Interview: Alec Coiro
Video: Daniel Davis
Photo: Dustin Fenstermacher
The last time I saw Audrey Louise Reynolds she was telling me about her line of non-toxic clothing dye. It strikes me that if you’re going to dye your own clothes, you, first of all, want it to be a non-lethal experience, and second of all you’re probably the sort of person who enjoys a fun, productive activity. That’s no doubt why you’re a fan of Audrey Louise Reynolds in the first place: as a kindred spirit. For Reynold’s new collection, she definitely went the fun route for the presentation: creating a delightful animated skate video as a way of modeling her no less insouciant and colorful clothing. The main character was dreamed up by the director Daniel Davis, and goes by the name of “Pizza Bones.” For the video, Pizza Bones is — to coin Reynolds’s term — “enrobed” in basics from the new line. We were lucky enough to talk to BOTH of these talents about the video and the collection. And stay tuned for more on this new collection coming soon.
The song you used for the video is pretty integral. Who’s it by and how’d you choose it?
Daniel Davis: It’s a song I made this year. I knew Audrey liked it and it fit with everything. Like everything else we make, it just seems to kinda fit together.
Audrey Louise Reynolds: Yeah, what Daniel said! He has all the words for how I feel and can’t say and goes ahead and writes them down and records them and makes something amazing from them cause it’s how he feels too. I’m lucky to know him and have the option to use his songs to help execute what I’m feeling. it’s a bizarre amazing gift our friendship
I like that the main character is a skeleton. How’d that come to pass?
DD: Pizza Bones is a character that I made up. He’s pretty much a slouch and a street weasel. When Audrey and I starting talking about the video, she asked me if “Pizza Bones could tuck it.” I laughed and was like “Yeah, he can tuck it.”
So he dressed up as Audrey for the video.
ALR: Pizza Bones is definitely Daniel on the norms but he adapted his character of him to have my mannerisms and my recently sus green hair in addition to enrobing him in the basics line from my clothing collection. I’ve been making a lot of work with skating in it as its a dimension of my youth and life that are dear to my heart and Daniels been animating a lot of skating already so it worked…. we often talk about how our bodies hurt and don’t do what we like and when we could skate
The animated video is a great way to really make the colors pop out, which is so important for the collection. What were your goals in terms of the colors you chose for the collection when you set out to create it?
ALR: Daniel did a great job matching the animation colors to the colors from the collection. I agree such a fun way to see them pop like this. so playful. The colors for my collection have a few important points when I launched yellow, pink, orange, ecru, indigo, and grey seemed to make sense price point wise as natural materials I could sell at the same price as well as being aesthetically pleasing and classic. These 6 colors from my basics collection. By mixing grey and yellow or blue and yellow you get greens and by mixing the blue and pink or grey and pink you get purples or pink and yellow a new orange. So they were off primary colors obv not red. That was a hard one at my entry price point as cochineal madder root etc are harder to scale and more expensive to use…..I am adding seasonal limited edition colors now as well. Headed to Matches Mens for fall is a custom violet and orange limited edition in addition to ecrus, grey and indigos from my basics…bird currently has a limited edition blue made from borage and other flowers this spring, and I’m creating colors today for the Sardin launch (ecomm based in Germany) which will be all preorder limited edition colors…..
How do you create a video like this? Do you have to draw it out frame-by-frame?
DD: Yeah, it’s frame by frame. A lot of freak’n drawing. I try to avoid computers as much as possible. I recently got this cool lightbox and that definitely helps!
A: All 100% Daniel and I know its by hand…he’s no stush when it comes to executing everything’s just pencil paper…..he’s so brutally talented. when he picks up a pencil what comes off the tip is just so different that I could ever issue no matter what.
It’s frame by frame. A lot of freak’n drawing. I try to avoid computers as much as possible.
The pink jumpsuit is very cool! I always love seeing people out in jumpsuits because it feels like such an alternative option to standard outfit choices. What sort of day or circumstances inspires you to wear a jumpsuit?
ALR: Jumpsuits are so easy, they are functional work wear for a messy individual like me. I always had a love for them and what people like Rodchenko did to make his perfect ones with pockets for sketchbook etc. I wear mine to work everyday so it’s like sharing a piece of me in addition to being on trend at the moment. lucky me.
Audrey says that the Audrey-Daniel collaborations go back to “forever.” How do you know each other and what are some of the other things you’ve worked on together?
DD: Audrey and I have been friends forever and she’s one of my favorite people. We share sorta the same ethos when it comes to life and art or whatever… Actually, I think it’s just that: whatever. Yeah, that’s our ethos, Audrey ..Whatever!
ALR: Def our Whatever is super synced up.
Jumpsuits are so easy, they are functional work wear for a messy individual like me.
