The Laines, Brighton Fashion !By Vanessa Silva !!!!

Inspired by the quirky and one of a kind fashion sense that is seen, accepted and embraced all over Brighton, this short documentary explores the vintage shops of the Laines and how it enables fashion conscious people to dress uniquely and express their individuality and true self through clothes. !Adopting both expository and poetic documentary modes, the directors include the ‘voice of God’ which in this instance is fashion guru of the shop ‘Rob the dog’ Anton Spreckley. “I believe fashion in Brighton, the people believe they’re individualistic but not as individualistic as they think.” His authoritative and opinionated view point on fashion is central in piecing as well as contrasting the strong imagery, bluesy sounds and mini interviews with retro loving students that all link in with the key themes of the documentary. These include: individuality, fashion and vintage. !From the wise and experienced expertise of Anton to the fresh youthful statements of the two interviewees TigerLily (fashion blogger) and Max (lover of individuality). ‘The Laines, Brighton Fashion’ caters to many a people, these include all age groups that have a curiosity and thirst or just want an insight into why some people dress so differently to what is seen as the ‘norm’ in society. One way the documentary achieves this variety of interest is through setting the same atmospheric tone that draws hundreds of people to Laines each day. ‘Blues and misery’ by Ole Sonny Boy opens up the documentary, setting a chilled vibe to entice the viewers in and set the pace up for the next 4 minutes. !Features such as cut aways of people browsing/shopping with animated faces and stools or shops with eye catching products are shown to add meaning to what is being said throughout the documentary. The shot type ‘Alone in a crowd’ is used, this often involves someone of interest standing in the middle of a crowd, the people around are often edited to walk in fast forward or slow motion. In this case, it is used to symbolize the individualistic interviewees getting lost in a vast quantity of people even though they’ve dressed up to stand out in a crowd. More over, the interview with Anton Spreckly adds more depth to the narrative, he informs the audience of the sort of clothes he’s interested in and has a passion for selling. His spirited and dynamic character adds a touch of humor to the piece and ties all the features together to create something fascinating to watch. !In conclusion, the aim of the documentary is to discuss the Laines and how it permits people to dress individually explore whether dressing uniquely is even possible and lastly to enlighten viewers on the less commercial side of shopping and why people like to dress differently. This is all accomplished through technical features , strong visuals and alluring characters.