Behind the Realities of a Growing Business
Will and Ed Reid, brothers, directors and photographers, collided with Cole Buxton, a young luxury British sportswear brand, last year. Behind the brand are founders Jonny Wilson and Cole Buxton, who started their journey in the fashion industry wanting to create ‘elevated wardrobe essentials’ and carrying their own personal styles into the designs.
When Will and Ed Reid started working with Jonny and Cole, they created their first brand film - ‘CB52’ - off the back of the success the brand had recently had, during possibly its highest point at the time. Later, the two duos reunited to create a follow up docu-fiction film that started off as an imagined sequel to ‘CB52’, but became something much bigger than that.
During the production process of the second film, with the help of NOIR Productions, now called ‘Still Here’, the Cole Buxton brand went through unimaginable turmoil. So, the Reid brothers threw the original concept out of the window to replace it with something more vulnerable and raw - a story about a growing business, a tireless duo of founders, and everything in between. During that time, the brand was hit by unprecedented financial trouble, undoubtedly fueled by the country-wide economic crisis, which coincided with supply chain delays, Brexit and the lingering effects of the pandemic.
Will and Ed Reid were there for all of it, ultimately creating a one hour long feature drama, with documentary-style elements, telling the story of a fashion brand fighting for survival in turbulent times. According to the directors, through the second film, audiences gained the sense of what Cole Buxton really meant to its founders, and were met with unbridled authenticity.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to the Reid brothers about their unique relationship with the brand, why now is the time for brands to be more authentic than ever, and why it was so important to keep the cameras rolling, no matter what.
LBB> Tell us more about the relation between the two films and the progression of the brand that they depict?
The Reids> It’s interesting now looking back at ‘CB52’ in contrast to ‘Still Here’, because it’s a purely aspirational film in our opinion. There are, of course, scenes that showcase Jonny and Cole’s hard graft running the brand, and their anxiety leading up to the store opening, but the journey to that climax was an optimistic and exciting one - their faith in achieving that dream was never tested.
‘Still Here’, however, is what it looks like when faith is tested - when there is a legitimate risk that everything you’ve built could fall apart.
We think it has really become a film about the weight of living your dream - it takes a lot to remain worthy of these accomplishments. A prizefighter has to earn the keep on their belts and we definitely see Jonny and Cole in the ring a lot in this film working extremely hard to keep things moving in the face of both expected and unexpected adversities.
The main takeaway is that it’s always hard, but if you’re truly passionate about something, you’ll fight to make it work at any cost. There’s a line near the end where Jonny says, “It’s shite, but we love it.” This sums it up perfectly.
LBB> When making a film about determined business owners selling to an excitable customer base, what is the best approach to making the narrative compelling?
The Reids> We actually approached the making of the film more like a drama fiction than a documentary - using our coverage to construct scenes that conveyed as much information as possible on screen, without breaking the immersion by using documentary tropes like talking heads for exposition. We didn’t want to make that type of film as we are fiction directors first and foremost and we strongly believed that telling the story this way would be more engaging and give it a unique edge. The elements we did borrow from documentary, mainly the use of voice over, afforded us the ability to have Jonny and Cole recount their story in their own words, providing emotional insight and narrative context.
We’d started to develop this hybrid docu-fiction style in ‘CB52’ and with ‘Still Here’ we refined this approach even further as the subject matter of the new film lends itself to more dramaturgy. We really wanted to push the visual ambition of this film as much as possible, as it really enhances the story we’re telling and we believe will keep people rooted in it for longer.
LBB> How did the shoot develop? Did the film start taking its own shape as you went along and if so, what natural changes did it go through?
The Reids> We were expecting to come back and check in on them a year on from opening the store to find them thriving and enjoying their new reality - it was going to be a highlight reel of sorts, ‘CB52: Part 2’ about their new day-to-day lives in Soho.
But then something far more interesting started happening. The business started hitting extremely troubled waters and we were right there. We threw the original plan away to chase the reality of what was unfolding before us. This ended up being a far more truthful and sincere story about the realities of growing a business in some of the most economically turbulent times the world has ever lived through. In terms of plot lines, we knew we had to stick with Jonny and Cole. Regardless of how it turned out in the end, for better or worse, this focus on people rather than product would give the film its emotional core and plot. So yes, it started taking its own shape as we went along, we just had to keep up with it.
LBB> Tell us about the relationship between yourselves and the brand, and how that relationship translated to the film.
The Reids> Until we shot ‘CB52’, we didn’t really know Jonny and Cole. But through that creative collaboration we fostered a really close relationship between them as subjects and us as filmmakers. This proximity to them allowed us to slip right back in alongside them going into the production on ‘Still Here’.
As we were familiar faces around the office and the store, we could blend into the background as much as possible and there was a comfort between everyone that further facilitated our becoming invisible. We were the entire crew on set most days: shooting, running sound, lighting.
Between this nimbleness behind camera and the support and eagerness from both Jonny and Cole to have us everywhere they went, we had amazing access to what was going on at all times, which led to capturing some of the most intense and personal moments in the film, like the Black Friday stock meltdown, or Jonny on the phone to his mum. This is where the relationship we have really benefited the film - when it came to capturing honesty.
LBB> What was it like capturing the brand during such a difficult time and what were the lessons learned throughout?
The Reids> We imagine that, in a sense, it’s similar to what the crews on Planet Earth experience when capturing an animal being devoured by a predator - it’s heartbreaking when the creature you’ve been following ends up as lunch, but it makes for an exhilarating watch. There is a dichotomy of shooting this type of work. Behind camera, we can be having one of the best days shooting intense drama that we know will help craft the story and enhance the realness of the film, while simultaneously Jonny and Cole are having one of the worst days of the brand’s life, going through supply chain nightmares and existential crises.
Making the film through this time was hopefully somewhat of a silver lining. Despite all the hardship, we knew we were making something worthwhile.
It was really remarkable, being so close to everyone during this time in the business as it allowed us the most amazing perspective on it just as people, let alone directors. Seeing how a clothing brand like this functions was genuinely interesting and we’re really grateful that they were so open to working this way and didn’t shy away from the cameras when it got ugly, and wanted to share it with the world.
LBB> In a time during when brand authenticity is constantly interrogated by customers, why was it important to portray the brand honestly and how did you maintain that transparency throughout the film?
The Reids> The consumer appetite and the business requisite for ‘content’ is at an all-time high, meaning brands need to produce a constant stream of it to retain visibility and boost engagement. We’ve noticed since the release of ‘CB52’ a drastic increase in fashion brands putting out content beyond the short Instagram reels and TikTok videos. Daily vlogs and short behind the scenes documentaries are becoming more popular now as the current consumer expects a form of authenticity and transparency - people really do want to see how their garments are developed. However, most of these longer form bits of content serve as adverts for the brand and from what we’ve seen, never show the true grittiness of how hard it can get when everything is going wrong. It appears that a lot of brands don’t want this transparency to compromise their image. They portray a sexy 24/7 grind, but never the ugly graft.
We didn’t want to make content - we wanted to tell a good story.
Honesty is paramount in good storytelling and you can’t have honesty without transparency. The brand could’ve cut out Jonny losing his temper on the phone to suppliers or Cole himself having to check measurements on thousands of garments after production errors at the factories, but didn’t because it was important to the truth of the story. Jonny and Cole led this. They wanted to make sure the film was as warts-and-all as it could be to offer a transparency not yet seen in the business and fashion documentary genre as well as show other aspiring brand owners and designers what it takes. There was no point making this without being transparent. This isn’t a propaganda film for Cole Buxton.
LBB> Black Friday forms the culmination of the film - why did you decide to cover it like you did?
The Reids> During production, when the brand was entering troubled waters, the Black Friday sale was going to be a make or break moment, so it was impossible for us to be shooting and not have it as this approaching monster. Structurally, it gave us this perfect ticking clock to centre the film around. It was an important date, both in production and in editing.
However - after all the tension and build up, when we got there in the cut it was impossible not to make it a joyous scene. The brand smashed its sales records and we turned the day into a montage of levity and celebration. The in-store event was also a phenomenal success and we used it as a chance to show off all the best facets of the CB brand - the teamwork, the gorgeous clothes, the care they have for customers. It allowed us to reinforce the message that tough work does pay off if you remain focused.
Even as it passed, Black Friday was used then as a setup for the final denouement in the edit - after the joy of the day itself, the lads were thrown into more chaos when there were still issues with stock - so the monster does arrive, in a way. But not before they had a chance to enjoy themselves.
