As promised, Dsign Lab is back with a second fashion movie guide to relieve you from finals stress and strengthen your costume design knowledge but most of all, inspire you to take a break and watch one of these works of art! Taking up were we left off two weeks ago, today we are reminiscing about the 60s glamour and the 70s charisma.
So, without further due, let's dive into the past once again and trace back some of the most iconic looks in cinematographic history.
1960s-Part I: Breakfast at Tiffany’s
It is nearly impossible to mention fashion in cinema and not talk about Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Designed by a close friend of Hepburn’s and renowned designer Hubert de Givenchy himself, every look from the film has deeply engraved itself in pop culture and fashion history forever. The black dress (the reason why the little black dress (LBD) is still a fashion staple), paired with pearl accessories and oversized sunglasses is still considered to be fashionable, and will most likely always remain so. Other small details like a cigarette holder, the turquoise eye mask, or the scarved black top hat still remind anyone of Holly Golightly. After almost six decades, designers and artists alike are still recreating the looks, and each outfit remains a classic.
1960s-Part II: À bout de souffle
No one does fashion and cinema quite like the French, and no one merges the two better than Jean-Luc Godard. Before social media and instagram influencers took over, “it girls” starred in Godard movies. À bout de souffle, with Jean Seberg as a lead, still serves as an inspiration with its classic and effortlessly cool looks. The film does not credit any costume designer, but it is assumed that Godard and Jean-Paul Belmondo, the lead actor, either made the sartorial choices themselves or all actors wore their own clothes on set. Seberg’s outfits are all casual and effortless, with lots of striped pieces, loafers, slim trousers, and trenchcoats, all of which are considered closet staples even now.
1970s-Part I: The Royal Tenenbaums
Wes Anderson is most famously known for symmetry and eccentric visuals, but his aesthetic vision would not be complete without whimsical costume design. He specifically wanted Karen Patch, the film’s costume designer, to design and make everything from scratch instead of buying them. Out of all characters, Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) stands out the most. Her brown fur coat, boarding-school dark brown loafers, Hermès Birkin bag, heavy kohl-rimmed eyes, blunt blond bob parted with a red barrette, and the cigarette that seems to never leave her hand, all add on to her character: rebellious, edgy, and somewhat a bourgeois literary snob. Years later, she still remains a muse for fashion designers. In his debut collection for Gucci in 2015, then-newbie Alessandro Michele was clearly inspired by Paltrow’s character. Long fur coats and loafers were an obvious reference to the character.
1970s-Part II: Le grand blond à la chaussure noire
Another LBD moment, and it is just as iconic and unforgettable as Holy Golightly’s. The 1972 French comedy stars Pierre Richard as François Perrin, an oblivious musician masquerading as a spy. Opposing him is Christine (Mireille Darc), the top agent at France’s Counter-Espionage department and the film’s femme fatale. In one famous scene, Darc is wearing a quite demure high-neck, black velvet dress, only to reveal it is entirely backless. The long dress, designed by Guy Laroche, inspired many designers. Alexander McQueen’s famous bumsters were undoubtedly inspired by the dress, and Simon Jacquemus’ coy cut-outs and incredibly high slits at his A/W 2018 le souk collection were a direct reference to the film. Darc herself wore the same dress in white in the sequel, Le Retour du Grand Blond (1974).
1970s-Part III: Mahogany
After its initial release in 1975, Mahogany was not received well by critics, despite starring stars Diana Ross and Anthony Perkins. The film has the classic cliché rags-to-riches narrative, following Tracy Chambers (Diana Ross) and her overnight rise from a struggling fashion student to a runway model. Despite not being a memorable film, its fashion department was a major success. Ross was the costume designer herself, having studied design and illustration in high school, and worked alongside Susan Gertsman. The designs are over-the-top and eccentric, even by the 70s standards. Whether you’re a fan of the movie or not, Ross’ impact on fashion culture (both in this movie and in general) is undeniable, and her character was one that inspired legions of black girls for years. For this alone, it deserves a spot on this list.
To be continued...
Bella Niravani
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