To those who know her best as the hulking, valiant Brienne of Tarth from HBO’s Game of Thrones, Gwendoline Christie may seem an unlikely muse for such fashion icons as new wave punk designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, or the bizarre and brilliant Giles Deacon.
Yet Christie’s introduction to the spotlight first came in 2002 thanks to the fashion industry, and she has remained a regular on the scene ever since.
Most recently, it’s Dutch creator Iris Van Herpen collaborating with the emblematic actress as part of an experimental short film entitled The Dress. The film portrays Christie almost like a conductor for the organic materials of an alien world which flow across her body to ultimately form Van Herpen’s designs. Ironically, many of the dresses appear for only a few frames, making multiple viewings essential.
The Dress was directed by Barnaby Roper, whose previous collaborators include Karl Lagerfeld, Kanye West, and David Bowie. “I wanted to explore the idea of a morphing virtual dress, and after meeting Iris I quickly understood that her designers are organic, their structures taken from nature. So despite the film being very heavy in post-production, the texture of the garment had to be fluid and feel like it was from nature. I wanted to show the dress of the future—to have it literally growing out of the ground,” he told Nowness.
Post-production was handled by St Louis.