The Art of Dressing, in Film
I have always found that clothes in films are the key to bringing a character, especially a heroine, into the focus of thought provoking fascination. People’s gestures and actions, the small details of how they move, are often the most intriguing. These are the things that stay in your memory. All these crucial bits of code, this undercurrent, were absorbed and seared into my DNA. When I was a child we grew up without a TV. I became very emotional when I did see a film, the
stories felt like they were happening to me. I was inconsolable after watching the 1937 black and white movie ‘Captain's Courageous’ about a spoilt boy who gets shipwrecked onto a fisherman’s boat and learns how to work hard and care about other people. Then someone dies. But more mysteriously it was Heidi that really did for me. I watched it at my grandparents' home in Ireland aged 8. As I choked with sobs and turned away from the offered comfort, I couldn't explain why I was so distraught. It was something to do with that happy family which made me feel so alien. It seemed so remote from my life. Later as a teenager, my favourite director Bunuel’s films such as ‘Belle de Jour’ and ‘The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’ or Godard’s ‘Alphaville’ starring Anna Karina in that simple little dress with the lace collar and cuffs, showed me what could be intensified on the screen with a good outfit. I can rarely remember a plot, but I will never forget the black patent mac worn by Catherine Deneuve’s rakish, possessive lover played by Pierre Clementi in Belle de Jour. When I first started my brand I decided to make short films whenever I could instead of doing fashion shows. Over the years I have made eight of them, including three directed by John Malkovich. For my new AW24 collection I have made some filmed clips of incidental moments that might occur as a woman dresses, or prepares for a moment. They are brief, but intense.
stories felt like they were happening to me. I was inconsolable after watching the 1937 black and white movie ‘Captain's Courageous’ about a spoilt boy who gets shipwrecked onto a fisherman’s boat and learns how to work hard and care about other people. Then someone dies. But more mysteriously it was Heidi that really did for me. I watched it at my grandparents' home in Ireland aged 8. As I choked with sobs and turned away from the offered comfort, I couldn't explain why I was so distraught. It was something to do with that happy family which made me feel so alien. It seemed so remote from my life. Later as a teenager, my favourite director Bunuel’s films such as ‘Belle de Jour’ and ‘The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’ or Godard’s ‘Alphaville’ starring Anna Karina in that simple little dress with the lace collar and cuffs, showed me what could be intensified on the screen with a good outfit. I can rarely remember a plot, but I will never forget the black patent mac worn by Catherine Deneuve’s rakish, possessive lover played by Pierre Clementi in Belle de Jour. When I first started my brand I decided to make short films whenever I could instead of doing fashion shows. Over the years I have made eight of them, including three directed by John Malkovich. For my new AW24 collection I have made some filmed clips of incidental moments that might occur as a woman dresses, or prepares for a moment. They are brief, but intense.
