Nathan Williams - The Eye: How the World’s Most Influential Creative Directors Develop Their Vision

How The Worlds Most Influential Creative Directors Develop Their Vision

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Nathan Williams

EDITORS NOTE

Creativity and curiosity are shared human constants. Looking to Silicon Valley, the runways of Paris Fashion Week and many places in between, we question what else is out there and how it makes us feel to pursue it. From our politics to portfolios, the ways we express our talent and artistic purpose today are ushering in an entirely new mode of communication and nomenclatureand creative directors are the vanguard, the cultural gatekeepers across industries and trades. But what defines a creative director? Who are these trailblazers and dilettantes and how do they develop their vision? The Eye explores these questions, acting both as a showcase and a primer.

The future of creative direction is unknown, and its history is no less nebulous. Leonardo da Vinci was arguably the first creative director, the Renaissance providing a fertile ground for creative expression like never before. Fabien Baron, editorial director of Interview magazine and founder of his own design firm, even suggests some version has been around since the pyramids. Minimalism has existed since the world has existed, from a single man putting his hand on a single stone. The Egyptian pyramids. Whats more minimal than that? Baron explains. Of the Christian cross, he says: The most famous logo ever.

Creative directors, whether building the pyramids or conceptualizing a logo, deciding on the look of a handbag or directing the music video of a pop star, are the heart of any project. They establish and develop a companys personality, perspective and reason for being. They construct the DNA for a brand, using whatever means necessary, whether its their childlike instincts or their robust Rolodex, external or internal stimuli. As Kris Moran, set decorator for the likes of Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, puts it: Everything relates to the project. Its all I see, like an eagle eye looking for clues in people on the street, in cab rides, on my way home on the subway. For Andy Spade, its intuitive: I almost lose all sense of reality, and time disappears because Im immersed in it so deeply and having so much fun.

Similarly, choreographer Alonzo King says dance requires you to be both in the moment and selfless. Youre not imitating, cloning or knocking something off, he explains. You have to step into the embodiment of an idea.

Whether with captions, captchas, hashtags or memes, our social selves are creating a ping-pong existence with a new generational connectivity. Says Jefferson Hack, founder of Dazed and Confused: There were no rules. We didnt want to be prescriptive about the new generation that was coming through, which we were part of, he explains. It was about admitting to not being perfect, about saying: Im dazed and confused, and I dont give a fuck that I havent got everything worked out. This connection culture is now not only an acceptable form of expression, but a welcome 360-degree pursuit, a new Enlightenment altogether. Todd Tourso shares this same reflective instinct: Youre really only a mirror for what your subject is at the moment, says Tourso, Beyoncs creative director, and your goal is to dust away all the bullshit and put a magnifying glass on what makes them special.

Today, creative directors are also building entirely new industries. To witness a runway show by Alexandre de Betak is to observe fashion at its most interpretive, its most communicativeits most groundbreaking. Producing more than one thousand shows for clients like Givenchy, Cline, John Galliano, Michael Kors, Lanvin, Miu Miu and Rodarte, the designer reinvented the form with elements like real tornados and ice sculptures.

Successful creative directors are also often networks unto themselves, pulling talent from around the globe. After working in video and production design for years, Grammy winner Melina Matsoukas tapped Solange to provide the music supervision for a new show on HBO. Discovery, diversity and disruption, says Stefano Tonchi, the creative director behind W and T magazines, are what drove his career. The editor, like so many in the pages that follow, is known for retaining a roster of creative talent that has loyally followed him over the years.

Editors like Vogues Diana Vreeland transcended the role of editor in chief to famed personality and cultural arbiter, whereas graphic designers like Willy Fleckhaus created editorial work with cult appeal. Today, the founders of Opening Ceremony carry on that tradition. Despite no formal training, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon were named creative directors of Kenzo in 2011. The promotion surprised many, but the move proved wildly successful. In short, all of these individuals have created something unprecedented and influential in their respective fields.

Across a mix of industries including fashion, publishing and entertainment, these creative directors possess that elusive asset, an eye for their niche and tradeand an eye for the zeitgeist before it arrives.*

They possess that elusive asset, an eye for their niche and tradeand an eye for the zeitgeist before it arrives.

MASTHEAD

Editor in Chief & Creative Director

Nathan Williams

Editor & Art Director

Molly Mandell

Design Director

Alex Hunting

Copy Editor

James Burke

Copy Editor

Jason Orlovich

Editorial Assistant

Lena Hunter

Editorial Assistant

Garett Nelson

Publication Design

Alex Hunting Studio

Writers

James Burke

Alex Frank

Natalya Frederick

Colleen Kelsey

Molly Mandell

Frankie Mathieson

David Michon

Shonquis Moreno

Sarah Moroz

Tom Morris

Billie Muraben

Jason Orlovich

David Plaisant

Natalie Rigg

Sarah Rowland

Laura Rysman

Trey Taylor

Photographers

Christian Mller Anderson

Pablo Arroyo

Paul Barbera

Fabien Baron

Alessio Bolzoni

James Bort

Julien Boudet

Claire Cottrell

Lasse Flde

Gillian Garcia

James Gardiner

Nicolas Guerin

Eric Guillemain

Joakim Heltne

Virginia Katheeb

Billy Kidd

Andreas Larsson

Thomas Lohr

Fernando Marroquin

Craig McDean

Jacopo Moschin

Ward Ivan Rafik

Philip Sinden

Mario Sorrenti

Daniel Stjerne

Marsy Hild Thorsdottir

Zoltan Tombor

Dennis Weber

Stylists, Hair & Makeup

Jrme Andr

Louisa Copperwaite

Sonia Duchaussoy

Vernon Franois

Aidan Keogh

Mindy Le Brock

Sabrina Lefebvre

Tsipporah Liebman

John Nollet

Celina Rodriguez

Cover Illustration

Jack Davison

CONTENTS

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