Longchamp, the French handbag and fashion brand, was seeking a new agency partner. After considering relationships with a number of New York fashion shops, the brand selected Fred & Farid Los Angeles to become their Agency of Record.
Experts in luxury and digital, and natively Parisian, Fred & Farid group came to the table with a deep understanding of the importance and iconicity of Longchamp within Paris and France, and the insight that every French person has, at one point in their life, owned a Longchamp bag. Longchamp is deeply ingrained in French culture. It’s a symbol of understated elegance, quality, and innovation. It is a legend in Paris.
With Fred & Farid Los Angeles leading strategy and creative, and Fred & Farid Paris leading account management, the team conceptualized with an entirely new global brand platform and tagline titled: “très paris” [very paris]
The meaning behind this phrase is multi-tiered and multi-faceted. Firstly, “très paris” lays claim to Longchamp’s irrefutable cultural significance within Paris, and pays homage to its history as a brand that was founded in Paris 72 years ago. Beyond that, the tagline captures the inimitable spirit of Longchamp. It evokes not just Paris as a city, but Paris as an attitude.
Artistic Director Sophie Delafontaine says in the press release: “I had in mind a spontaneous, mobile, fluid woman, she rushes into life with independence and freedom. Faithful to her values, she has character, and cultivates her epicurean side without taking herself seriously”.
To launch the platform and Longchamp’s Spring/Summer 2021 fashion collection, the agency came up with an idea to create a modern music video for an iconic Parisian song. A song as important to Paris as Longchamp the brand.
The team chose the famous hit Il est cinq heures, Paris s’éveille, (translation: It’s five o’clock, Paris is waking up) by living pop legend Dutronc. Agency co-founders Fred & Farid says: “If you’ve never seen Paris waking up after a night out on the town, then you’ve never seen Paris. And that’s why this song touches every Parisian. It describes a universal experience that connects us all”.
To give it a fresh feel, Longchamp and the agency chose the voice of the french artist Clara Luciani to sing a new rendition of ‘Il est cinq heures, Paris s’éveille’.
The song ended up inspiring not just a music video, but a hybrid of a music video + narrative short film. Eight minutes in length, it tells the story of two girls who go on an adventure as Paris is waking up (or, as the song says, ‘Paris s’éveille). Inspired by french cinema from the 60s, the narrative and tone of the film was meant to evoke a naive, light and fresh spirit. With the characters dressed in fashion from Longchamp’s SS21 collection, a plot twist occurs when the two girls’ matching Longchamp handbags – a style called the Roseau – are mistakenly swapped in a club.
Filled with more hidden layers, and smartly crafted references to the track, the film’s locations, scenes, and characters are poetic interpretations of Dutronc’s lyrics.
Directed by Lope Serrano from the directing duo Canada, the film stars British actress and model, Amber Anderson, and one of France’s most promising up-and-coming actresses, Mathilde Ollivier.
Serrano brought along his longtime DP and editor partners to collaborate on the project. He even drew a series of custom movie posters and illustrations that appear in the film and movie trailer – the latter of which borrows influences from the 1960s French New Wave film movement.
“The end of the film leaves viewers wondering: Is it a short film or a new kind of music video? Is it branding as entertainment, or entertainmentment as branding? No idea. That’s the idea” say Fred & Farid.
Credit
Title: Il est cinq heures, Paris s’éveille
A Short Film by Longchamp
Client
Client: Longchamp
Ceo: Jean Cassegrain
Managing Director/Artistic Director: Sophie Delafontaine
CMO: Marie-Laure Dubuisson
Visual Production Project Manager: Marie Coumes
Agency
Agency: Fred & Farid Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officers: Fred & Farid
Managing Director: Severine Autret
Creative Director: Chelsea Steiger
Writer: Radouane Guissi, Hilary Smith
Art Director: Radouane Guissi, Laura Beck
Account Director: Olivia Abols
Account Executive: Leslie Hatchwell
Agency Producer: Damien Fournier Perret
Head of Legal Services: Veronique Hassid
Business & Legal Affairs: Maud Whittle
Production
Production: Canada
Co-Production: Diplomats France
Director: Lope Serrano aka Canada
MD/EP Canada: Oscar Romagosa
Screenplay: Lope Serrano Canada, Pablo Guirado
Dop: Matias Boucard
roducer Canada: Diana C. Milesi
Post Production: La Metropolitana
Editor: Carlos Font Clos
Color Grading: Marc Morato
MD/EP Diplomats: Solal Micenmacher
Line Producer: Guillaume Lefrancois
Production Coordinator Film: Julia Mongin
Post Production: Mathematic
EP Mathematic: Guillaume Marien
VFX Producer: Guillaume Audibet
VFX Post Producer: Stéphanie Pedelacq, Johan Luce-Antoinette
VFX Supervisor: Daniel Rodrigues
Sound Production: Schmooze
Producer: Grégoire Galian
Mix: Jean Philippe Borgeot, Jean Luc Verschelde
Lead Senior Stylist: Fanny Ourevitch
Key Makeup Artist: Christine Corbel
Key Hair Stylist: Tomohiro Ohashi
Production Designer: Pascaline Feutry