@LArge Productions + Post partners with Matthew Rolston for new beauty and lifestyle division
@LArge Productions + Post has partnered with director, photographer and creative director Matthew Rolston to launch ROLSTON@LArge. The site, which bills itself as “tastefully disruptive,” is dedicated to the development and production of beauty, fashion and lifestyle projects with intelligence and verve.
Rolston and managing director Tracy Mays will oversee the division, which is central to the @LArge model of forming strategic self-sustaining alliances with brands and key creatives, according to a release. Rolston will take on the hyphenated role of Director/CD/EP, with Beth Aranda in charge of production and Ashley Hydrick heading postproduction. The company will also feature handpicked directing talent curated by Rolston and Mays.
“Matthew is one of the foremost beauty directors in the world and an iconic visionary who deeply understands brands and business,” commented Tracy Mays. “ROLSTON@LArge harnesses Matthew’s creativity and energy for work with agencies and clients. It also sets the stage for the next wave of directing talent who understand how to maximize content, beautifully.”
“What we are doing together is a focus on the marriage of ideas and exceptional visuals to define stories for brands, artfully and with meaning,” explained Rolston. “It’s a compelling time for creativity because the old box, one that has an unnecessarily limited scope, is quickly breaking down. Diverse expressions with a level of quality and style are what we aim for. Tracy always has an eye to the future and @LArge has established a reputation for original thinking and solutions, both of which make this an exciting union.”
Rolston is internationally known for award-winning music videos and advertising projects for a diverse array of clients, including Beyoncé Knowles, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, and Christina Aguilera, as well as helming print and television campaigns for brands including Campari, Bacardi, L’Oreal, Revlon, Esteé Lauder, Clairol, Pantene, Elizabeth Arden, Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren and Burberry. His photographs have been published in many magazines, including Interview, Vogue, W, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, over 100 covers of Rolling Stone, and over 40 covers of O, The Oprah Magazine. Rolston’s photographs have also been exhibited at museums and institutions including The Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Rolston added the title of creative director to develop innovative projects in experiential design, including hospitality, product design and new media ventures. Rolston’s first hospitality brand creation, developed for sbe Entertainment, was The Redbury hotel, its Hollywood, California, flagship, which was followed by a second location in South Beach, Miami, a third in New York City. Working closely with Sam Nazarian, Rolston was deeply involved in every aspect of the project, from the naming to the logo, from design concepts to marketing strategies. He also oversaw an extensive team that included architects, interior designers, graphic designers, music, and scent experts – even the uniform company that supplied the look-and-feel of the staff wardrobe. This layered approach to the tactile and emotional experience typifies Rolston’s process.
A teacher and guest lecturer at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California, Rolston mentors new talent, which he will do with the rising directors that will be central to the Rolston@LArge experience.