At a time when red-carpet looks and advertising dollars dominate the way we see fashion, creativity can be overshadowed. But the creators of FLY — a fashion DVD magazine that will launch its second edition tonight at the Core Club — are presenting fashion in the context of art.

Whereas a print magazine has pages of fashion models in various settings, FLY has 14 films that last about three minutes each. The films create miniature worlds where ideas or hints of stories are communicated in original music and visuals. Models in clothing by top-flight labels — including Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, and more — are used more as actors (though there are few spoken words) than as mannequins.

“It’s a new way to experience artistic disciplines in a serious way,” FLY’s co-founder, Nima Abbasi, said. “Film, photography, fashion, music, art.”

The project allows viewers to see fashion in abstract, imaginative settings. In one film, men wearing Ralph Lauren suits help a matador don his gold costume, but as the action unfolds, a sinister side to the suited men emerges. In another, a model wearing a Zac Posen evening dress changes to a more casual outfit in the back of a cab.

Though the films are short, they create a mood that can have more variation than a still photograph. Several directors of the films are photographers, and the project offered a way try their hand at moving images. “They’re looking for different ways to reinforce their creativity. It’s another tool for them to show what they can do,” Mr. Abbassi said.

In addition to the fashion films, the disc contains music videos and documentary-style interviews with British artist Liam Gillick and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, whom the FLY team approaches in a way that puts his fame after his work. “We don’t care about celebrity. We don’t care about his diet. We care about him as a person, as an artist,” Mr. Abbasi said.

Packaged in a recycled cardboard rectangle about the same size as a European magazine, the limited edition DVD — only 7,500 copies were made — is sold for $45 in boutiques that focus on fashion or design. In New York, that includes Moss, the Mercer Hotel, and the MoMA design store. In Paris, it’s sold at Colette and in Tokyo at Restir.

To keep the commercial pressure to a minimum, the project has one sponsor: Veuve Clicquot. And the brand’s presence is limited to the inside of the packaging. How much did the champagne company give to fund the project? Mr. Abbasi said only — with a discreet raise of his eyebrows — “A lot.”