The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)Cahiers du cinéma
Some of the most iconic costumes on the big screen
Fashion and cinema are inextricably linked. Since the birth of cinema, the seventh art, the biggest fashion and costume designers in the world have dressed actors. Some collaborations and costumes have become legendary, creating genuine fashion icons. Here's a journey envisioned through a selection of photographs from the Cahiers du cinéma photo library.
Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn
Hepburn first met the fashion designer in 1953. She had just finished filming William Wyler's Roman Holiday and he had just founded his luxury fashion house. A strong friendship developed and they soon became inseparable, both on screen and in real life.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)Cahiers du cinéma
Breakfast at Tiffany's—Blake Edwards (1961)
New York, Fifth Avenue, a cab stops in front of Tiffany's. Hepburn gets out, dressed only in a long black sheath dress and wearing a pearl necklace and sunglasses, and proceeds to eat her croissant in front of the jewelry store.
Considered by many as one of the most iconic outfits worn on screen, this little black dress sold at auction at Christie's for $923,187 in 2006 (a record price for a movie costume). It became a benchmark in the history of fashion.
Charade (1963)Cahiers du cinéma
Charade—Stanley Donen (1963)
Reunited for a thriller set on the streets of Paris, Givenchy dressed the actor in a colorful wardrobe—in significant contrast to her other roles at the time—comprising an electric red suit, a leopard print hat, a mustard yellow coat, and oversized sunglasses.
Catherine Deneuve and Yves Saint Laurent
The relationship between the actor and the fashion designer was one of the most iconic in the history of fashion and cinema. As well as defining an era, it symbolized the perfect union of Saint Laurent's creative genius and Deneuve's natural elegance.
The Hunger (1983)Cahiers du cinéma
The Hunger—Tony Scott (1983)
Deneuve plays the role of a chillingly sensual vampire, whose clothing—designed by Saint Laurent—perfectly captures this sophisticated yet menacing image. Placing the actor in a long satin dress with a plunging neckline, the designer created an unforgettable femme fatale.
Famous fashion houses and big stars
Thanks to a long friendship with Marc Bohan—the artistic director at Dior—Sophia Loren became an icon of the 1960s and 1970s, when he designed her outfits for several movies.
A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)Cahiers du cinéma
A Countess from Hong Kong—Charlie Chaplin (1967)
In the last of Chaplin's movies, one of Loren's outfits stood out from the rest—a classic, long, white strappy dress that enhanced the glamour and luxury of the movie through its elegant simplicity.
The Night (1961)Cahiers du cinéma
La Notte (The Night)—Michelangelo Antonioni (1961)
In this second installment of Antonioni's trilogy, Monica Vitti's character makes a striking entrance on all fours, playing a game resembling shuffle board with her makeup bag, and wearing a fitted, black, crepe cocktail dress specially designed for her by Valentino Garavani.
It is a memorable outfit as it's the only one worn by the actor throughout The Night. Vitti later said of Valentino that his greatest triumph was "mastering the art of timeless style, by avoiding trends throughout his career."
Jackie (2016)Cahiers du cinéma
Jackie—Pablo Larraín (2016)
In this movie, Natalie Portman played the role of President John F. Kennedy's wife at the time of his assassination in 1963. It's a historic moment that sadly made the pink Chanel suit worn by the First Lady on that day famous.
To create an identical replica of this legendary design, the movie's costume designer Madeline Fontaine collaborated with luxury fashion house Chanel to create a pink, tweed skirt suit, lined with navy blue silk taffeta and featuring gold buttons. So it was impossible for Larraín to leave out this blood-stained ensemble ingrained into collective memory to this day. The influence of this suit was such that it became one of the symbols of Chanel, continuously reinterpreted in each of its collections.
To create an identical replica of this legendary design, the movie's costume designer Madeline Fontaine collaborated with luxury fashion house Chanel to create a pink, tweed skirt suit, lined with navy blue silk taffeta and featuring gold buttons. So it was impossible for Larraín to leave out this blood-stained ensemble ingrained into collective memory to this day. The influence of this suit was such that it became one of the symbols of Chanel, continuously reinterpreted in each of its collections.
Video by Cahiers du cinéma for the French National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image in 2021
Avant-garde
Creating costumes for cinema also provides a creative outlet for costume designers. In Marcel L'Herbier's L'Inhumaine (The Inhumane Woman) in 1924, the director surrounded himself with famous set designers and stylists of the time to create his futuristic and dehumanized world.
L'Inhumaine (1924)Cahiers du cinéma
L'Inhumaine (The Inhumane Woman) - Marcel L'Herbier (1924)
L'Inhumaine demonstrates bold and groundbreaking artistic direction on every level, especially when it comes to the avant-garde costumes by Paul Poiret. The golden gown with a long train and large black feathers wrapped around it was testament to the fascination with modernism and Art Deco at the time.
Costumes, a key element in Anderson's storytelling
The role of costumes in Anderson's movies is indisputably one of the driving forces of his unique visual aesthetic.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)Cahiers du cinéma
The Grand Budapest Hotel—Wes Anderson (2014)
For The Grand Budapest Hotel, costume designer Milena Canonero notably called upon luxury fashion house Fendi for Tilda Swinton's velvet cape made from Italian silk, featuring a black fur collar and hand-painted Gustav Klimt-inspired symbols.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)Cahiers du cinéma
The same is true of the military-style double-breasted gray astrakhan coat worn by Edward Norton's character.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)Cahiers du cinéma
For Willem Dafoe, the costume designer turned to Prada, who created a tailor-made leather trench coat for the devious character.
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