Appetite for Perfection is a short film made during AMFI's third-year Visual Culture & Theory film period, where a crew of students recreates a fashion film across several intensive shoot days. The initial concept — identity as performance, and a woman who unravels until she's revealed to be nothing more than a plated dish — was my pitch, developed during Concept Week and selected as the crew's final brief.
I chose not to direct — I handed the story to Charley and Adelina and took on the role of Art Director alongside Kiki instead, building the film's world: every garment, every prop, every pinned seam and perfectly placed piece of fruit had to carry the story's logic that appearances are constructed, not natural.
The film draws on Loewe's Fall 2023 collection, the satire of Yorgos Lanthimos and Ruben Östlund, and the uncanny domesticity of Don't Worry Darling and The Stepford Wives, to ask a simple question: are we dressing up for ourselves, or for an illusion?
Group crew project — university brief, not an official collaboration with any named brand or filmmaker.
Do you have an appetite for perfection? A woman who seems too perfect — immaculately dressed, living in a beautiful home — cleans, cooks and gets ready in a house that is really a set. As the camera moves closer, her outfits turn out to be pinned rather than worn, her tasks grow steadily more absurd, and the illusion starts to come undone.
In a world where we're always performing for the camera, this film explores identity as performance — inspired by Loewe's surreal minimalism, where first looks are simple, but closer inspection reveals playful, unsettling distortion.
The protagonist, like the house she inhabits, is perfectly staged — presenting an image until the illusion is uncovered. Her pinned clothing symbolizes how appearance is constructed and held together artificially, much like a curated online persona.
As she performs mundane tasks in bizarre, misplaced ways — grilling steak in the sink, ironing a piece of bread — reality warps, revealing the absurdity of living for the image rather than authenticity.
The final transformation — where she is revealed to be a dish rather than a person — is the ultimate commentary: she was never real, only something to be consumed, admired, and arranged for display, like a body on a feed.
As Art Director, my job was to build the physical logic of the illusion — sourcing five looks for the protagonist, Dalia, that could visibly evolve from put-together to unravelling across the film, plus styling for the supporting crew.
Zimmermann trousers · vintage thrifted jacket (VENLA, Sydney) · vintage thrifted shirt (Episode, Amsterdam) · vintage thrifted scarf (Waterlooplein Markets) · thrifted kitten heels (Kringloopbedrijf) · gloves, pearls & sleeves borrowed from a crew member.
Dress set & apron from Clara Erbenich's "Not your average housewife" collection · gloves (SoLow Feestwinkel) · thrifted kitten heels (Kringloopbedrijf) · tights (King Louie outlet) · hair ribbon (A. Boeken Fabric & Notions).
Nightdress borrowed from Kilostore · robe, gloves, pearls & shoes borrowed from a crew member · foot strap (A. Boeken Fabric & Notions).
Skirts from Natalia Nunez's "Esscence" collection · jacket from my own "Colouring Nostalgia" collection · top from Clara Erbenich's "Not your average housewife" collection · remaining pieces borrowed from crew members or Kilostore.
Extras were styled from a mix of vintage thrifted pieces (Episode, Amsterdam) and pieces borrowed from crew members.
Four Amsterdam locations, dressed and re-dressed to read as one continuous, too-perfect house — plus the rail of sourced and borrowed pieces every look was pinned together from.
The concept began with a single Pressure Cooker exercise during Concept Week — building associations from Loewe's Fall 2023 Ready-to-Wear show (texture, surreal minimalism, off-beat twists on everyday wardrobe pieces) into a narrative about digital-age identity.
Film references included Yorgos Lanthimos, Ruben Östlund, and The Substance's extreme close-ups and satire; Sofia Coppola's stillness; Don't Worry Darling's uncanny domesticity; Coraline's eerie mother; and the 50s-housewife perfection of The Stepford Wives. The location styling — kitchen, dining room, vanity and bathroom — was sourced across four separate Amsterdam locations to build one continuous, too-perfect house.
Concept development & moodboarding — process document pages
