She’s so high: Shoe brand débuts short film

London – Footwear brand Jonathan Kelsey releases High, a short film by Sara Dunlop, tomorrow. The film, a dimly lit tale of a woman pursuing her next fix, was inspired by Kelsey’s edgy designs, Dunlop says. For his part, Kelsey says he was happy to give the director ‘complete carte blanche’ – demonstrating a savvy understanding of the need for the brand to step back and hand control to the creatives involved. His attitude is reminiscent of the approach taken by Eurostar in 2008, when the railway company stealth-commissioned a film project that morphed from a nine-minute short into a full-length feature film directed by Shane Meadows. That film was Somers Town, and it went on to win a host of awards and accolades at film festivals around the world.

High joins the growing film library of brand-related shorts, which includes Chanel’s Train de Nuit, a short film for Chanel No. 5 starring French actress Audrey Tautou. The short, which was released in May this year, was directed by award-winning director Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

High débuts on fashion website SHOWstudio on 15 July.