Belle Smith
is a filmmaker and director based in Los Angeles, New York & London. She was born in the United States and grew up in the Illinois. For four years she was an expat in Singapore and Finland with her family. She got her start by creating fashion films and commercials on YouTube at the age of fifteen while in Europe. While working in the fashion industry, she completed her education and graduated in August 2019 with a Bachelors Degree from DePaul University's School of Cinematic Arts.
Currently her clients include Marc Jacobs, Dior, Baron & Baron, Maison Margiela, Stella McCartney, Miu Miu, Mulberry, Mary Katrantzou, Maison Kitsune, Whistles, and Moda Operandi.
As a nineteen year old filmmaker and have starred in, directed, filmed and edited my film’s for four years. I used YouTube as a creative portfolio as well as an outlet that allowed my art to have an audience. As a film student, I wanted nothing more than to take a leap into the world of art in a role that allowed me to use by multifaceted interests and talents in the arts. I am a constructor of things, magical realities.
At the age of three, the movie Beauty and The Beast shaped me, including my name. My given name is Victoria. At 15, Tim Burton inspired me to focus my artistic talents on filmmaking. Karl Lagerfeld was the man who dazzled me into the fine art of fashion and in 2015, Alessandro Michele inspired me to take risks with my creativity. Steve Jobs and Arthur Schopenhauer reminded me of the power design and aesthetics have over our world. Beauty is important, contrary to many, and it is everywhere. Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando, Winona Ryder, Helena Bonham Carter and Heath Ledger have inspired me to take on the art form that intimidated me the most... performing in front of the camera, art that embodies real life the closest.
I was chosen to be one of the twenty people to be flown out to Los Angeles for Katie Grand’s brave and genius Willy Wonka quest alongside Kendall Jenner. I truly couldn't stop smiling.Watching everyone's beautiful energy and childlike enthusiasm, I couldn't take my eyes off of anyone, I couldn't have felt more at home and myself. People were making creative decisions left and right, and will never have to to justify why they were doing something because if it worked, it worked. It reassured me...the things people had told me were two weird in the suburbs... were being done left in right in a professional setting. I needed to see that. I needed to know I had been doing something right for all these years.
School has always been bitterly against the hyper creative I have never felt more reassured. I had always felt that about Love, it was almost like a safe place , a place where creativity truly ran free. Four years ago, I spent my entire spring break curating a short experimental film that was entirely inspired by Love. My creative drive and energy was provided to me by Love. Love didn’t treat me as a consumer, it treated me like an artist. Love filled me with the thrill of inspiration and the idea of creative choice, something I can confidently say, I live for.
On the first day, I walked out of a car to meet Katie Grand, the person that is responsible for the beauty that shaped so much of my world was standing directly in front of me. That evening I was invited back for the second day to shoot moving image where I was lucky enough to not only shoot behind the scenes but direct my own visuals as well. Upon wrapping, I found myself welling up with tears over and over again, somehow managing to find myself cradled by Gwen Christie while simultaneously admiring the genius of Panos Yiapanis. Love never fails to hit the most cool mark and it's insane print issues are true unpretentious work of art. (2017)
London's Fashion Week's queen of colorful creativity and the hot young fashion film-maker on making characters with clothes and what really happens backstage...
