Lights, camera... fashion!
Film and fashion have enjoyed a close-knit relationship throughout history.
However, whether the fashion industry is still influenced by film remains to be seen. Do film and fashion still play off each other, and does the catwalk reflect the silver screen?
Kate Battrick is an MA Film and Fashion student at London College of Fashion (LCF). While working as a stylist, Battrick also completed a short film based around the iconic image of the red dress.
“When I think about film, and when I think about fashion and trends, I see clothes as part of the narrative and they have to tell a story. The films today don’t use clothes as successfully as they used to… because costume is either too obvious or period drama,” says Battrick.
One film that has been sweeping up awards across the globe might be an exception to statement. “If you look at The King’s Speech, with the character Wallis Simpson (played by Eve Best) displaying that kind of ’30s glamour, it’s actually very chic, very Chanel.”
Battrick continues. “I suppose the last film that really did influence the catwalk significantly for both women’s and men’s fashion was The Queen. And that heritage fashion wasn’t just seen in the UK, but also in Paris, Milan and New York.”
Instantly recognisable
Films not only have the ability to create a lasting impression of the actors that play the characters on screen, but can also create instantly recognisable pieces of clothing that influence the fashion of today.
Battrick says: “There are certain things that you take from films which become iconic – a shoe or sunglasses or a print. I like the way that a film can do that.”
One designer who is particularly influenced by film is second year LCF student, Hailea Crichton. She is basing her collection on the 2002 film The Magdalene Sisters.
“Film is definitely very important – as is any art form – to fashion. Even if a designer doesn’t base their whole collection around a film, most collections use film a reference in research. Even just one scene in a film can be enough to influence a whole collection,” Chrichton adds.
Renowned fashion designer Tom Ford last year blurred the line between fashion and film when he directed his own motion picture, A Single Man, starring Colin Firth as a college lecturer with a death wish. From start to finish each frame was imagined, designed and executed perfectly – just like a Tom Ford garment.
Battrick says of the film: “It was very opulent, drawn out and beautiful to look at. It was a pleasurable experience going to see it and I think he understood the sense of how everything had to work together. Whether it could have been a bit more dynamic, I don’t know, but I just took it for what it was: visually stunning.”
Flamboyant and iconic
There has also been a recent surge of fashion ‘biopics’, biographical films about the lives of designers themselves. The last two years have seen two separate films about the flamboyant and iconic designer Coco Chanel, famed for her colourful past.
Then there was the acclaimed documentary, The September Issue, released in 2009, that followed American Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is renowned for her fierce demeanor.
Fashion photographer Alex Prager recently shot a campaign for fashion label Bottega Veneta, based on Hollywood heroines.
Her work has been described by the Los Angeles Times as, “a keen eye for the shining and the bizarre, a bit Annie Leibovitz, a bit Diane Arbus.”
Prager’s images ooze the surreal cinematic impressions left by the likes of Lynch in Mulholland Drive and Hitchcock in The Birds.
Along with the cinematography expertise of Requiem for a Dream’s Matthew Libatique, she has recently accomplished her first film, entitled Despair.
Intricate detailing
The print media also nods towards the link between fashion and film. Cult magazine Dazed and Confused recently published a photo shoot inspired by the Hollywood thriller American Psycho, based on the harrowing book by author Bret Easton Ellis.
The book itself combines intricate detailing of fashion conscious sociopath Patrick Bateman, portrayed in the motion picture by a suited and booted Christian Bale.
The Dazed shoot, displaying toned men in various states of undress, with slick back hair and chainsaw in hand, captured the obsessive compulsive persona of Bateman, whose attention to appearing immaculate at all times is impeccable.
When asked about the stigma attached for using particular films or genres, Chrichton replies: “Certain films have been over done, such as Alice in Wonderland, but there are always clichés in fashion and the more talented the designer, the more they challenge the use of certain films in their work”.
Although trends are repeated in fashion, it seems that for the designer the universal fear of seeming derivative is apparent and blockbuster films are perhaps too common to interpret.
Along with this, as Battrick states, film can simply create a mood through a collection. Its influence doesn’t have to be so obvious. “I think a lot of film does influence catwalk design because what designers will do is plunder the archives of films to capture a vibe or a mood so they can transfer that into a collection.
"It might not be the whole film. I really like early Antonioni’s (Italian modernist) films… I think that’s a really good example of Italian fashion. I think brands like Marc Jacobs and Prada, who reference films like that, get very chic looks.”
Fast paced
Commenting on how the film industry influences her own work, Chrichton said: “I am currently researching for my final collection. I have been looking at the short films taken in the testing of the atomic bomb and remakes of Hiroshima.
"I think films are amazing to get imagery for collections, but I also think it is a quick way to collect research on subjects you know little about. As fashion is so fast paced, using films makes the research process a lot shorter, and more diverse than just using books and the internet.”
Battrick, however, thinks that fashion and film no longer display the same relationship that they once had. “The glory days of Hollywood are over, it’s all independent. There isn’t the same relationship between the director and the costume department. It’s costume dramas that win the Oscars now. Fashion is now the machine that Hollywood used to be,” she says.
Since the demise of the Hollywood film factory, the gap between director and the costume department have grown wider. Rather than the costumes being weaved into the narrative, they simply exist on their own. Marketing has taken over the creative industries.
However, there are signs of truly original collections influenced by film. But the future remains uncertain and all that remains to be said is, designers of the fashion world, are you ready for your close-up?
Films that changed the face of fashion
To Catch a Thief (1955)
The combination of Grace Kelly’s beauty and Alfred Hitchcock’s unique style of directing make To Catch a Thief a tribute to ‘50s style. Along with the legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head being thrown into the mix, the film oozes style and sophistication with every outfit resembling a still right out of Vogue.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
This particular film has been paid homage to by that many of Hollywood’s biggest and best that it’s hard to keep count. The blonde bob and beret combination sported by Faye Dunaway, teamed with the gangster style suits adorned by Warren Beatty, each fuelled trends. It seems being a cold-blooded killer has never looked so good.
Annie Hall (1977)
Said to be the designer Ralph Lauren’s breakthrough movie as he was largely unknown before this. Lauren created an elegant and sexy character in Diane Keaton through the use of masculine clothing which was somewhat an historical event. The Woody Allen favourite has since become a cult classic.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Quentin Tarantino kick- started a huge trend for Chanel’s Rouge Noir nail polish adorned by mobster wife Mia Wallace, played by the towering beauty Uma Thurman. The polish was so sought after that it eventually became impossible to get hold of. Along with this, Mia’s black bob and chain-smoking tendencies have become synonymous with the film’s image.
Clueless (1995)
The ‘90s classic, starring Alicia Silverstone as airhead protagonist Cher, and the late Brittany Murphy as tomboy Tai , brought mini skirts and knee high socks into mainstream culture, thus bringing teenage life to an utter standstill. As in any era the 1990s had a very distinct look and Clueless seemed to encapsulate it perfectly.
Sex and the City (2008)
Sarah Jessica Parker and the girls finally made it onto the big screen in 2008 after enjoying 94 episodes of the highly acclaimed television series. Carrie Bradshaw, has now become a style icon in her own right and wowed audiences with her impressive array of designer outfits. The film cranked things up in terms of style and Patricia Field styled the girls incredibly, impressing audiences all over the world.
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