In celebration of 110 years of car manufacturing, Vauxhall has commissioned leading fashion stylist Katy England to create a short film, exploring all that is great about British style and design.
‘Made in England’ captures a 24 hour window of life in Britain in 2013. A lone driver journeys through countryside and cityscape alike in the award-winning electric Vauxhall Ampera, encountering four scenes that represent iconic movements in British youth culture today.
Made in England – Vauxhall Ampera
“When creating the narrative for the film, I spoke with members of the Vauxhall Motors design team to really get under the skin of the process of designing cars and how people see them as far more than a vehicle to drive them to A to B, more an extension of their personality and reflection of them. Driving can be such a liberating feeling, listening to your own music, playing it as loud as you want, time away from the rest of the world where nobody can reach you. It’s an empowering feeling. The film is also a celebration of youth and the Vauxhall Ampera is a catalyst to see this beautiful ideal. For as long as I can remember I have been just as interested in working with real people as I have with models. There is something intoxicating about working with real characters. This film was cast with real people, this is not an impression of British style and youth culture, this is the real thing,” says Katy England.
Katy England behind the camera
She has cast, written and directed the short film (which features a cameo from her husband and Primal Scream front man Bobby Gillespie). Primal Scream also provide the soundtrack for the film, using the track ‘Nothing is Real / Nothing is Unreal’ from their latest album More Light. Katy England is a renowned fashion personality, having styled for Alexander McQueen for over 15 years and most recently styled the LFW Tom Ford show. Katy is also working with Kate Moss on her SS14 Topshop collection.
Speaking about the commission, Mark Adams, Vice President of Design at Vauxhall Motors comments, “Made in England was commissioned to delve into British youth culture allowing us to really engage with and understand British fashion and culture tribes. Our vehicle designs are a product of research and development, so it is key for us to understand the people who are driving Vauxhall cars now and into the future. Working to lead times of 4 years, means our designers need foresight to predict what is will be ‘on-trend’, ahead of the mainstream and hits a balance – too trendy, and the design dates too fast, too conservative and it will look old. Made In England and Katy’s vision helps this education. It’s a fascinating project we’re really proud to share.”
The commission follows recent collaboration’s including James Small, Fred Butler, Louise Gray, Sir Peter Blake, Gary Card, The Idler Academy and Richard Benson.
To document Katy’s personal journey of her directorial debut, producers PrettyBird created an accompanying Behind the Scenes film, offering insights into Katy’s thought process across style, characters and narrative.
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