[ad_1]
Over ten years ago, I interviewed Molly Ringwald for an article in the Los Angeles Times. We sat at a bohemian garden cafe in Venice and crossed our legs in tandem to discuss its lavish return to comedy and the city itself. Or at least she thought so. Me? Of course, I had questions about her long absence from Hollywood and her Brat Pack arc ingenue to middle-aged TV mom. But secretly and selfishly, I wanted to know one thing: who made those insanely bitchy brown equestrian boots that she wore in The breakfast club?
Cinema has always been my northern star when it comes to style. Please don’t ask me about the hot pink lace-up that I wore as a headband for most of 1983, thanks to valley girl. Or the way I dressed like Faye Dunaway’s Bonnie and Clyde, in a camel beret, a tight knit sweater and a flowy pencil skirt, for more than a few magazine interviews in New York in the mid-twenties. “We’re robbing banks,†I thought to myself in reassurance as I sat in the elegant and intimidating halls.
I am hardly alone. In 1934, when Clark Gable avoided an undershirt in the classic romp It happened one night, the men took note. Sales of undershirts have reportedly plummeted. Audrey Hepburn’s sleeveless black scabbard in Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961 made the little black dress a wardrobe staple. Thirty years later, women like me were feverishly looking for the crisp white button-down shirt and cropped black pants, finally a femme fatale look for the workplace! pulp Fiction.
This article appeared in the Winter 2022 issue of Alta Journal.
SUBSCRIBE
Fashion designers, too, often see genre films as inspirations for collections and catwalks. Jeremy Scott, the Creative Director of Moschino, once told me that Blade runner had a “profound” influence on its aesthetics. Five years ago, Parisian designer Olympia Le-Tan showed off a varsity sweater emblazoned with the word “Psycho” and a belt buckle inspired by a shower nozzle during her fall runway show. Do you feel Hitchcock, anyone?
But a recent confluence of forces, both unforeseen and unstoppable, is now mitigating the impact of the big screen on what is required. “Cinema isn’t as influential as it used to be and not just because of the pandemic,” costume designer Janie Bryant said with a sigh. Bryant rocked the style of the era from 2007 to 2015 with his work on Mad Men. (FYI: My husband started wearing a damn fedora for his poker night.) The comic book franchises own the multiplex, Bryant notes. At least 10 superhero movies are expected to arrive in 2022. And look, who wouldn’t want the power of invisibility in a tense family reunion or the ability to fly away from their brooding tween? But that doesn’t mean we want to dress like Batman at Thanksgiving dinner or show up on a first date in a starry bustier and red pants like Wonder Woman. “These films are primarily aimed at teenagers,†says Bryant. “Where are the epic costume dramas?” “
On request, it is there. If the video killed the radio star, streamers behead movie studios and play Parcheesi with their eyeballs. Take the drama from Netflix’s blockbuster period Bridgerton, for example. Its effect on fashion was undeniable from the start. Vogue announcement, “Bridgerton-Worthy Runway seems to inspire your own “coming out” style. Indeed, the Spring 2021 shows were teeming with the type of dress that should come with a porcelain ensemble and a side of sour cream. London-based designer label Erdem showed off flowery puff-sleeve dresses reminiscent of the Regency era of the early 1800s, while Simone Rocha highlighted back flourishes like tulle, Empire waist, and chunky knots. And with some 7,500 period pieces created by Bridgerton costume designer Ellen Mirojnick for the first season, the frilly inspirations were not lacking to glean.
Peaky blinders creator Steven Knight was probably inspired by Mad Men Fashion craze when he launched a clothing line called Garrison Tailors in 2016 to sell the haberdashery seen in his period detective drama, another streamer hit. Want to access the look? Knight’s tweed baker’s cap sells for around $ 95 on the Garrison Tailors website, while a well-lined tweed suit and vest costs around $ 900. “A lot of people seem to admire the look of the Peaky boys and it’s hard to find clothes of the same quality and cut in conventional stores and outlets,†Knight notes on the website. He highlights one of the reasons television eclipses cinema when it comes to influencing our style: the characters come into our homes and live with us week after week. They are like a family.
THE TIKTOK EFFECT
But fashion, like Hollywood, sees young people as its most valuable consumers. Teenage girls are actually credited with leading the recent spending rebound. (Did anyone else hear that mic drop?) And this dewy demo doesn’t nibble on movie theater popcorn. He’s hanging out on TikTok. For the uninitiated, the video app outshines Instagram’s cousin who shows up at the party with a messy bun and a stain on her jumpsuit. According to the Business of Apps industry analyst, 69% of American teens currently use TikTok. There are over 42 million young people between the ages of 10 and 19 in the United States.
Big fashion houses like Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent did the math. They now broadcast their parades on the platform; designers even encourage social media users to recreate their look with tutorials. The stars of TikTok launch their own fashion brands or also collaborate on capsule collections, and become our next movie stars. (More on that later.)
Speaking of the power of adolescence, we have to talk about the HBO Max streamer Gossip Girl reboot and how this TV show also hijacked the fashion headlines. The original 2007 melodrama about private New York schoolchildren named Blair and Serena who had the disposable income of hedge fund managers made preppy headbands a thing – and the trend is still alive, thanks to the show. (I just typed “Blair Waldorf headbands†on Amazon and found 297 options.) Gossip Girl leaned heavily on fashion and sent teens rushing to the mall in a way no other show had in a generation. This time around, however, the hype has come to a head. before the debut, thanks, in part, to the return of the series’ OG costume designer, Eric Daman. However, today’s teens may have to dissolve their college funds to dress. Characters on the new Gossip Girl wear Balenciaga sneakers for $ 950 and Louis Vuitton tote bags for $ 3,500.
Without a doubt, the influence of TV on fashion is also fueled by big budgets to present expensive labels that will impress teens. “These high-profile shows have so much money to spend on the wardrobe,†says Denise Wingate, the costume designer who oversaw the appearance of the teenage film Pygmalion. She is all that in 1999 and his recent reboot of Netflix, He is all that. In the new version, the teenage protagonist is a social media influencer who happens to be played by one of TikTok’s biggest stars, Addison Rae. (The performer’s style status was cemented last September when she sat front row at the Versace show in Milan.) Rae has around 85 million followers on the platform, and afterwards He is all that, she signed a multi-picture contract with Netflix to develop and star in future projects. Simply put, our new movie stars really are the girls next door, if they’re making style videos in their bedrooms, of course.
“I didn’t even know who Addison was,†Wingate laughs. Nonetheless, she bought outfits for He is all that affordable brands popular on TikTok, like American Eagle, Alo and LA’s own reworked vintage brand, iamkoko.la, which collaborated with Rae on a capsule collection of clothing. Influencer TikTok’s own line of hoodies ($ 45) and crop tops ($ 25) that simply reads “Obsessed†is sold out on her website. For looks in He is all that, accessible brands won out over ambitious labels – what is the raison d’être of TikTok, right?
So, would Molly Ringwald’s riding boots be so coveted if she indulged in “Iko Iko†on TikTok while wearing them? Not for me. When i looked The breakfast club, I bought an image, not an accessory. I wanted to be the girl who could apply lipstick with her cleavage and give one of her precious diamond earrings to the bad boy in high school. I still do.
By the way, the boots were designed by Ralph Lauren. •
[ad_2]
Comments are closed.