How Film and Fashion Helped Each Other

Posted on 2nd Dec 11 by Leanne Cunningham | 0

I say the words film and fashion, and you say what? Perhaps the first thought that comes into your head is elaborate costumes such as the ones which define Tim Burton’s visual style with his films, or maybe you drift off into daydreams about New York and Sex and the City, with Carries walk in wardrobe being the envy of many. This writers first thought was Diane Keaton in Annie Hall and how she made the androgynous look define her as the quirky leading lady to Woody Allen. Costumed designers, assisted by Ralph Lauren, created the feminine twist on menswear, which many would say in the words of Annie was very ‘la di da’. Let’s look at the thirty five years since the Oscar winning movie and examine how fashion has assisted films, and how film has assisted the runway trends.

In 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums is based around a dysfunctional family who are trying to return to their former glory within social ranks. Designer Karen Patch and director Wes Anderson wished to create a look that would not date, with Patch stating “You have to be careful because a year after you design something, when the film comes out, a look could be over. So you want to do something quite classic.” To achieve this they produced seventies inspired pieces which had relevancy to the 2000s, as well as a relevancy to the characters back stories. Through the character of Margot, Gwyneth Paltrow became an unlikely style icon with her loafers, polo-shirt dresses, and Birkin bags. Also notable is the amazing cinematography, textured wallpapers, and engaging trinkets which provides an interesting backdrop to each scene.

A trend which has come and gone through the last few seasons has been leggings, leg warmers, and comfy sweatshirts. This was firstly due to the 1983 movie Flashdance, which saw many fans ripping sweatshirts trying to look like the elegant dancers they saw on screen. Sales of leg warmers increased 340% that year and perms became a must want. The simplest way to achieve this look in a more modern way is teaming a mens grey sweatshirt with black leggings, ballet flats, and leg warmers. The store which has kept the 1980s trend at the forefront of their design process is American Apparel. They stock leotards, leg warmers, and off the shoulder sweatshirts, but perhaps leave the perms to the older generations.

The word mod conjures up images of sharp tailoring, geometric prints, clean lines, and bright colours which created the essence of the movie Factory Girl. Factory Girl is a 2006 film which follows the story of one of everyone’s favourite fashion icons Edie Sedgwick. Edie was known for wearing leggings and leotards for workouts and simply throwing a coat on over her clothes and turning this into a street style. Sedgwick’s story as a fashion icon began after she fled Harvard for New York wearing her grandmothers antique jewels, and ended up in the Andy Warhol’s infamous Manhattan studio Factory. She was a stereotypical American heiress using her fathers money to charter personal limousines and shopping sprees. The crucial difference, however, from modern days ‘it’ girls is that she had style by the bucket load. To channel this designer Annabelle Lee dressed Sienna Miller in over sized jewelery, fur jackets, mini skirts, with neutral tone clutches and black tights being a must to finish each outfit.

The website Recycledmoviecostumes.com shows the flexibility of period costumes and how they are often reused, often in an historically irrelevant way. Tights have been worn in movies set in time periods before they were sold and ruffles appear on clothes before they became popular. In modern day movies, thanks to analytical blogs and message boards, this would not be acceptable. Picture noughties obsessed Mark Zuckerburg wearing a nineties Pearl Jam t-shirt. This would certainly not go unnoticed, proving how fashion in movies not only adds a visual element but can also act as a narrative.

Tags: Annie Hall, Factory Girls, fashion, Flashdance, movies, The Royal Tenenbaums