“Lilac Wine” is a music video directed by Vanessa Marzaroli of Bl:nd to celebrate Dr. Marten’s 50th anniversary. The song is Cinematic Orchestra’s rendition of the cult classic, “Lilac Wine,” made popular in the early 90s by Jeff Buckley.
Inspired by Spencerian Calligraphy, “Lilac Wine” is hypnotic as subtle movements transition incarnations of lost love. Like sheet music, the design pairs perfectly with the drifting music, in and out of solitude. The beauty of this graphic language is no surprise coming from a company with a history of creating some of the most iconic black and white spots in the industry.
Vanessa Marzaroli, creative director of the 2006 music video for Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”, tells us more about “Lilac Wine”
The idea for the video came to me right away. The music is moving and it really felt like some sort of a lover’s letter or testimonial to me. With that said, I wanted something that was hand written and full of beautiful flourishes. I’m very fond of typography and calligraphy, so through my research, I found Spencerian penmanship to be quite inspirational.
I actually have a much deeper connection with animation. In my heart, I treat each project like a piece of music. This worked well for “Lilac Wine”, and we really took the opportunity to do something that was compelling to us, something we’d love to create.
With its grace and striking design, “Lilac Wine” takes us back to a time in our industry’s history when it wasn’t as important to create the most trendy work, as it was to challenge ourselves to do what we love, and be ourselves, better.