Flavia, Georgie, Sanjana Alex, Lauren, Nadia, Jevate
FASHION FILM | Grey Gardens
GREY GARDENS
Filmed by Albert and David Maysles •Directed by David Maysles, Albert Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer •Associate producer Susan Froemke •Editors Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer, Susan Froemke •Producer The Maysles Brothers, and Portrait Films, Inc
GREY GARDENS - WHAT IS IT ABOUT? Plot/synopsis
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This film explores the daily lives of two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. During the of the documentary, they discuss their habits, desires and former loves with filmmakers Albert and David Maysles. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.
ADAPTATION
The New York Times, 2009
DVDTimes, 2009
“Grey Gardens is also a landmark documentary, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and an HBO movie starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.”
The New York Times, 2009
MISE-EN-SCENE |
Styling, Location Composition, Make up
STYLING “You can always take off the skirt and use it as a cape” – Little Edie Catherine Thomas: Stylist Other work: Kill Bill (Vols. 1 and 2), 27 Dresses The costumes are employed as a vehicle for depicting the decline of the Beales. Clothing contrasts the prime of their lives, glamour and ease, in the context of the Hamptons, with the freedom, and wild imagination that can be unleashed when you let yourself be free of all the external aspects. “Their style was born out of necessity, It recalls early Madonna, when she had no money and lived in the East Village and just pulled things together.” - Mr. Som
BRANDS THAT WERE INFLUENCED
Marc Jacobs 2007 bag named ‘Little Edie’
Wools, John Galliano spring 2008 R-T-W Collection cashmeres, chiffons and sequins worn, as Edie would have, in mismatched layers of leggings, skirts, coats, furs and turbans, all embellished by brooches.
Mary Kate Olsen in Harpers Bazar 2007 by Peter Lindbergh Vogue Germany 2010
Mark Seliger for Vogue Spain 2010 - styled by Belén Antolín
Nylon Dec/Jan 2016
LOCATION
70’s House – Original house from the documentary
Grey Garden house refurbished and sold after big Edith Passed away.
LOCATION Centre Island in the Toronto Islands
Fairmont Royal York - Bedroom
Fairmont Royal York
Fairmont Royal York Lobby
COMPOSITION – CROPPING & EDITING
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Grainy images speaks to the time; 1970s Close cropped zoomed single camera filming makes it feel personal Especially because it was pretty much only shot in the house. Made the scene feel claustrophobic; which ties in the the narrative that they live very much in each other's space (as well as the fact that they speak over each other) The camera was also voyeur, following little Edith in moments as she walked around reminiscing her past life. The close cropped cinematography was important to show the emotion; there's a feeling of nostalgia and regret especially with Little Edie which you can see on her face. The way it was shot didn't have an agenda. The camera was just there and it documented what was happening. There wasn't a goal per say as in most other documentaries.
70’S MAKE UP • •
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Like the sixties, the seventies was a diverse decade for makeup looks. Continuing on from the late 1960s flower power trend of more natural looks, the decade went into super glam mode, gave a nod to retro smoky eyes and skinny brows, revolved around the glitter ball of decadent disco and pogo-ed into avant-garde punk. Eye shadows were usually worn in pearlescent shades, especially blues and greens, but neutral pinks and browns were chosen as well. These shimmering colors made the eyes glow and, like the blush, added some color to that natural look.
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Eyeliner was another important tool in every woman’s 70s makeup bag. This beauty tool was used to draw the cat-like lines that were so popular on the eyelids of the decade. Liner added a kind of mysterious look to the face and was used liberally.
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Mascara, in contrast, wasn’t used very often in the 70s. If it was, it was employed to lengthen the lashes but not for thickening.
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On the lips of a typical 70s women, you would never see shades of lipstick that contained the words red, plum, or raisin.
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On this part of the face, neutral was the name of the game as well. Most 70s gals preferred to draw more attention to their dramatic eyes so they chose lip gloss or frosted lipstick in very muted shades of pink, peach, or even nude. Lips were almost transparent and lip liner was a definite nono.
CULTURAL REFERENCES
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American society puts an absurd value on physical appearance, but when beautyfades, there’s plenty to replace it. When Little Edie’s beauty began to fade, however, nothing replaced it. Though in the film she speaks, sometimes angrily and passionately, about powerful men whowanted to give her jobs—from her demanding, disapproving father to BurtBacharach—she doesn’t seem to have worked in decades, if she ever really workedat all. It’s never even apparent what her career would have been had she pursued itmore aggressively.
“If you can’t get a man to propose to you, you might as well be dead,” Little Edie frets early in Grey Gardens.
This figurine has received rave reviews. A limited edition of 100 of these special figurines were made, and each is hand numbered. Her “brooch” features two sparkling crystals.
Portrait of Little Edie Beale By New York artist Ilana Simons.