Kim Jones
The couple’s distinct and impactful aesthetics and artistry are on full display in these two short films.
Kim Jones and Jericho “Echo” Rosales are no strangers to the camera. The stylish couple has long been known by the public for their work acting, hosting, and presenting. Along with their editorial “Heat Wave,” for the April issue of Vogue Philippines, which answers the question “What does modern love look like?” the pair delve deep into their creative prowess to debut two short films: Cosmos and Coyote.
Jones tells Vogue Philippines that the concept for the two films began with her show notes for Gucci’s COSMOGONIE collection, alongside concepts such as that of the mythological, signs and symbols, and the idea that “women have often worn constellations on their bodies.”
“Gucci gave us free rein on which pieces from the collections we could work with, so I went with what I was most drawn to, black lace and boned dresses, shapely and structured,” she says. “I also wanted to show a different side to Echo. He was so game to explore with me, donning sparkles and a shaved head for the first time. I’ve always felt that Gucci has encouraged play, and play we did. Echo is a born adventurer, and we really wanted to work that in.”
The first film, Cosmos, features Jones abstracted in a desert landscape or amorphous over warm thermal tones. The second, Coyote, sees Rosales running through the same ambiguous barren lands, amongst washes of blue.
“I was so excited to work on this collection in particular because I have a wild obsession with nebulae and anything space-related,” Jones says. “Creating fashion work is so fun because they don’t necessarily require a narrative anchor. You can just ride the waves of little cues and ideas to the end.”
She goes on to explain that her creative vision settled in otherworldly, distorted concepts. “It’s where my brain seems to want to settle a lot these days.”
The multidisciplinary creative has been dabbling with writing scripts over the last few years—a practice that she calls confronting, and deeply personal. “It requires a lot of self-understanding and awareness, so there’s a lot of my own exploration that has been transmuted into these concepts,” she continues. “I’m a diehard sci-fi fan, so I always find myself leaning toward those kinds of locations and visuals.”
Despite a well-established career in the limelight, the model-turned-digital creative and entrepreneur says she had been scared to share her own work until recently. Though she’s only just begun her directorial work, Jones has already developed a distinct filmmaking style. When asked about the origins of this aesthetic, she tells us, “I blame my Scorpio moon. I blame my introversion. I just enjoy playing with film, I learn by doing…I like that they’re a bit scruffy around the edges, a little bit like me.”
For this project, Jones gets to test out her filmmaking skills on her husband, who she speaks fondly of as a creative collaborator. “I have always enjoyed shooting Echo in any capacity. I like pushing his buttons and seeing where he’ll take it, he’s such an agile actor, and it shows in everything he does,” she says. “We obviously have a very deep connection, and it’s such a joy to channel that kind of trust in a work environment.”
The budding director tells Vogue Philippines that her jaw actually dropped when she sat in one of his acting workshops. “I had never seen this side of him before that day, despite living with him for a decade,” Jones gushes.
“It’s not too shabby having such a talented actor to work with on-demand for these fun projects, but it’s also just fun yelling at him, ‘okay, now dance!‘ ‘Now run! Faster, faster!‘ and he has no choice but to do it. It makes me very happy,” she jests.
Films by Kim Jones. Fashion by Gucci.
