How Blade Runner, and the film’s Hong Kong influences, continue to inspire designer Alexis Holm
- Ridley Scott’s 1982 film remains a source of inspiration for the Swedish watch and footwear designer
- ‘Even now that November 2019, the month and year in which the movie is set, has passed us by. It has a futuristic vision’
Blade Runner (1982), directed by Ridley Scott, is regularly acclaimed as the greatest science-fiction film of all time. Starring Harrison Ford, Sean Young and Rutger Hauer, and loosely based on cult sci-fi writer Philip Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the film is famed for its dark tone, complex themes of morality and human identity, and atmospheric visuals influenced by the aesthetics of Hong Kong.
Alexis Holm, Hong Kong-based Swedish watch and footwear designer, and owner of retail outlet Squarestreet, explains how it changed his life.
I first saw Blade Runner when I was in my late teens, about 25 years ago, and it’s kept a hold on me since then. Almost every aspect of the movie interested me: it’s my favourite film of all time, and contains a lot of inspiration, life lessons and interesting stories surrounding it.
It’s a movie that I continue to reference and learn from in everything I do – whether it be believing in your vision, pushing the boundaries of what people expect, that details matter when designing, or that a great script can go a long way.
Rewatching it when I was older, I delved into all the detail of the film. I first saw it on VHS, which is kind of low res, but when seeing it again in the early 2000s, I realised there was so much detail going on. It’s visually stunning.
My family on my mother’s side are all artists – everyone draws and paints. When I saw all the work that went into visualising these futuristic landscapes, I was inspired to become good at drawing.
Blade Runner was also one of the movies that made me want to get into special effects. I was convinced that I wanted to do make-up, creature effects and models.
The film never looks dated, even now that November 2019, the month and year in which the movie is set, has passed us by. It has a futuristic vision that still feels futuristic.
I was also inspired by the film’s Hong Kong influences. When I first watched it, I didn’t realise the visuals were based on Hong Kong, but when I moved here (to be close to his manufacturers in mainland China), it became obvious. I also realised that the eye dealer (Hannibal Chew, a designer of synthetic eyes who plays a small but pivotal role in the film) is speaking Cantonese.
Blade Runner stirred something deep inside me and perhaps set my aesthetic and creative compass without me knowing it at the time. Maybe this is why I find storytelling as part of my design work so important, and why the products I make not only need to be perfect in every way, but also bring something new and unexpected to the market.
