“We’re more than just friends, we’re like a really small gang,” explains William Richard Green as he invites us home in this intimate film shot by Morgan O’Donovan.
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Amidst the hustle and bustle of London Collections: Men, William Richard Green temporarily transports us from the cramped capital to introduce us to his gang back home in the midlands. Inspired by family and kinship, it is only natural that the collection of sportswear comes to life on the rolling green landscapes and backs of his loved ones. As it all close to his own heart, we asked William to introduce the collections and film.
Could you talk us through the concept and introduce the characters? The characters are remarkable people. They didn’t have to walk into a white washed room in Shoreditch in order to prove their ability and be in my video. It took them a lot longer – they had to be related to me and be my friends in order to qualify. They are my family and my childhood friends. My Grandfather, my Grandma, my Father, my Mother, my childhood friends. They are all involved in the film and they play themselves (better than anyone else could) because they are what the collection is designed around in a way. It is designed around the concept of family and kinship….and this is mine.
How would you describe the autumn/winter 2013 collection in just one sentence? Three tracksuits, a bomber jacket and a balaclava
What can you tell us about the casting? The casting was actually quite simple, no interviews or castings. The people you see are the people who I feel closest to – they are my family, my grandparents, my parents and my friends – in a word, my group. The whole collection is about this you see, it is all about a sense of belonging, a sense of togetherness. Because of this I couldn’t really hold castings and search for people that supposedly ‘worked’ because they were right in front of me.
What was the location you used and how did you find it? I didn’t have to find the location for this film, it came to me twenty seven years ago (and not in a dream). For this video I welcome you all in to my home. All the footage you see was filmed at my childhood home, where my parents still live… my grandparents only live a one hundred metres down the road, and we all came together in the field to present the collection this season.
This is now the third film that you’ve worked on with Morgan and there’s a sense that they are getting ever more ambitious. What are your plans for the future of this collaboration? Far reaching and rather ambitious…but most probably not in ‘fashion film’.
williamrichardgree.com
morganodonovan.com
Text: Steve Salter
Film: Morgan O’Donovan
