Creative Direction for @sifaliskin
Still life, product textures & new e-commerce imagery for their new website relaunch designed by @nuy.world
sifali.co.uk
Production, photography & retouch: @epitomeplus__
Product stylist: @sherin_awad
Equipment: @epitomestudio_
Mercedes Benz ‘Driving Passion’ Editorial, across Europe, from Arena Magazine (1990s)
This scan closes the initial and (very) brief VERBAL/VISUAL STIMULI series. We saw this as an opportunity to get our thoughts out via printed matter close to us.
At the root of all of our interests and endeavours are our senses: VERBAL & VISUAL.
It’s with these we can unlock new realities via conversation, listening & execution.
Mercedes Benz epitomises legacy and luxury within the car world anyway. Class, robustness and accessibility. Not only does this editorial serve as a paradox between the traditionally ‘luxury’ backdrop of Monaco and contemporary perspective on sports cars of this time; it furthers the more psychological perspective on how one can position themselves in spaces that maybe weren’t built for them.
quote, end quote.
We’ve been buying more printed material, building the archive and most importantly, building IRL. Excited to share new thoughts, ideas and work — of course.
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great sounds_____🎧
This collection of music summarises the VERBAL/VISUAL way of thinking.
Popularised in the 90s, ‘Downtempo’ took clubbing into a new dimension by offering partygoers a liminal space via breakout rooms and after parties to wind down and waft through transportive sonic soundscapes, easing them back into their realities.
This term isn’t naturally favoured by OGs but it can be characterised by its stylish pulse, dreamlike loops, sample usage and ambient injections.
Its origins can be traced back to the music gurus of Bristol, UK who utilised genres like dub, drum n bass & hip-hop as canvases then recontextualised how those same sounds could be experienced. This music has a tendency to transport, perfectly encapsulating the term “audio-visual”.
It is that transportation element that resonates with us: whether it be navigating new cities, waiting for a plane, getting lost in the window of your train ride, jumping in a cab after a party or floating through time at home with some friends; there never seems to be a wrong setting for Electronic, Downtempo & Soundtrack.
Our addictive research into the respective genres above has told us a few things:
• the cross-industry parallels will never fizzle out
Namely fashion & film play a huge interwoven connection to these genres and felt widely atune in films such as Ocean’s 11, Jason Bourne, Heat and more.
Following this, the distinctive giants of the 90s: Calvin Klein, Prada, Helmut Lang, Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten and Jil Sander all had a role to play within the context of how these music lovers would identify themselves and characterise themself on a dance floor, behind a deck or on a first class plane seat
• the 90s spoke a collective language that we may not be able to get back again, in its purest form but 2026 poses a new way of conversing
• people were and are still searching for feeling
We’re interested in exploring these sounds and the spaces that facilitate them more intimately as well as developing our own… one day 💿
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Louis Vuitton MRTW FW19 Rubber-Coated Gloves (2022, from Virgil Abloh’s ‘Figures of Speech’)
Virgil had a way of embedding codes and language into ubiquitous products. One of them being within these gloves. Traditionally for workwear but now re-contextualised and suddenly a statement of currency, marker of personality and a signal of a certain way of thinking.
Found within the biblical pages of his 2022 released ‘Figures of Speech’ (there is a deluxe version), this book is a must read for any creative looking for guidance and a blueprint on approaching their craft, archiving work and navigating identity.
LLV
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Evian Ad, from Wallpaper Magazine (1999)
On our internal V/VISUAL GUIDE the last page says “IF VERBAL/VISUAL WAS WATER IT’D BE EVIAN”
This prompt was an exercise to get us thinking beyond the parameters of what a “Creative Studio” could be in 2026 and beyond.
The take away wasn’t as literal as being fluid or transparent but more about how we morph and adapt to different environments whilst still retaining our visual identity and flair.
Water’s boring. It’s just another element. There could be so many other liquids to advertise but the challenge lies in the mundaneness: how does one make a regular element cool, desirable and stylish.
Although Evian’s evolved and changed there are still nods to its understanding of how to be weaved within design and culture conversations. It still feels adjacent to a Wallpaper Mag spot 27 years later and is still open to a Virgil Abloh (RIP) & Pharrell/Human Race collaboration.
Evian is still living young, just in a different guise.
The questions we take away from this are:
• how do we establish a chameleonic visual identity that transcends our position within industry
• when evolution occurs, what will our stance be - to change or stick to what we know?
• is there an in-between?
@evianwater we’ve got ideas _____🌐
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Nokia 8810 Ad, from Arena Magazine (1998)
The prospect of connection. Before the mobile phone boom in the late 90s, there was more a of a focused concentration on handsets for working “professionals”. Little did these giants know that a wave of communication and mobility was looming.
Apart of this wave: Apple (of course), BlackBerry, Sony Erikson & Nokia. We’re focused on Nokia because they pioneered mobile tech on a consumer level faster and more intuitive than any other competitor, at the time.
Abbreviated text messages, Snakes, mp3 all existed within the evolutionary change of the millennium and Nokia’s branding, slick messaging and stylised visual storytelling seeped into culture effortlessly.
Unfortunately ‘Connecting People’ was not enough for Nokia to sustain its relevance and financially power into the 2010s with other giants like Apple & Android-powered companies taking charge, building ecosystems and doubling down on being weaved into the pulse of people’s lives. It’s a lesson for a all but as a caste study, Nokia can never be forgotten.
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Comme Des Garçons Chelsea, New York Store (1999)
The facade fees like a portal to another world, which in hindsight, given the launch of this store (27 years ago) is not far-fetched whatsoever.
Comme Des Garçons never needs an introduction. Artisanal, needle-pushing, playful and everything in-between.
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Tricky, Arena Magazine (1990s)
Hailing from Bristol, Tricky was an early pioneer of a sonic movement in the 90s that we’re heavily inspired by.
Downtempo and “trip-hop”, although not embraced by a lot of artists in this era ruminates in our process of creation, travel and soundtracks any liminal space we occupy.
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Dai Nippon Printing Media House in Tokyo, Japan (1998)
The usage of glass creating visual transparency, light reflection and absorption. It feels clinically designed yet futuristic.
As the VVISUAL STIMULI collection grows you’ll notice an apparent collective tonal aesthetic across the chosen references.
The 90s was a decade filled with what could possibly be described as the last of the first, to us. It was pre-digital (of course technology existed) but the idea of a new age loomed large which could be seen via a range of visual communications: logos, interior design, campaigns etc. All of these mediums played together communicating a mix between skepticism and embrace.
This blue glare appeals to us because it marks a time where the world was synced in more ways than none via creative communication: filmmaking, photography, advertisement and more.
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Mahfuz Sultan interviews ‘Arthur Kar on making the motor world fashion’ for I-D (2022)
When we think of L’art de l’Automobile we think of the car chases in Ronin and the inner city realities of La Haine.
The luxury price tags in the arsenal of cars Arthur has is offset with the way in which he depicts them. They are art pieces but they’re cars that are meant to be driven, pushed, road tested, sported and driven around — especially in Paris.
Beyond the stature of Porsches, Ferrari’s and rare Mercedes, there is an apparent grittiness to the aesthetic of L’art that feels mundane and almost everyday.
If VV was a car, it’d be a Mercedes 300CE
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