New Drop: 'Walimbwende Wa Kasri' by 199x
A conversation with 199x creative director, Michael Mwangi Maina, highlighting their recent drop, Walimbwende Wa Kasri.
Describe this recent Drop
This was an ingrown project that sought to showcase what we can offer to the market in terms of visual arts and its relation to marketing. It is also one of the first successful projects that we've been able to accomplish as a team and an entity in which all the sections within our organization were in play ; photography, film and video production, creative direction with outside sources for wardrobe and styling all fused into one for the essence of presenting product in a unique and beautiful way.
Drop Title if any?
The Title goes by Walimbwende Wa Kasri and it's written by 199x. It tells the tale of 3 'dandies' and their time together in a castle.
Who it's for?
It's for us and our company showcasing and telling our own authentic stories and presenting this as a package to the worldwide market in terms of service when it comes to visual arts.
Why now?
There couldn't have been a much better time to take over the visual art scene other than now because there has been a missing piece for a while, but the emerging voices now that are challenging the status quo and doing things to the extent and love they are supposed to done, have been a glimmer of hope and we just want to keep running, see where this road leads us.
How did you Come up with the name 'Head In The Sky'
The whole concept came in play when we were thinking about how the wardrobe pieces we'd selected would camouflage perfectly with a perfect blue sky, then we worked around the idea in terms of creative direction and we brought this masterpiece to life.
How did this concept of mixing film and apparel come together?
Creating film in relation to apparel or fashion as a whole is something that is being done and has been done in the high end fashion scene and it's really powerful to see what it can achieve in terms of marketing product. The fact it's something that we're able to do within our collective was inspiration enough for us to start doing it with our own authentic print and our overall aesthetic that draws inspiration from the 90s era that we got to experience a bit of.
‘Honey’ is a well put together music video, your first? How was working on that project?
Honey was the first short films we got to do ; it was more of a promo video for Wanja Wohoro's then dropping Ep [ Honey ]. It being one of our first big commissions, we were tasked to shoot the cover which was a collaboration between Wanja and EA Wave. The whole project was seamlessly done by people who are the best at what they do ; starting from styling, lighting, creative directing , art directing, cover design and photography. It was as professional as it's supposed to be and it was amazing what we were able to produce.
Soda Party has to be one of the cleanest looking photoshoots out there! Even getting a feature on Vogue. Talk a little on this experience?
Soda Party came together from our collaboration with our friends and affiliates the collective ' Urban Pitchaz'. We hosted them over at our home studios in Nakuru and we had a couple of days dedicated to creating. It was amazing to see how much could be brewed in just a matter of days and when creative juices are in sync and given the time and opportunity to explore. Everything was beautifully done by the two teams and it was also amazing to see the impact that comes when the best come together and champion for not just a story but an authentic one in the coolest way possible.
What's the affiliation with Urban Pitchaz?
The relationship with Urban Pitchaz extends even way before their collective and our company came to be. Individually our creative paths stumbled upon each other around 4 years ago and we've been on this journey together because our visions are in line. The goal has been to change the narrative that was on the Kenyan creative scene at the time which majorly drew inspiration from outside rather than within and we always felt we could change the narrative through our creations and we've come to see the impact it's made. It's beautiful to see the strides that we were able to do then and the strides that we are able to do now as two strong collective fronts in the Kenyan creative scene.
Where do you see 199x in 5 years?
Wow. We've been able to achieve so much within a year in play and it's exciting now more than ever whenever we think about our future.
In 5 years 199x will be a fully functional creative company, with the aim to provide an authentic service to the market as well be a source of employment for creative individuals. Also in 5 years time we aim to have centered ourselves in the art scene and leverage this to provide an art distribution network around Kenya that eases the burden of artists, especially visual artists who can easily fend off of their products and productions. Our Apparel section will also be thriving as an entity of its own and we aim to bring new designs to life very soon. In 5 years we also hope to have fully grown our media section 'Studio 9x'.
All photos courtesy of 199x
