PARAMOUNT
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CONTENTS
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ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Radical by name, radical by nature. The man that made dark, beautiful and gruesome, spectacular. He changed the traditional concept of the fashion industry from commercial to artistic. Manipulating his audience’s view on fashion through twisted, fantastical catwalk performances, changing people’s perspectives through the models he selected and chose themes to shock his audiences. The ideology behind the madness was to empower women through the clothes he designed, he understood the beauty in life, however he knew of the hate, death and pain that comes alongside it. The ‘Highland rape’ fall 1995 collection which gathered a lot of controversy at the time, showed battered, blood splattered models walking down the runway, highlighting the beauty he drew from this suffering. However McQueen received a lot of backlash for this performance, fiercely defensive McQueen dashed the fury of certain audiences, concluding that this was no endorsement of rape but a revival of the turbulent Scottish history with England. Along with displaying one of his most iconic and influential designs, the ‘Bumster’ which inspired the development of the low slung jeans still ever present today. “People find my things sometimes aggressive. But I don’t see it as aggressive. I see it as romantic, dealing with a dark side of personality.” Born in 1969, in Lewisham, London, to a family of 5 other siblings with a low household income, son to a cabbie, McQueen wasn’t born knowing wealth. Once acquired through his immense talent and celebrity, excess and addiction were quick to follow. Going from zero to world renowned designer, would make anyone drunk on the success and vulnerable crumble under the pressure. Acquiring the position as creative director at Givenchy, replacing John Galliano in 1996, was a height of stress for McQueen. Having to produce four collections for Givenchy, alongside the two shows for his own label per year mounted the pressure for McQueen. Spinning through a world of stress, drugs and alcohol, with a mix of the wrong people sent McQueen to a downward spiral throughout his career. One in which, later became too much for the designer resulting in him taking his own life on the 11th February 2010.
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The turmoil of life encouraged a twisted genius for McQueen within the industry. Underpinning all his collections is a disturbing sexuality, displayed through the prism of suffering, challenging the norm of popular beauty. Using androgynous tailoring and anthropomorphising his models, McQueen created spectacular displays of supernatural designs. For example, his 1996 collection ‘The Hunger’ based on the erotic vampire film, in which models can be seen adorned in bandages, casts and in one piece a clear, worm-filled bustier. However, his 1997 fall collection ‘It’s a jungle out there’ shows the change of the imagery McQueen displayed his models from the year prior, from the tattered and beaten women to strong women which men idolised and feared. Where the models dressed as feral beasts, based on the H.G Wells’s novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau. “I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress.”
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The inspiration for the horror behind his performances and clothing derives from his past, where as a young child he watched the domestic abuse inflicted on his older sister by her husband and later it was known, he himself suffered sexual abuse from the same culprit. The desire for his protection of women is paralleled to that of his desire as a child to protect his sister, with his only way for expression being his work. The mystical impression of his creations, with their twisted fairy-tale themes gives the notion of escapism for his consumers and for him, by creating these horrors for his collections detaches them from being in the reality of the real world, whilst allowing him to replay his and his sisters suffering. Often brutal, surrealistic and uncomfortable, McQueen’s work reflects his own life. McQueen built such an iconic empire within the fashion world that his label has been able to outlive and thrive without its maker. The true showmanship of his craft meant that the designer will be forever relevant within the eyes of the fashion community, however controversial the designer always produced collections that left the world in awe. So much so the V&A recently curated the ‘Savage Beauty’ exhibition showcasing his most legendary work. The renowned collections and intrigue of McQueen’s life still spark conversation today indicating the impact the designer had within the realm of fashion, even after his death.
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FIFTY YEARS OF PARIS FASHIONS 1910 being the decade of growth and innovation with reference to development of mobility and technology, the fashion industry was able to grasp new innovations and inventions to help develop the business, in terms of advertising, distribution and production. One line of marketing, for couture fashion houses, which developed in this period was the introduction of film as a form of advertising, through entertaining with clothing is to build an interest in the topic and potentially a brand.
created and therefore the more profit is made. The creators of the film combined and allied this sentiment with fashion, which as it is still being referenced today is the difference compared to the mundane fashion film shorts produced prior. In addition the desire and lust from the lower classes that watched but were unable to afford any garments, created an unattainable nature to the clothing which appealed to human nature, you always want what you can’t have.
With London and Paris ruling over the fashion domain for the turning of the century, it is no surprise that the combined pair produced and broadcast the first well known fashion film of its time in 1910. Fifty years of Paris fashions, first hit the big screens in London on February, showing the development of couture fashion houses since 1859 up to 1909. The initial objective of the film was not for direct sales based on the film goer, but as a marketing ploy to give the audience the illusion of inclusion into the elite world of the fashion industry at the time, in a sense moving picture brought couture fashion to the masses. Along with the idea of inclusivity, comes the stylised nature behind fashion that the leading department stores and dressmakers wanted to portray. In modern day fashion, especially couture fashion is consider particularly dramatic as an industry, rooting from the idea, more money is generated with the more publicity you get, therefore the more controversial the show, film , catwalk, etc. the more buzz
The turning point of this film for the fashion industry, in terms of development through moving picture, goes to show the fast movement of the industry. research into this particular film i found several followed rapidly, leaving little information available. However whilst no imagery was avaiable to me i was able to gain the insightr into the importance of the film based on the two books photographed, Costume Design in the Movies and Consuming Fantasies: Labor, Leisure, and the London Shopgirl. Pg 9
The 1980’s suit The 1980’s brought about a revolution for the traditional suit, the revolt was led by French and Italian designers who opted for a much looser fitting, casual suit, by disregarding the conventional tailoring. Removal of padded shoulders and heavy materials normally incorporated, they created a completely different silhouette, baggier and lightweight with the combination of bright colours and unusual fabric choices, the suit once known became irrelevant to the public. Leading the pack was the established Giorgio Armani; due to having the most exposure at the time with his connections to the silver screen he brought the revamped suit to the masses. Moving away from his original suit tailoring, accentuating a man’s muscular build, following the trend of French couturier, Daniel Hetcher, Armani brought femininity to the male suit.
The first coverage of the remodelled suit by Armani was brought to the big screen in 1980, via Richard Gere, playing Julian in American Gigolo. Within the film every line Armani created was screened globally and is still considered conceivably the most effective brand promotion on film of all time. From underwear and accessories to leisure and formal wear, every item of clothing was Armani. The platform of the iconic film allowed him to use the characters within to broadcast his brand identity, and by film association has been able maximise his exposure. Speaking specifically, Armani introduced the casual linen suit as daywear, worn by Gere when meeting ex-pimp Leon at lunch, impressing the notion of a ‘look for every occasion’. Linen being hardly associated within the realms of couture prior to Armani, due to the nature of the fabric being prone to creasing - which was only encouraged by the softer, Italian yarn Armani used, is now regarded as something of a luxury. The ultimate aim for Armani as a reflection to what the film and his brand exemplify.
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The narcissism of Gere’s character within the film, is a reflection of the pride in which his character presents himself, the belief he is above others based on his looks, actually promotes Armani’s clothing further, for someone to be so vain they must indulge in the finest of clothing. Considering this, Armani’s message behind his decision to style the film was not on the reliance of the viewer wanting the lifestyle and character of Julian but to impress upon the audience the appearance. Further to this Gere had fame within his own right by the time of the film, encouraging the audience to dress like the star himself not the character he embodied. Later in the decade, 1987, Armani was requested again to wardrobe and style for the film the untouchables, the gangster film starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery and Robert De Niro. The films based on the real life of the Italian-American Mafia during the period of prohibition in 1920’s,
Chicago. Every film goer loves the antiheros within a storyline and Armani ensured he took advantage of that. By knowing that the audience appeal toward the ‘bad guys’ in film due to their confident characters and reckless behaviour, he would ensure positive brand association. With the audience wanting to resemble the characters and their attributes, the most obvious way for the viewer to do so was to replicate their outfits. By styling these men in his sleek, smart suits he was able to use the actors as walking advertisements, with all the press coverage and exposure ensured thanks to the film hype. Armani could take advantage of peoples view on the mafia as a representation of wealth from that period, he could display his brand identity of luxury and expense through the characters clothing within the film. Armani faced an issue when coming to design the wardrobe for the film, based on the 1930’s when suits were heavy and generous, the period clashed with his work of the mid-seventies Pg 11
“The real clothing from that period was quite far removed from my vision as a designer... so for the film we sought a compromise - credible clothing for the period but more in keeping with my aesthetic.” Armani took two different directions when putting together the style and wardrobe for the film. For Costner playing the lead agent and the ‘untouchables’, he dressed them credibly for the era in plain grey or navy pin-stripe suits. The garments easily viewed as interchangeable between the two time periods of when the film was set to when it was produced, thanks to Armani’s subtle alterations and respect for the period. However Armani left out the embellishment within the wardrobe for the police agents, and strictly reserved the added frills for the well-groomed gangsters within the film. Consequently for his secondary characters of Capone and his henchmen he used felt hats and loud accessories to conform to the cliché image of gangsters from that epoch, including indicators such as tie pins and pocket handkerchiefs. Armani significantly impacted how the suit changed from the decade prior, with the platform of the silver screen; he was able to subtly project his new suit to the globe. Little variation within suit tailoring had occurred previously, allowing Armani to be revolutionary in the way people went on to wear and design the traditional suit. He brought about the decade of casual suits and revamped the male wardrobe which usually gets disregarded within the publicity of female dress.
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The Abbeydale Picture House
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Edith Head the stylist of Hollywood Edith Head one of the most renowned film stylists within Hollywood history, born in 1987, San Bernardino, California, Head revolutionised the relationship between fashion and film. Throughout her 58 year career she received 35 Oscar nominations and won 8 of the Academy Awards for costume design. Costume design considered inconsequential to some within the fashion industry, yet through her styling and designing Head has been able to make and break trends within the community. She was able to establish herself through her creation of the ‘American look’ for the Hollywood consumer through her prestige within the retail market. As well as influencing the fashion world, costume design is an integral part of a film’s success; costumes allow for audiences to subconsciously understand the context of the characters without explanation, from their social classes and economic status to their general personalities and development throughout the story. Head and all designers through the period of 1939 to 1945 struggled with limitations of materials due to the damaged economy of world war two, in which America put in place the L-85 regulation, restricting the quantities of materials that could be used for clothing. However for Head this restriction helped her to develop her signature style within fashion, rather than dwelling on the limited amount and variations of fabrics she could get hold of, she decided to change the current trends to fit the countries circumstances. By stating that “silk is out” to Pg 18
the nation and turning focus away from the constraints and insisting on the material being outdated and out of fashion, she created a new trends with the materials that were available to her, thin fabrics, adding metallic trims and painting on leather as replacement. The development of Heads new classic, inexpensive, all American look rose, one of which she kept hold of even after the L-85 regulations had been lifted. Through utilising her nomadic childhood of moving around the coalmining towns of southwest America and for a short period in northern Mexico, Head was able to introduce the exotic of southwestern cultures into the Hollywood scene throughout her career in the film industry. She furthered her knowledge of foreign principles through her study of the French language and culture in her degree at University of California at Berkeley. She combined this knowledge to produce exotic designs with bright patterns and colours to create her own distinguished brand whilst ensuring suitability for the American market. One of her most notable designs being the sarong dress seen in The jungle princess, 1936 starring Dorothy Lamour, Heads styling joint with Lamour’s foreign beauty were able to make the south-east Asian dress a staple for the international consumer. Creating a fashion craze in the 1930s, with countless ads and articles featured in Vogue on the sarong between 1936 up to 1949, even 20 years later the sarong was still common wear within the Miss America contestants in 1945.
The exotic nature of Head’s styling didn’t stop there, later she popularised the Latin American styles within the population by introducing fringed bolero jackets and bare midriffs in her styling of Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve, 1941. Even ten years later in her career the theme is still prominent, and one of her most legendary stylings of actress, Elizabeth Taylor in A place in the sun, 1951 in which she got her 3rd Oscar award. The renowned strapless, lilac strewn dress worn by Taylor was so popular within the teen community it is still seen as the most common style chosen for prom dresses today and 1000’s of replications were sold globally. Head kept the accessories to a minimum in order to accentuate the details and femininity of the dress, to be a prominent reflection of the time, the sweet-heart neckline and fabric flower details introduced glamour to the decade of the post war era.
Head’s name is most commonly known through her styling of Audrey Hepburn in multiple of her most famous films. Being post-war by this point, Dior’s ‘new look’ had taken hold of the fashion industry, where hyper feminine silhouettes, broad shoulders and narrow waists were in. With this in mind, Head styled Hepburn for Roman holiday 1953, Head followed the silhouette and cinched waist of Dior however through slight alterations, and removal of unnecessary trimmings Head was able to make the ‘new look’ more appropriate for the American market, creating a more youthful and casual look, by reinterpreting Dior’s femininity. Finally for her most iconic and world renowned styling which made Hepburn a global fashion icon of the 20th century, is the little black dress worn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s 1961, the famed little black dress, originally tailored by Givenchy was actually altered by Head herself, by modifying the lower half of the knee-length dress to fit with Hepburn’s character and ensuring the dress wasn’t outdated by the time of the film’s release. Head paired the dress with the wide rimmed, classic black hat and the timeless pearl necklace, created an air of timeless, Parisian chic. Head is one of the most prominent and iconic links between the two massive industries of film and fashion. With over 444 screen credits to date and solid relationships with famed personalities from both fields, head optimises the essential combination of the two trades, as well as the integral influence one has on the other.
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Being an unlikely point of call for our style tips; Tim Burton, with no fashion background enlightened the industry to the realm of the dark and whimsical. Through his sinister but sweet story lines, Burton allowed for the audience to associate his gothic costume design with that of lovable and relatable characters. With many in obscure, S&M styled get ups, such as Johnnie Depp’s character in Edward scissor hands (1990), walking around the street would potentially send a few eyes gazing your way but within the eerie worlds of his creation, the fashion was acceptable. He opened up the world for the introverted to embrace their oddities and misfit status, to express themselves through their clothing and making it acceptable to wear within society. Burton, to escape his mundane suburban lifestyle created quirky yet aesthetically complete worlds, which resonated with many designers’ fantasies. The light-hearted nature of Burton films, allowed for black to be his staple colour without appearing too menacing, whilst he also brought the introduction of stripes, clashing colours and punk back into fashion.
With regards to the fashion domain it is unsurprising the appeal Burton had for the more dark sensed designers such as John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, where for the ‘Haute Goth’ couturiers, the dark but beautiful realms created by Burton rang throughout their designs. From McQueen’s more obvious fall 2008 collection, where the models adorned, in majority black, with the garments having a fairytale-esque nature to them, that looked almost regal with the mass of fabric used throughout. To his more subtle lines, such as his 2010 spring collection ‘A love letter to the reptilian kingdom’ in which the models looked otherworldly through the animal inspired dress. Whether its subconscious or deliberate designers have been able to exhaust Burton for all the inspiration he has been able to give.
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The success of the director within the fashion industry was cemented when he himself styled a 10 page spread, for the 2009 October Halloween edition for Harper’s Bazaar; consisting of clothing from designer’s such as Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and more. Each shot taken by photographer Tim Walker was reminiscent of a Burton film and his flair. Burton was hinting toward the release of his latest cinematic production, Alice in Wonderland, which hit the big screens on March 2010. Capturing the marvel of Lewis Carroll’s work, through his avant-garde visuals and charismatic characters, many fashion creatives adopted the film as inspiration. One of which being, designer Stella McCartney, who teamed up in collaboration with Disney, to produce a limited addition jewellery line, based on the iconic images from the Burton production. As well as the fabled department store Printemps, in Paris, taking inspiration from the legendary director’s latest film, enlisting top designers such as Manish Arora, Christopher Kane and Alexander McQueen to create bespoke ensembles for Alice, to feature as their Fashion week window displays. Pg 22
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60’S FEVER
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REWIND TIME
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Trainspotting / T2 For many the cult film wouldn’t exactly be the first place to look for your fashion tips, however subconsciously or not the overall style of Renton (the main character played by Ewan McGregor) and his ‘mates’ seems to be what males stereotypically wear in modern day. Baggy vintage tees, skinny jeans, oversized sweaters and bomber jackets, although the reference may have come a few years later than 1996 classic, it caught the eye of the fashion industry reflected through your standard young lad of 2017. The films claim to fashion is the revolutionary styling of jeans for the time period thanks to costume designer Rachel Fleming, in which Ewan Bremner, who plays spud in the film, is known to have said “(Rachel) basically invented skinny jeans for men with trainspotting.” Although she can’t take the credit for the production of the skinny jean fully, throughout the film she often altered women’s jeans or tightened men’s jeans to gain a ‘drainpipe’ silhouette for the male characters, which even predated Hedi Slimane’s early 2000s catwalk for Dior Homme when the first skinny jean was seen in couture. The film set in the late 80’s Edinburgh drug scene, a time of high unemployment, with Thatcher taking control of privatisation of Great Britain’s mining industries and cutting social welfare leaving our working classes struggling. Fleming tried to represent the poverty and punk of the period throughout her styling of the characters, giving them a pre-90’s grunge look. Renton in slashed, crop or stained tees, with her signature drainpipe jean, the whole idea behind this styling was to show Renton’s opposition and ‘fuck-you’ attitude toward the uniform of a 9 till 5 job. Whilst the rest of his clan giving the vibe of ‘too cool’ and very thrifty, dressing in cargo pants and short shorts paired with bright tees. And as for Francis Begbie or ‘Franco’ as nicknamed, played by Robert Carlyle, his style set off a phenomenon for hard men across the nation, his crazed character given a smart look compared to the others, gave him a gangster like appeal, very different to the others but as it should be, he is a very different character to the others and his clothing
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This whole vibe is very different with reference to the sequel T2, with the central characters returning to Scotland, the link to the original is purely for the immediate reconnection with the audience. For every element that has changed for the characters, an element has to remain the same. With Rachel Fleming returning for the sequel allows for seamless styling between the two films. For T2 Fleming wanted the clothing of the actors to be a reflection of what the characters feelings are returning, a complete nostalgia trip is the main idea behind the clothing, verging to the point of longing for the misremembered youth, as however destructive their past was it was defining for them all as to how they are. For Renton, he moved away from the scraggy clothing of a drug addict, where the lifestyle doesn’t leave much room for fashion as their only focus was their next fix. Renton now in sports gear and smart-casual attire, it’s only a reflection of his new lease for a healthy, ‘keep fit’ lifestyle, with a hint to the past in his retro track tops, he sports the remaining green cargo jacket, slim jeans and trousers and as its only right to have a link to the prior film sporting a bomber jacket. Juxtaposed to Renton is Ewan Bremner’s character spud, who lived on in Scotland over the 20 years the others were gone, living the same reliable lifestyle of a smack head his clothing has changed little and his yellow sunglasses make a reappearance. The reliability of spuds character is actually for the audiences benefit, making sure that the new film is still coherent and relevant to the original. With spud still reminiscent of his world in the nineties, Fleming dressed him in the outlandish nature of his character, whilst also ensuring for sound coherence of the time by giving him a vintage 70’s look which was revived in the 90’s. Whilst the clothing is representative of spud himself and his love for his past, they are also representative of his circumstances, blowing all of his money on heroin leaves little left over for anything let alone clothing, so therefore his vintage style is heightened even more by that fact that he buys his clothes on majority from charity shops, which only encourages his quirky fashion sense. Sick boy played by Johnny Lee Miller, clothing for him is much regimented, sticking to little variety of grey suits, the clothing is important for him and reflective of his character, the clothing epitomises who he wants to be portrayed as… a geezer. Although his character goes on about change in his life, and hoards new tech and electronic things, the little change in his clothing almost gives the opposite message. The regimented nature of his styling is reflective of his chaotic life, his clothing being the only thing that he can control. The evolution of the characters from one film to the other is seamless and focuses much more on what the audience want to see than what would be expected and realistic when it comes to the clothing, yet it works for the viewer and the storyline. Each of the characters personality and change (or the lack of) is clear and well thought out. For a 20 year sequel, the film had to reignite the audiences love for the film, whilst also trying to be in keeping with the original as well, a considerable challenge but done well, with a lot of thanks to Fleming and her co-stylist Steven Noble. Pg 33
£7.00
November 2017