Fashion on Film

Sky Movies and Instyle magazine recently conducted a reader’s poll asking: what is the best film costume of all time? The readers voted the emerald green dress worn by Keira Knightley in the 2007 film Atonement as the number one best film costume of all time. The rest of the list was as follows:

2. The white dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch.
3. The black Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
4. The skin-tight black pants worn by Olivia Newtown-John in Grease.
5. Kate Winslet’s costumes in Titanic.
6. The tie and waistcoast worn by Diane Keaton in Annie Hall.
7. The satin corset worn by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge.
8. The costume worn by Liza Minnelli in Cabaret.
9. The gown worn by Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
10. The costumes worn by Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind.

The list has sparked a lot of controversy. Many feel that the dress from Atonement only won because it is so fresh in the readers’ minds. Some feel that while it is stunning, and effective in its purpose, they question its ability to stand the test of time as well as some of the other items on the list.

The stunning costumes worn by Kirsten Dunst in Marie Antoinette, in my opinion, are noticeably absent. Worse still, the most prolific costume designer of the 20th century does not have a single entry in the top ten.

Costume designer Edith Head designed costumes during Hollywood’s golden age and beyond. Her career started in 1927 on the film Wings. Her last film, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, was released after her death and dedicated to her memory in 1982. She is best known for her work with Alfred Hitchcock, working in the costume and wardrobe departments for Notorious, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, Vertigo, the Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, and Family Plot. She won eight Academy Awards (although one technically should have been awarded to her and Hubert de Givenchy), more Oscars than any other woman. Her Oscar-winning designs can be seen in films such as The Heiress, All About Eve and Roman Holiday. Head became the favourite designer of many of Hollywood’s elite during the studio system, stars such as Ginger Rogers and Bette Davis. She is quoted as saying, “Your dresses should be tight enough to show you're a woman and loose enough to show you're a lady”.

Her designs for Hitchcock are as legendary as the films themselves, and it can be argued that she is just as responsible for the creation of ‘the Hitchcock Blondes’ as the famous director. One story goes that the yellow, full-skirted dress worn by Grace Kelly in Rear Window started the full-skirt trend in the 1950s. The dress was made because Kelly would have to do a lot of climbing and other skirts didn’t allow her to move freely. Whether this story is true or not, it attests to Head’s high profile in the fashion industry as well as her talent as a costume designer.

To me, the most amazing costume she ever designed is the grey suit worn by Kim Novak in Vertigo. Vertigo is the story of a police officer, John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson, who suffers from terrible acrophobia. An old college friend, Gavin Elster, asks him to look after his wife Madeleine, who he believes is possessed by the spirit of a woman who committed suicide years earlier. Because of his debilitating condition Scottie is unable to save Madeleine. Unbeknownst to Scottie, however, it is all a trick designed to make him implicit in the murder of Elster’s real wife. The film is about deception and doubling, and the power of an image to create desire. The costumes within the film play a vital role in telling that story.

The first time we see Madeleine in the iconic grey suit she is about to fall to her death. The second time, Scottie has remade Madeleine by transforming a young woman named Judy Barton. As Judy walks into her hotel room toward Scottie, the green light from the outdoor sign creates an ethereal glow, as though Scottie and the audience were in a dream. As Scottie and Judy kiss we are transported back to the day Madeleine died. When we return to the hotel room it seems as though Scottie has finally reclaimed the image of Madeleine that he has yearned for.

The power of clothes to transform a person’s personality are flawlessly executed in this scene. The costume becomes a visual representation of Judy’s willingness to become the ideal woman Scottie craves; not only that, it reflects Scottie’s fragile emotional state. For example, the cream shirt worn underneath the suit is slightly different to the original, a visual cue suggesting Scottie’s makeover of Judy is not as successful as Elster’s and is therefore doomed to fail. All of the costumes in the film are amazing but it’s the suit that encapsulates the film’s emotional core.

Film is a visual narrative form; meaning simply that it tells a story in pictures. The clothes characters wear become part of that story, reflecting the characters’ inner turmoil or psychological transformation. Costumes are also instrumental in placing characters in a historical context. Much like fashion in everyday life, film costumes are a form of art – art you can wear. And Edith Head was one of the greatest artists of our time.

Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007)

Was there ever a kid at your school who dressed differently, liked all the cool indie music and talked like an extra from Dawson’s Creek or The OC? Then chances are you’ll find Juno Macguff slightly familiar. As the title character and driving force of this film, Juno is simply the coolest kid ever. And the film is just like Juno: perfectly oddball, funny and heartwarming. I’m going to go ahead and call it this year’s Little Miss Sunshine.

Juno Macguff (Ellen Page) is in a bit of a pickle. After deciding to sleep with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), she’s having a slight case of pregnancy. After being unable to go through with an abortion she decides to give the baby up for adoption to a wealthy couple she finds in the trading post (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner).

The film may sound weird, or if you’re conservative, an endorsement of teen pregnancy and therefore evil. This film is one of the best films I have ever seen. Yep, I’m making that call. It’s the right balance of funny and moving, heartwarming and sad, and it is well presented on a narrative and visual level.

I’m not really that big a fan of the opening credits (it’s a personal thing, just rubbed me the wrong way), and I have not been won over by Kimya Dawson’s oddball charm as much as I was by Juno’s, but apart from these minor irritations I was bowled over from start to finish. The film looks great, 85% of the soundtrack is amazing, and the characters are just beautiful. The performances are terrific. Ellen Page’s nomination for Best Actress at the Oscars is surprising but in no way undeserved. For someone so young she has quite a formidable screen presence. She’s fascinating to watch and if she doesn’t win this year she certainly will win eventually. It’s an If, not a When kind of a deal.

The script is brilliant. Diablo Cody is a master at this and it’s only her first go at it. I’m impressed. Fuck, I’m even jealous. It’s a blinding debut and I think she has a good chance of picking up an Oscar as well.

More films should be like this.

If you like this you should:

* Become a fan of the Moldy Peaches
* Watch You, Me and Everyone We Know (Miranda July, 2005)
* Read The Pussy Ranch, Diablo Cody's blog.

Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007)

This adaptation of Ian McEwan’s critically acclaimed novel has garnered a lot of praise, the most impressive accolade being not the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, or the countless Oscar and BAFTA nods, but the Best Film Costume award. In a recent poll, the emerald green dress worn by Keira Knightley in the film beat out Marilyn Monroe’s white halter-neck dress from The Seven Year Itch and Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s to win the top award. Not only is the dress, and the wearer, absolutely stunning but the film is as well. What a relief.

The film tells the story of Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan), a thirteen year old aspiring writer. She’s got a bit of a crush on the groundskeeper Robbie (James McAvoy – and who could blame her!), who is in love with Briony’s older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Briony sees something she shouldn’t have. Whether through misunderstanding, or perhaps more likely, through jealousy, the witnessing of this event leads Briony to accuse Robbie of a crime he did not commit. This ruins not only his life, but also Cecilia’s. years later, during World War II, an older and much wiser Briony (Romola Garai) decides she must try and set things right.

This film tells a beautiful story of love, revenge and the search for salvation. Briony, the writer, is in complete control of the story, the film and subsequently the audience. It’s also about the righteousness we feel when we’re young. Teenagers think they know everything, and believe that they can see things adults can’t, or won’t. I remember doing something as a kid, probably around Briony’s age, that lead to a lot of people in my family being hurt, all because I felt this sense of right and wrong. Also, I was a bit of a goodie-two-shoes. Luckily for me that there weren’t more serious consequences. I regret my decision, and so does Briony. Her attempts to atone (geddit?) for her actions are heartbreaking to watch but by the film’s end the spectator feels as though she has made amends in the only way she knows how.

The film is, in a sense, presented in four parts: The leadup to Robbie’s arrest, his and Cecilia’s reunion during the war, Briony’s attempts to make amends for her actions, and the interview with Briony about the resulting book she has written about Robbie and Cecilia. While the film overall is powerful – it works as a statement on the way in which war tears people’s lives apart with little regard to what has gone on before – the rest of the film never quite lives up to the stunning first part.

I cannot say enough about the absolutely beautiful execution of the leadup to Robbie’s arrest. The photography is stunning (as it is throughout the entire film), and the rhythm and pace of the editing is flawless. The suspense is brilliant. It’s quite edge-of-your-seat for a while there. The performances are fantastic (they are in the entire film, really) and the location is gorgeous. There’s not really much about the rest of the film to criticise, it’s simply that the first part is perfect. Perhaps the rhythm isn’t quite so accurately handled as it is in the first part, I don’t really know. All I can say is that the first part is perfect, and the rest of the film only slightly less so.

I just started reading the book and I have to say, it's wonderful. Not only that, but so far the film is a flawless adaptation of the novel. There's a beautiful passage in the book that discusses writing in itself and I was in awe. I'll update as I get further into the novel.

The film does that green dress quite proud.

If you like this film you should:

* Watch everything James McAvoy has made. He's gorgeous.
* Order a knock-off of Keira Knightley's green dress
* Reminisce about the horrible things you did as a kid because you thought you were right.

* Read Atonement, by Ian McEwan