to go for – to capture a pure and still broadly relatable emotion in the overall narrative and visuals, without being too specific, leaving the viewer with a feeling of warmth and nostalgia after seeing the film. To further shape the narration, I identified key themes and asked Yohan Kebede to draw upon his own experiences to write a powerful and authentic voiceover. I feel that because it stems from Yohan’s own heartfelt emotions, it creates an added depth and richness to his words.
LBB> Of course, the campaign also includes the use of animated aspects to lift the narrative. Can you tell us about the style you opted for – such as the pixelated ducks – and how you brought the brand’s mascot, Freddy, to life?
Justin> Rutger and TNO gave us the freedom to explore and interpret Freddy in new ways. But in the end, we wanted to keep him close to the classic look and feel of Freddy as brought to life by the brand. We used a combination of techniques from cel-animation, 3D and 2D to give him a dream-like, hand-drawn and wobbly effect. The idea is that he is an imaginary friend, both there and not there. Maybe only visible to the kids.
For the apparel elements like the ducks and the flowers, we took those directly from the apparel. I think the design is based on quilted fabric design but they also reminded us of 8-bit graphics like Gameboy, which for me is another warm childhood memory. So we animated them in the way that only 8-bit graphics can move, on a grid of pixels.
LBB> How long did it take to capture all of the shots that make up the campaign video?
Rutger> For this campaign, we had two full shooting days.
LBB> Following that, what was the editing process like? Did you face any tricky moments or challenges throughout the process?
Justin> The story isn’t so much a narrative, more like an observational camera – a fly on the wall. We felt the viewer should have the feeling they are peeking in on something, and that’s exactly how it was shot. The film also did not have a set length, so we were able to pace it to exactly what felt right for the story.
LBB> The music in the background adds a sense of calm to childhood experiences, which can come across as quite hectic. How did you land on his jazzy backing track to support the vision of the campaign?
Justin> We knew from the beginning that music would be an essential part of this film for the feeling and vibes. Our sound and music partner Amp.Amsterdam drew inspiration from the heritage of the founders of TNO, with Rutger sharing ‘70s Ethiopian jazz tracks to inspire and set the tone. We wanted this film to sound like Dad’s record player in the living room – Background music to childhood memories.
LBB> Are there any funny, surprising or exciting moments from the set which are worth mentioning?
Maru> The main character Tsega, is a young aspiring director in real life. This production was a new experience for him, and Rutger and Tsega closely kept in touch to also hand over the knowledge and experience of this production to Tsega.
Rutger> Basically on and off screen we have exchanged inspiration, our stories and values. There were multiple moments (never a dull moment on set). But during this spring campaign, it started snowing quite badly so the whole house and all light equipment outside was covered in snow at one point. And the icing on the cake was that the van of the lighting crew broke down so we had to arrange a tow truck for it. But the 'on set' moments were actually all very chill, calm and good vibes only.
LBB> What’s next for the brand?
Maru> Next is our newest collection, dropping in July. A new theme, new campaign and new stories!
