“It’s mystical. It’s a journey through the desert. It’s strong, powerful women,” said Elise Øverland of her latest project, a collaborative fashion film titled Say Good Morning to the Night. Joining forces with actress Aimee Mullins, jewelry designer Pamela Love and photographer-cum-filmmaker Poppy de Villeneuve, Øverland premiered the short film amongst cow skulls, leather chaps and horsehair whips during a fête at her west-side New York studio. And in line with the film’s Wicca theme, guests were noticeably enchanted.
Doubling as the debut of Øverland’s resort collection, which featured black and earth-toned slit-front dresses, an abundance of head scarves and a flouncy drape-back polkadot frock, the film opened on a fire-lit Mullins standing in the desert night. Shot in New Mexico, the visual journey follows the actress as she saunters over rocky plateaus, strolls by a river and ventures through the vast wilderness in Chanel platforms and Øverland’s strong, sleek designs. Love’s jewelry was woven into the story in the form of a crescent-moon cuff, a mammoth ring that—composed of four spheres—represented the moon phases and an armor-esque breast-plate necklace, which Mullins wore draped down her back. “We wanted [the jewelry] to be reminiscent of white magic and witchcraft but not too ‘hippie’. We wanted it to feel geometric and very spiritual,” explained Love, who resembled a Wicca goddess herself in an ethereal nude-and-black Øverland gown.
“I was trying to do something organic,” said de Villeneuve, speaking over the mariachi-themed beats of DJ Julio Mario Santo Domingo. “We were thinking about the idea of Wicca and positive natural magic. I think with fashion you have to be organic and not have too many expectations. You have to let it grow as you do it. So with this, I wanted to have something that was consistent and short and visually beautiful.” From vivid, hot sunsets to Mullins’ dark, pensive eyes against the desert sand, the film was indeed stunning, a fact that its leading lady did not contest.
“The landscape is so powerful! You feel something in that landscape,” said a radiant Mullins, who saw the film for the first time at the event. “When you have beautiful clothes and beautiful jewelry and beautiful women—you know, it was an extraordinary group of girls coming together to have fun and do this project—then you really have a lot to work with. There was a lot to channel.”
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