When last we saw Gianluca Gibbons and Hannah Eggen of HEЯITAGE, the pair of Bermudians was looking fresh on Santee Street in the heart of Los Angeles’s boisterous Fashion District. That was the setting of the gorgeous video for “Speak Life,” their cover version of the Damian Marley hit, and it suited the style-conscious musicians perfectly. To Gibbons and Eggen, fashion is about more than just sharp-looking clothes – fashion means presentation, self-affirmation, creativity, a form of artistic expression. While the members of HEЯITAGE sing about some of their favorite brands in “Fashion Slayer,” their latest single, they know that the best fashion is whatever makes the wearer feel empowered.
Unlike “Speak Life,” “Fashion Slayer” is a HEЯITAGE original. It’s the lead single from The Color Blue, their latest full-length, and a perfect example of the spell that Gibbons and Eggen cast when they trade verses. Eggen’s vocal performance is conversational and approachable, but still sufficiently sassy to sell the sentiment; Gibbons has just enough swagger to let the listener know he means business, and just enough sweetness to assure us that he doesn’t take himself all that seriously. The pop/R&B track is propelled by a scratchy funk guitar and highlighted by one of the most acrobatic, elastic bass lines we’ve heard all year. The result is a track that celebrates fashion in its many forms: haute couture, street style, haphazard, eclectic, HEЯITAGE loves it all.
Gibbons and Eggen may (or may not) have gotten their threads in Los Angeles, but their attitudes about fashion were formed on their home island. As visitors know well, Bermudians are famous for their sense of style. No two islanders dress alike; often, it seems like no islander looks less than fantastic. That Bermudian sense of individual expression is on display in Allison A. Waite’s kinetic clip for “Fashion Slayer.” It’s an opportunity for the members of HEЯITAGE to raid the closet for their best and most eye-catching threads: just for starters, a gold sequined dress plus vintage jewelry and lemon-yellow pumps for Eggen, a leopard-print top and a cream-colored sport jacket for Gibbons. Naturally, they look fantastic – and there are plenty of changes to come. Waite, a young director who has already won the Princess Grace HBO Film Award, is assisted here by the daring Los Angeles stylists Jerris Madison and Phillip Keophaphone. Together, they’ve made a video that plays like a celebration of HEЯITAGE’s music, and a distillation of the joys of fashion.
