Epoch and Agent Provocateur’s Scary Soiree

With Halloween nearly upon us, Agent Provocateur has decided it’s about time we got in the spirit, with the launch of a new Epoch London-produced campaign film, inspired by scary movies and the genre’s classic mix of sex and horror. The frighteningly fun scenes were created to launch the brand’s new luxury Soiree range, which features throughout the film.

“Horror has always been a way of expressing sex whilst avoiding censorship whether in the Victorian Gothic novels, 1930's Bela Lugosi, the 60s Hammer Films, through to the American teen-horror of Halloween and Scream,” explains Justin Anderson, director at Epoch. “Sex and horror have always been intertwined but the genre has never been parodied within a fashion film.”

The idea was thought up when the director met with Sarah Shotton, creative director at the brand. “The first time I met Sarah we chatted for over three hours and one of the things we agreed on was that we were both drawn to things that didn't take themselves too seriously. I left thinking it would be great to do a film for AP that was both sexy and funny.”

Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil), as it is titled, opens on a central female character alone in her house who receives a mysterious phone call. Before long, she’s suddenly confronted and overcome by a quartet of intriguing living mannequins dressed in the raunchy new gear.

“The Soiree collection featured an amazing gown that slightly reminded me of the kind worn by the 'victims' in the Hammer Films,” reveals Anderson. “So I started to think about a girl in a house on her own at night.”

Coming together as a fun and entertaining push for the brand, the soundtrack was from a raw recording session by death metal band, Omaha Bitch, and features bassist, Faustin Claverie, known to many as a creative at Mother, London.

Having signed for the production company back in June, the commission is Anderson’s third project and, funnily enough, he also chose to shoot the stills for this campaign.

“Putting horror together with Agent Provocateur seemed like a really good fit and Sarah's idea to use thrash metal was inspired. It added exactly the right mood. I describe it as like listening to Slayer whilst reading Italian Vogue!”

You can read more about Agent Provocateur in our special insight feature on Direct-to-Client projects in issue 132 of shots - out soon.