Since the 1950s, the fashion industry has aroused interest in the seventh art, making renowned directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Robert Altman, Paul Thomas Anderson and Ridley Scott feel attracted to characters from the textile world. On the other hand, it seems that the fashion designer Coco Chanel, through her life and work, has been causing curiosity and interest among the cinematographic public with more than four feature films and several documentaries dedicated to her.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a 2022 American film directed by Anthony Fabian. This is the third film version of the novel written by Paul Gallico, which tells the story of a widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London who falls madly in love with a Dior haute couture dress. She embarks on an adventure in Paris that will change not only her perspective – but the very future of the House of Dior. The film is pleasant, charming and essentially old-fashioned with an excellent cast where actress Lesley Manville plays the protagonist Mrs. Harris (being nominated for a Golden Globe) and Isabelle Huppert as a somewhat arrogant boss at Christian Dior, among others.
Cruella
Cruella is an American crime comedy film based on the character Cruella de Vil, introduced in Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The One Hundred and One Dalmatians and the 1961 Walt Disney Pictures animated film 101 Dalmatians. Craig Gillespie directed this film set in 1970s London, in the midst of the punk rock revolution. The feature film tells the story of a young con artist named Estella, an intelligent and creative girl determined to stand out through her designs. Emma Stone stars as the title character and Glenn Close, who played Cruella in the 1996 remake and its sequel, serves as executive producer. Highlights include the excellent costumes created by Jenny Beavan.
House of Gucci
House of Gucci is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and tells the story of the murder of Maurizio Gucci at the hands of a hitman hired by his ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani. It stars Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, and also features performances by Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek and Al Pacino in supporting roles. The film had its world premiere in 2021 and received mixed opinions from audiences and critics. It is based on the great book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, written by Sara Gay Forden and published in 2012.
Phantom Thread
Phantom Thread is a 2017 American film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Daniel Day Lewis plays fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock, a renowned couturier who, together with his team, creates exceptional clothes for his exclusive clients. The exacting standards he follows also reflect the extraordinary sensitivity of his character, which makes him a difficult man to live with. When he meets a waitress, Alma, an attraction arises, but it’s not clear whether he’s attracted to her as a person or as a woman. Alma, on the other hand, finds him handsome and is determined to have him. The film, which won the Oscar for best costumes, addresses the vulnerability, delicate beauty and determination inherent in each character.
The Neon Demon
The Neon Demon is a 2016 French-American film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Elle Fanning and Keanu Reeves. Jesse, an aspiring model, starts working for an agency in Los Angeles and achieves success, becoming increasingly narcissistic. She must face envious models who promise to bring her down. Uncomplicated plot about Hollywood and its obsession with youth. The film was shown for the first time at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, dividing opinions of “love and hate” and being considered a ritualistic, macabre and dark feature film, as well as moving, absurd and disturbing.
The Dressmaker
The Dressmaker is a 2015 film co-written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, based on the novel of the same name by Rosalie Ham. The film stars Kate Winslet as seamstress Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage, who returns to a small Australian town to care for your mother. A glamorous woman returning to her small town in rural Australia with her sewing machine. A charming comedy-drama with touches of the theatrical and cowboy genre, with echoes of Catholic clichés and pastiches from the small farming communities of the 1950s. The film borrows the sense of timing from the cowboy western genre with an almost intended country guitar soundtrack from the 1950s, and with a good intentional, exaggerated composition of the city’s inhabitants. The flashbacks work well as the story unfolds on screen, centering on Tilly and her supposed childhood curse.
Saint Laurent
Saint Laurent, directed by Frenchman Bertrand Bonello in 2014, is a biographical film about the Algerian fashion designer of the same name. Between 1967 and 1976, fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent, played by Gaspard Ulliel, made history in the world of French haute couture. The biography shows his creative process, controversial photographs and interviews, his relationship with his partner and businessman Pierre Berger, played by Jérémie Renier, his extra-marital love affairs and the couturier YSL’s relationship with alcohol and drugs. The film competed for the Palme d’Or in the 2014 Cannes Film Festival competition.
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Coco and Igor is a 2002 novel by Chris Greenhalgh that was turned into a film in 2009 directed by Jan Kounen. The feature film takes us back to Paris in the 1920s where Coco Chanel, dedicated to her work and in love with the charming and successful Arthur Boy Capel, attends the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where Igor Stravinsky presents his third ballet for the first time.” The Rite of Spring.” She is enchanted by the music, but the public boos the work, considering it too revolutionary and modern for the time. Seven years later, Coco and Igor meet again in opposite situations. She is now a famous, rich and respected fashion designer, and lives in the pain of Boy’s death, while he lives in exile in France after the Russian Revolution. The attraction between the two is immediate. Coco invites him to stay at her country house to compose; Igor accepts and goes to live with his wife and children. An intense romance then begins between the two artists in the most creative phase of their careers.
Coco before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel is a 2009 biographical drama film directed and co-written by Anne Fontaine. The film stars Audrey Tautou and details the childhood of French designer Coco Chanel, painting an enigmatic portrait of the French designer’s charisma, rebellion and innate charm. From a young age, she stood out for her originality and new perception of women’s clothing and the silhouette of the time, giving a new sociocultural meaning to women’s clothing. Coco, with her outspokenness, audacity and experimental styles, establishes an unparalleled legacy of class and fashion that continues to this day.
Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel is a biographical television drama directed by Christian Duguay in 2008. It stars Shirley MacLaine as the older Coco Chanel and Barbora Bobuľová as the younger. Fashion lovers will love this stylish biopic about the legendary French designer. From his impoverished childhood to his meteoric rise to fame, his notorious love life and the advent of iconic products, the series shows how the designer overcame her humble origins and a male-dominated industry to revolutionize the world of fashion. Learning to sew at the age of six and becoming the well-known seamstress Coco Chanel, one of the biggest names in the fashion industry. Shirley MacLaine was nominated for a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work in the film.
The devil wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 film directed by David Frankel based on the book of the same name. The film adaptation stars Meryl Streep in a great interpretation of the character Miranda Priestly, a powerful fashion magazine editor, and Anne Hathaway as Andrea “Andy” Sachs, Miranda’s new assistant. The film’s plot tells the story of this young woman who got a job at Runaway Magazine, the most important fashion magazine in New York, and begins working as an assistant to executive director Miranda Priestly. The film is stylish, with hints of humor and a touch of drama, making us reflect on the pressure of working in such an industry, the sacrifices we make in search of success and the power relationships in today’s world of work. The film was well received by the public with Meryl Streep catapulting this feature film to another level.
Pret a Porter
“Prêt-à-Porter” is a 1994 film directed by Robert Altman and featuring a cast of big names in cinema and the fashion industry. The film is a satire on the world of fashion, witty and timeless, so elegant and fun. The story is set against the backdrop of Paris Fashion Week with small cases and characters that interconnect or not during the film; Fashion editors, reporters, models are part of the film’s imagery. Visually, Prêt-à-Porter features stunning costumes, vibrant sets and a striking soundtrack, in addition to Altman’s signature style of layers and rapid-fire dialogue. The film caused controversy and was received by critics with a mix of exaltation and disdain. Although it is a reflection on the spirit of 90s fashion, the film has a gift for criticizing the industry while celebrating its creativity.
Chanel Solitaire
Chanel Solitaire is a 1981 British-French-American historical drama film directed by George Kaczender and starring French actress Marie-France Pisier. This feature film tells the story of the childhood and rise to fame and fortune of French fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel beginning with her education in an orphanage, and training as a milliner, but at the same time focusing on her relationship with Etienne de Balsan and with his friend Boy Capel. The film portrays the role these two men played in raising her as an independent businesswoman. This work was based on the novel of the same name by Claude Delay.
Mahogany
Mahogany is a 1975 American commercial comedy directed by Berry Gordy. Tracy is a black girl who works days as a secretary at a Loop department store, studies art at night school and dreams of becoming a top designer even though she has no financial resources and struggles to pay for fashion school. The student (played by actress and singer Diana Ross) goes from rags to riches when a chance encounter with well-known fashion photographer Sean (Anthony Perkins) at the department store where she works leads her to a life as a model in Rome. Tracy’s instant success and strong ambitions bring her professional success as a designer, but her diva antics could destroy her relationship with social activist Brian (Billy Dee Williams), as well as her respect in the fashion world. The film may seem like a soap opera featuring rich costumes, romantic music, decadent playboys, socially redemptive values, and the fable of magical events that change our lives, catapulting us from rags to riches.
Blow up
Blow up is a 1966 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni where Thomas (played by actor David Hemmings) is a London fashion photographer who one day, occasionally doing a photo shoot in a park, thinks he may have photographed a murder. Thomas sees an ambiguous image hidden at the edge of the photograph, which could be a shadow, but looks like a gun. The only certainty is that the woman (played by the actress Vanessa Redgrave) in the photo showed up at his studio – and wants the photos he took. Although the director’s language moves away from the commercial narrative and presents abstract artistic elements on different planes that oscillate between realities and dreams, the film can be considered a masterpiece. Michelangelo Antonioni was inspired by Julio Cortazar’s short story with the same title, making an interesting and perfect film for those who like to remember the decades from the 30s to the 70s, with the soundtrack also making a big difference.
Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?
Who are you, Polly Maggoo? (Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo?) is a 1966 French film directed by William Klein, being his first fiction film made in a beautiful black and white aesthetic. The film is narrated through a fictional and satirical documentary about the world of fashion and its extravagances, bringing a reflection on the jet set, sensationalism and the impassivity of the mass media making a bold deflation of pretensions and cultural institutions. The main characters are the American supermodel Polly Maggoo (played by Dorothy McGowan) who is being followed by a French television crew, the character Miss Maxwell (Grayson Hall) a fashion magazine editor inspired by Diana Vreeland and a TV reporter and director (Philippe Noiret). After nearly a decade working as a fashion photographer for American Vogue magazine, the film’s director made this wild foray into the world of Parisian haute couture. McGowan was an American model before the film and after its release she disappeared from public life, no longer acting as a model and/or actress, despite the good public and critical reception the film received. Elegant and biting humor unites the various strands of this alternately glamorous and grotesque portrait of fashion in Paris.
Funny Face
Funny Face is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen. The cast includes Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn who tell us the story of a photographer who transforms a bookstore saleswoman into a promising fashion model. The film takes place between New York and Paris and the costumes are designed by Edith Head and the couturier Hubert de Givenchy. Despite having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical, the plot is entirely different and only four of the musical’s songs are included.
(© cover photo Jason Dent)