A Shaded View of Fashion Film (ASVOFF) 18th Edition
Since 2008, ASVOFF has brought together filmmakers, critics, students and industry professionals under one premise: that fashion film deserves the same spotlight as any of fashion’s other celebrated practices. Founded by Diane Pernet, ASVOFF acts as the world’s first fashion, culture, and film festival, helping incubate the fashion film genre as a recognized medium. This year’s 18th edition takes place November 12-15 at Dover Street Market Paris, with submissions open until September 30th
through FilmFreeway.
According to Pernet, the films shortlisted by the jury are never simply a depiction of pretty clothes, but touch on broader societal issues, stressing that the work needs to “pass an emotion and have a reason to exist.” This philosophy is reflected in the festival's thematic categories: Mental Health in Fashion, Black Spectrum, Chinese Fashion Films, AI Generated Films, Climate Warriors, Fashionable Intelligence, Student Films, Queer Archive, and Future Vintage.
This year, the jury will be led by one of fashion’s most celebrated milliner, Stephen Jones. Over four decades, this designer has shaped runway history alongside Vivienne Westwood, Rei Kawakubo, John Galliano, and Christian Dior, and his work has been held in major museum collections and celebrated in exhibitions at the Palais Galliera and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Beyond screenings, ASVOFF is also a moment of networking, panels and live performances, addressing industry questions in line with the themes above. Beyond the Paris event, the festival tours internationally, with screenings at prestigious institutions like the Centre Pompidou, the Barbican, and the Cannes Film Festival, bringing films, documentaries, conferences, performances, and installations to creative capitals around the globe.
Selected filmmakers will be notified October 31st, ahead of the festival's run from November 12–15. Past editions have drawn over 600 submissions from more than 60 countries, with roughly 100 films ultimately selected, a scale that underscores how far ASVOFF's and Pernet’s premise have traveled since its debut in 2008.
Words: Marina Teubal