Alexander McQueen launches this film, “Sprint Trainer,” directed by Sophie Muller via production house PRETTYBIRD in the U.K., featuring the Sprint Runner sneaker worn by singer, songwriter and renowned dancer, Mettenarrative.
Inspired by Mettenarrative’s fiercely beautiful physicality, the film is the ultimate expression of empowerment through clothing. Mettenarrative wears a corset dress with oversized silver metal hook-and-eye detailing and an asymmetric drape skirt in both black and tea rose satin. The dresses are teamed with the McQueen Sprint Runner in classic white.
Having toured with Pharrell Williams, Mettenarrative came to prominence in the music video for Lemon by N.E.R.D., featuring Rihanna. Mettenarrative has appeared as an actress in Hustlers and in The Old Guard and from 2019 and throughout the pandemic she focused her talents on song writing.
"Sprint Trainer" is the 2nd out of 3 accessories films directed by Muller and commissioned by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
“Sprint Trainer” is about the physicality, rhythm and emotion of movement. Mettenarrative is incredibly powerful and athletic throughout the film, pushing herself to the limit–beautiful yet authentic and emotional in her desire for physical perfection. This was achieved by using different camera speeds and angles, whilst capturing the emotions and character of Mettenarrative as the object of our fascination.
PRETTYBIRD UK co-founder Juliette Larthe was executive producer, with head of production Fiona Bamford-Phillips and producer Benji Landman.
Director Muller’s extensive body of work includes music videos for Rihanna, Radiohead, Gwen Stefani, Beyoncé, Bjork, Coldplay, Bebe Rexha, P!nk, The Cure, Kings of Leon, Nelly Furtado, Maroon 5, Alicia Keys, The Killers, Morrisey and Beck to name just a few. Muller has also shot stills campaigns and album covers for artist including Sade, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Gwen Stefani.
More recently Muller’s career has expanded into commercials, working on TV campaigns for global clients such as Lexus, Mastercard, L’Oreal, Target, Venus and Reebok as well as shooting stills photography projects within the advertising and fashion industries.
CreditsClient Alexander McQueen Sarah Burton, creative director; Paolo Cigognini, chief communications & marketing officer; Calandra Caldecott, global digital communications director; Judith Paternoster, head of production; Aliia Galimova, production/ Yasmine M’Rabet, production coordinator. Production PRETTYBIRD Sophie Muller, director; Juliette Larthe, co-founder UK/exec producer; Fiona Bamford-Phillips, head of production; Benji Landman, producer; Joel Honeywell, DP; Clara Paris, 1st AD; Nancy Brown, art director; James Norton, design; Sid Barton, wardrobe; Ali Pirzadeh, hair artist.
We Are Pi Rolls Out Trailer For Nike-Backed Feature On Athletes With Olympic and Paralympic Dreams
Amsterdam-based creative agency We Are Pi debuted the trailer for Crois Pas Qu’on Dort (Don’t Think We’re Sleeping in English), an inspiring feature-length story of three young French athletes in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. The 90-minute French language film, which was developed and produced by We Are Pi with the support of Nike, will premiere in mid January 2025 followed by a release in theaters at the end of January. It follows three protagonists from Paris and its suburbs: Charles-Antoine, a runner with an intellectual disability who won Gold at the Tokyo Paralympics and is competing in this year’s Paralympics; and Leyna and Maysane, French twin sisters and heirs to their Laotian-Algerian family’s very own taekwondo dynasty who are coached by their father and dream of competing in taekwondo at Paris 2024. The athletes were followed by a film crew over the course of five years, recording how their stories, their lives and their sporting achievements unfold over time. The film combines the rawness and intimacy of their everyday lives with the audacity of their sporting dreams, with their stories culminating at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympics. Crois Pas Qu’on Dort was created with the aim of inviting a new generation of athletes in France into sport by inspiring them with the stories of our protagonists and the transformative power that sport had on their lives. The production began over seven years ago in 2017 with nearly two years of extensive casting sessions that involved viewing around 500 profiles of athletes. Two directors, Nick Walters and Lou Marillier, English and French, respectively, subsequently followed the selected young protagonists closely as they pursued their... Read More