The sound of COS by Lernert & Sander
The Sound of COS from cosstores on Vimeo.
Reviving the classic art of audio drama for a fashion brand is such a great idea! Directors/artists Lernert & Sander came up with the idea to use it for COS for the Fall season of 2014. Using audio drama for COS is even more than just a great idea: The clothes by COS are always very simple, or seemingly so. Mimicking everyday sounds such as footsteps also seem simple but Lernert & Sander show in this movie that it’s not (although we think they are faking it, but that’s beside the point) Combining this fact with the allover retro feel of the COS collections we think this advertisement is also a very clever one.
You all probably know what audio drama is, but if you don’t, do read on, we’ll explain it in a nutshell. Before the age of having access to moving images with sound every second of the day (now) there used to be only sound or only moving images, separately, recording sound and image together wasn’t yet invented (before). People didn’t have television sets or computers, they owned a radio. Those were the days when audio drama (or radio drama) was en vogue. (if you have more interest in dates and such check wikipedia) About Lernert Engelberts (1977) and Sander Plug (1969) are two highly talented Dutch artists based in Amsterdam. They create high-concept art films and installations, with simple but stunning art direction, all driven by their subtly dry, cheeky sense of humour. They have created eye-catching installations for the windows at Selfridges, where they transformed large household objects into high fashion ladies’ shoes. They have also produced remarkable editorial films for Fantastic Man and Nowness, the sassy music video ‘Elektrotechnique’, and their own personal projects, such as the ingenious documentary ‘How To Explain It To My Parents’. Their film ‘Natural Beauty’, commissioned by Nowness, has become an international phenomenon, receiving over a million hits on YouTube and being blogged by luminaries as unexpected as Perez Hilton and Oprah Winfrey. Lernert & Sander push simplicity to its most aesthetically powerful limits and have been nominated for a number of prizes, winning a Dutch Design Award for Best Motion Design in 2011 for their film ‘Elektrotechnique’. They are also regular contributors to the delightful Butt Magazine. Both Lernert and Sander are currently living and working in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.