A team of powerhouse women have assembled to bring the new music video by Sydney-based artists Ange and Chelsea Warner to life.
Ahead of the filming of the video for their single ‘Dead to Each Other’, Ange and Chelsea Warner enlisted the expertise of Bou Design House’s Bou (Christina Bouzios) and print and textile designer Bella Bruzzese.
With a clear vision of what they wanted the clip’s aesthetic to be, Ange and Warner teamed up with Bou and Bruzzese to help make it a reality.
While Bou crafted and led the concept, Bruzzese designed custom outfits for each scene, featuring floral illustrations and strong slogans from the lyrics of the song itself.
It’s no surprise Bruzzese was able to rise to the challenge of crafting the fashion element, given she had already worked on costume designs for the likes of Sam Smith and Katy Perry.
Meanwhile, the Barcelona born Ange chose to collaborate with Warner on the song due to how well their musical stylings complement each other.
“Writing this song was a very smooth, delicate and healing process and I think we made something quite special. Chelsea is an angel and it was such a pleasure to write this together,” said Ange in a statement.
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To celebrate the release of the music video for ‘Dead to Each Other,’ we asked Ange and Bella Bruzzese to interview each other about their roles of singer-songwriter and costume designer respectively.
Without further ado, please enjoy Ange and Bella Bruzzese chatting about their seriously impressive careers, the story behind ‘Dead to Each Other’ and the importance of predominantly female creative teams.
Ange: Bella, your background sounds super impressive! Can you please tell us more about working on designs for Sam Smith and Katy Perry?
Bella: Thank you! It’s not every day you can say you’ve worked for people like Katy and Sam, so, first of all, I am very humbled and grateful for the opportunity to do such work. Essentially, I work in a team of people who create custom looks for international pop stars concerts, red carpet looks and music videos. With these jobs, my role, in particular, is to develop the prints, textiles and custom painted pieces. As you would imagine, it’s a crazy and wild world but in the end, it’s always worth it!
Ange: How did the concept of the outfits come together?
Bella: The outfits were a perfect combination of Ange’s aesthetic Pinterest board and my own personal taste. I wanted the looks to sit back with the theme of romance with references to tattoos, vintage postcards, and elaborate theatrical silhouettes. After seeing Ange’s ideas for the video, I started sketching my initial designs and further developed them as our ideation meetings pushed the concepts further.
Ange: Did the outfits change much from concept through to the final piece?
Bella: My initial vision for the looks didn’t change too much. As our meetings went on, we started adding more depth to the looks to compliment the world that Bou was envisioning for the video. This was achieved through matching some colour palettes of the garments to the set and adding a few extra details to the looks to establish an artistic approach.
Ange: What really stood out about the song for you when designing the outfits?
Bella: What really stood out for me were the punchy lines of the chorus. I felt that the saying “dead to you” was quite a strong phrase, and especially in the context of saying it to an ex-lover. These lyrics inspired me to create the tattoo bodysuit. Phrases such as “dead to you”, “forget me” and “never again” were wrapped all around Ange’s and Chelsea’s body along with illustrations found from vintage postcards. The idea of creating an “almost nude” illusion helped me portray the feeling of vulnerability, juxtaposed against edgy, gothic text reciting some lyrics from the song symbolising the strength found in her vulnerability.
What made you choose Chelsea to work with on this track?
Ange: Chelsea and I wrote this song together with Sonny Grin on production. I feel like the song chose us! We started the track with my project in mind but while writing lyrics and melodies it just hit me that we should make it a collaboration instead. I loved the idea of combining both our voices and having two perspectives in the song. Like the friend that is there for you during tough times giving you reassurance.
Bella: Why was it so important for you to have a predominantly all-female team on this video?
Ange: The story of ‘Dead To Each Other’ was written from a woman’s eyes; it made sense to find a team of creatives that understood the song’s perspective and sensibility. Both Bella and Bou found the perfect way to communicate and empower the narrative and our bodies visually. Having them lead the direction and costume design of the clip was very special and refreshing. They are both so talented, inspiring and driven in their own areas; it was very enriching to work together as a team and I feel was exactly what this song needed.
