Queen of cultural provocation Claire Barrow has collaborated with Eloise Parry on a new film titled Move On.

The London-based designer and artist, known for her subversive approach to fashion and her signature illustrative style, counts Parry as a long-time friend and collaborator, often working together on Barrow’s advertising campaigns. For their first filmic endeavour, Barrow explains the pair enlisted stylist Haley Wollens and a crew of 30 models, including several faces and performance artists who regularly feature in Barrow’s presentations and campaigns. Think Liv Fontaine, Imma Mess, Amy Kingsmill, Louis Backhouse, Susu Laroche, Ryan Skelton and Jess Maybury. Set in a church, Barrow and Parry’s characters look bored-sick, an unsettling sensuality and sexual tension bubbling under it all.

The film’s title comments on the current social and political world state, endeavouring to put “the past to bed.” Featuring a mix of past seasons, models also wear clothes from Barrow’s FW16 collections, which she showcased at the Institute of Contemporary Art with a mock museum presentation earlier this year. 2016 has been a big one or Claire, having debuted her first ever solo art exhibition in April, at M. Goldstein Gallery in East London and recently announced she’s distancing herself from the traditional seasonal fashion schedule in favour of focussing truly on her creative output, we’re sure Move On is just one of many brilliant projects to come.

Tempe Nakiska: You and Eloise have a long history of working together and have always collaborated on your ad campaigns, why did it feel like the right time to make a film?
Claire Barrow: We’ve worked together ten years now and have grown up working together, so have evolved in a similar way and really love each other. Making a film felt like a natural progression of this because we are now interested in making things move. It’s also the first time I’d worked with Haley Wollens. And Grant Armour was great too.

TN: You feature quite a few familiar faces, I imagine coming together for projects like this feels a bit like working with a big creative family?
CB: A bit, not everyone in the film is necessarily playing themselves though. Individually each person has their own things, art, careers, friendship groups going on so I don’t try to take that from them ever. I think it’s more that people come together to make Eloise’s or my vision (regarding presentations) and they know what they are in store for.

TN: You often work with these performance artists, do you have any favourite recent moments?
CB: I love what Liv Fontaine did for FW16 which was presented at the ICA. In the film she’s sitting in the front row in this film with the leather coat and veil on.

“Film feels a bit more democratic, and I like the idea of public art, it’s something I want to explore more.”

TN: You showed three films as part of your presentation for FW16 earlier this year. Why is the medium attractive to you?
CB: I think it feels fairly new still because each film has been with someone different. I think film is important because not many people can come see the presentation and work in person. It feels a bit more democratic, and I like the idea of public art really it’s something I want to explore more.

See more of the film and collection at Claire Barrow’s website.