Eastwick takes you into the magical dark world of three women, Amanda Smith, Jesse Stewart and Sveta Matiunina Photogenics who enchant their viewers with fashion from AKIxMANN. The fashion film, directed by William Sikora III captures a dark, yet visually beautiful group of women who many in the town of Eastwick are against. Could they be outcasts or witches? Don’t be fooled by their beautiful looks, the stories told often lead to nightmares.
Photographer // Ben Duggan @duggangram
Assistants // Geoffrey Glenister @geoffrey_austinDarren Bertonneau @vastblue
Video Director // William Sikora III @iamsikora
Creative Direction // Michael Mann @michael.mann of @akixmann
Fashion // Michael Mann & Tyler Mann (@michael.mann @tylerjacobmusic @akixmann )
Hair // Tina Greene @tina.greene
Make Up Artist // Nimai Marsden @makeupbynimai
Eastwick takes you into the magical dark world of three women, Amanda Smith, Jesse Stewart and Sveta Matiunina Photogenics who enchant their viewers with fashion from AKIxMANN. The fashion film, directed by William Sikora III captures a dark, yet visually beautiful group of women who many in the town of Eastwick are against. Could they be outcasts or witches? Don’t be fooled by their beautiful looks, the stories told often lead to nightmares.
Photographer // Ben Duggan @duggangram
Assistants // Geoffrey Glenister @geoffrey_austinDarren Bertonneau @vastblue
Video Director // William Sikora III @iamsikora
Creative Direction // Michael Mann @michael.mann of @akixmann
Fashion // Michael Mann & Tyler Mann (@michael.mann @tylerjacobmusic @akixmann )
Hair // Tina Greene @tina.greene
Make Up Artist // Nimai Marsden @makeupbynimai
Creating the visual for Brandy’s first new music in five years was no small step. AKIxMANN enlisted William Sikora to join up with their out of this world style to film an art film for the legendary Brandy that debuted in Schon Magazine.
“They said they wanted something really edgy and slightly twisted, her style and looks on the shoot were ‘new’ Brandy, it was super fresh and different and I wanted to carry that over in the visual edit. It brought me back to my roots as an editing days when I first started editing digitally, I used to play with so many concepts and warped images. Brandy is beyond beautiful, to add that edgy/twisted vibe to it made her pop even more. I wanted to add a horror mood to it, speeding up shots, putting shots in reverse, mirror shots to give her that goddess look, it all came together as I started editing.” Sikora said.
Brandy and Ray J brought their song “Edible High” into the project which was the first new music released in years. The song itself is an edgy, smooth harmony filled jam. “I wanted to have the song before I even started editing, I wanted every beat and kick in the song to be choreographed visually, it is not your typical music video and I think that’s what people loved about it.”
AKIxMANN’s Michael & Tyler Mann crafted her out of this world style to a nature elements theme which carried over in the video with water, fire, wind, earth, sky.
“It was an incredible honor to work with such a legendary artist who was beyond humble and amazing. We were working in 110 degrees, surrounded by hordes of flies, drenched in sweat out in the middle of a desert sea surrounded by dead fish and trash; it was quite an experience, something I will never forget. We were all troopers that day.” Sikora said.
Brandy is back and looking better than ever in her latest shoot from Editorial Director Michael Mann and Photographer Tyren Redd. Go behind the scenes on the shoot with Brandy and see the looks, the style, and all the personality from the legendary Brandy. Sikora Entertainment was proud to collaborate with AKIxMANN and edit the footage for them.
Brandy spoke to Fashion Bomb Daily in her interview:
There was a time where I didn’t know who I really was. It has nothing to do with status or with records, or anything. I didn’t know my worth or my value. I didn’t have a sense of self. I didn’t really know who I was or what I was here to do. I asked myself, “What am I here to do? What was I created for?” I lost track of that. And to lose track of that is almost like the walking dead. People can do anything to you, people can take advantage of you, people can manipulate you and take you down alleys you don’t deserve to go down. This has happened in many different phases of my life. But I can assure you today, in 2017, on whatever date this is, that that will never happen again. That mentality is something I will never revert to again. Once you know, you can never unknow it. You know who you are. You can see who you are, and you can never unsee it. I’m very blessed to be in this state of being.
