“Bare footed fearless beauties wearing opulent dresses and flinging them around like it's 3am at a party,” is how actress and playwright Krew Boylan described her experience filming Aje’s film entitled ‘Fractal’, created in collaboration with female-led production company Dollhouse Pictures.

Showcasing the Pre-Fall 22 ‘Biophilia’ collection in an innovative move true to the brand’s commitment to honouring the arts, take a closer look behind the scenes of ‘Fractal’ through the lens of photographer Alex Wall with insights from Aje Co-Founder Edwina Forest, Director Shannon Murphy, and Producer Jessica Carerra, and Actress Sophie Wilde.

On the directorial vision, Shannon Murphy shares: “I wanted to explore the language of patterns in nature and how it has impacted the look of this collection… As a director I yearn for new perspectives and this project offered me a wonderful new muse Emi Elmitt. Emi brought spirit, intuition, and a playfulness to the set. Emi is authentic and so natural,and we wanted her to feel embraced and understood with every movement she initiated.”

As Carerra elaborates, “‘Fractal’ draws inspiration from art, film, architecture, dance, and the environment as a means of self-expression and connectivity. There is so much nuance and detail in the ways we interact with others.”

Shot on location at the Sydney School of Practical Philosophy, Forest says of the project: “The atmosphere on set was a direct reflection of the collection, the melding of separate worlds creating beauty in unexpected forms… An ode to the relationship between architecture, nature, and fashion.”

The film stars profoundly deaf, non-verbal newcomer Emawayat ‘Emi’ Elmitt and is centred

around Emi’s use of movement, signs, and shapes inspired by her own abstract interpretation of the collection and film’s concept. Australia’s leading up-and-coming actresses embody ‘Biophilia’ alongside Emi, including Mia Healey (‘The Wilds’, 2020-22), Krew Boylan (‘Seriously Red’, 2022), Melanie Jarnson (‘Mortal Kombat’, 2021), Sophie Wilde (‘Eden’, 2021) and Priscilla Doueihy (‘Lunacy’).

In conversation with Aje, Wilde notes: “All of the outfits were so beautiful. There was such a lovely atmosphere on set. Lots and lots of laughter and playfulness. It felt really cool to be a part of something with so many women, both in front of and behind the camera. Everyone was so supportive and championed each other, that’s a really lovely environment to be amongst. It almost feels as though the atmosphere on set is a direct translation from the collection itself.”

‘Fractal’ is a symphony of fashion, movement, dance, signs: an ode to the environments we create for ourselves and through connecting with others. Watch Aje’s film ‘Fractal’ film here.

Crew

Director, Shannon Murphy

Producer, DollHouse Pictures Jessica Carrera

Project Creative Director, Rebecca Khoury

Choreographer, Shannon Ryan

Production Manager, Manuela Leigh

Cinematography, Josh Flavell

Set Designer, Emma White

Post-Production, Heckler

Stills photographer Alex Wall

Hair, Julia Homard

Make Up, Isabella Schimid

Cast

Mia Healey

Melanie Jarnson

Sophie Wilde

Emi Elmitt

Krew Boylan

Priscilla Doueihy

Allegra Monk

Domino McCatherion

Camilla Ponte Alvarez

Sammy Allsop

Manahou Mackay