Oscars 2012 - The Artist

The Artist was one of the most successful films at the Oscars this year.  It won five awards including best picture and costume design, which some may find surprising considering it is a silent black and white French film.

The Artist is set in Hollywood from 1927 to 1932 which takes us back to the start of Hollywood's golden age which lasted until the late 1950s.  The film focuses on a silent movie actor when such films were on their way out as the 'talkies' made their mark.

Flapper Outfit from The Artist

The costumes from The Artist are now on display as part of the 20th annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles.

The Artist costumes on display at FIDM

Young women, including Hollywood actresses such as Joan Crawford, below,  in "The Roaring Twenties" were often referred to as flappers. They wore loose fitting dresses and girdle bras to minimise their bust and hips in order to appear boyish which was a way of rejecting the previous feminine Victorian style.  This article discusses the fashions of various decades including the 1920s.

Joan Crawford

The modern woman of the 1920s was independent (she had to be when so many men died in World War I) - she drove, smoked with a long cigarette holder, voted (if you were under 30 not until 1928 in Britain), wore heavy make up and her hair short under a cloche hat, had casual sex, she danced to jazz music and drank alcohol (illegally in America due to prohibition).  

In the 1920s, fashion magazines such as Vogue encouraged the flapper outlook by reinforcing the idea that women now had choices:

"Gone is the prim, put-upon female, the old maid of bygone days, and in her place is an independent person who glories in the fact that she doesn't have to marry unless she wants to." (Vogue 1925). 

Vogue also ensured all women had access to the flapper fashion by providing sewing patterns for those who could not afford to buy the garments from stores.

A Vogue cover, 1926

The flapper fashion came to an end with the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the great depression, which followed.  However, the flapper look is a key trend for Spring/Summer 2012:

Gucci flapper dress (Marie Claire)

How does a historical trend come back into style? Designers are inspired by historical fashions but they update the look for the modern consumer.  Laver (1937) argues that fashions change and come around again due to the theory of the 'shifting erogenous zones' in that "different parts of the body are emphasised by veiling one part and unveiling another" (Kim, Fiore and Kim 2011 pp. 16-17).  Essentially, when one part of the female body has been repeatedly exposed the item goes out of fashion to prevent men becoming bored.  However, there has been criticism of this argument, for example, from a feminist perspective by Wilson (1985).  She claims that this is incorrect as any item of clothing may focus on more than one part of the body, she highlights other influences such as Hollywood (such as The Artist making the flapper fashionable again) rather than what men think and that this theory is flawed as it is limited to women's clothing.

London Fashion Week 2012 - Burberry and Mulberry

Although Burberry and Mulberry are regarded as British heritage brands, young Hollywood movie stars such as Michelle Williams and Kate Bosworth, pictured below, were spotted in the front row of the brands catwalk shows at London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2012/13.

 

  

  

Michelle Williams at Mulberry Show, left, and at the after party in a custom made Mulberry dress, right.

Kate Bosworth at Burberry

Burberry and Mulberry are fashion brands which focus their identities primarily on their country of origin, history and heritage.  Mulberry claim to sell "luxury English fashion" whilst Burberry refers to itself as being "an iconic British luxury brand established since 1856."  However, these brands have in recent years reinvented themselves eradicating the traditional British heritage image of stuffiness or chavs, as became the case for Burberry.  They have used a winning combination of Britishness and quirkiness to attract younger consumers as can be seen from these video clips of their shows at London Fashion Week 2012 below.

Berlin Film Festival 2012

Today was the last day of the Berlin International Film Festival, which is also known as the Berlinale. 

2012 Berlinale Poster

The festival began in 1951, only six years after World War II ended, in an attempt to rejuvenate Germany's cultural scene.  Rebecca, starring Joan Fontaine and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, opened the festival in 1951.  For more information on the beginnings of the Berlinale look here.

                                                   1951 Berlinale Poster                         

                        

Joan Fontaine

Rebecca Film Poster

Back to 2012's festival and for me, the best outfit was Diane Kruger in a glamorous Giambattista Valli Couture 2012 gown pictured below.  Which outfits stood out for the right or wrong reasons at the festival for you? 

Diane Kruger in Giambattisa Valli

Other famous film festivals include Cannes, Venice and Edinburgh.  The Cannes Film Festival states "it has remained faithful to its founding purpose: to draw attention to and raise the profile of films with the aim of contributing towards the development of cinema, boosting the film industry worldwide and celebrating cinema at an international level."  However, Boorstin (1987) describes celebrities as "human pseudo-events" (p.45) who are "known for [their] well-knownness" (p.57).  He explains that pseudo is defined as false or intending to deceive (p.9) and argues that film stars are "figments of the media" whose "chief claim to fame is their fame itself that they are not known for their achievements.  They are notorious for their notoriety" (p.60).  Film stars have then generated other pseudo-events such as the premieres and these festivals.  These are not real life news events worthy of our attention, he argues, but trivial and only spawned in order to create news and for these human pseudo events to be seen.  

Bafta Awards 2012 and Ethical Fashion

The 2012 Bafta Awards took place last night in London.  In terms of the fashion, ethical came out on top! 

Michelle Williams surprised everyone by choosing an H&M dress, which is part of the high street chain's latest conscious collection which is due to hit its stores in April. This is part of the retailer's sustainable initiative.

Michelle Williams in H&M

Colin Firth in Giorgio Armani and Livia Firth in Paul Smith

Livia Firth,  the woman behind the Green Carpet Challenge, wore a suit made from organic wool.  Take a look at Livia's blog here.  She also encouraged her husband Colin Firth, Michael Fassbender and Viola Davis to wear ethical outfits as part of the Green Carpet Challenge.  Colin Firth and Michael Fassbender's tuxedos are made from organic wool and recycled PET bottles.

Michael Fassbender in ethical Giorgio Armani

Viola Davis wearing the first ever ethical Valentino outfit made out of recycled PET bottles

However, do consumers actually care where their clothing comes from?  It has been argued that it has "emerged from the research....that most consumers pay little heed to ethical considerations in their purchase decision-making behaviour." (Carrigan and Attalla 2001 p.574)  However, this was the view in 2001, could it be argued in 2012, that ethics plays an increasing role?  This article argues that the majority (83%) of consumers are interested in ethics when purchasing goods.  Do you consider ethics when purchasing fashion garments?

World War II and Hollywood

World War II resulted in more women than ever before going out to work.  In December 1941, the conscription of women to work was made legal in the UK due to the National Service Act (No.2), whereas in America, women were encouraged to volunteer by magazines and posters such as the one below.  These posters aimed to overcome the resistance at the thought of women doing traditionally male work with words such as "many factory jobs are very similar to running a sewing machine or vacuum cleaner, assembling a meat grinder, sewing by hand, and other familiar household tasks" (Yesil 2004 p.107).  Moreover, once the war was over, it was "implied that....women would 'gracefully' withdraw from ''men's jobs'". (Yesil 2004 p.103) 

During these difficult times, where utility fashion and rationing were the norm, women looked to Hollywood for fashion and glamour.  For example, there were the pin up stars whose faces and bodies were splashed across posters and films to cheer up the troops while women copied their cosmetics, hair and clothing.  

Betty Grable was one of the most popular pin up girls of WWII

Additionally, Hollywood actresses did their part for the war effort by performing for the troops at the Hollywood Canteen where members of the armed services could go for free refreshments, listen to bands and to socialise with their favourite movies stars.  

Bette Davis at the opening ceremony of the Hollywood Canteen, 1942

Hollywood actresses also embarked upon world tours to entertain the troops often putting their own lives at risk. 

Marlene Dietrich swapping war boots for high heels prior to entertaining the troops

  Marlene Dietrich performing for the troops

Furthermore, the actresses promoted and sold war bonds which the US government issued to fund the war.  Below is a video of Bette Davis informing people they should buy war bonds instead of Christmas presents.

Therefore, women, as well as men, assisted in the war effort.  Hollywood actresses entertained the troops and sold war bonds whereas most women embarked upon traditionally male work but only until men returned home and women would go back to the kitchen. 

19th Century - Stage Performers

Before the movies, theatre was the entertainment of the day.  As a result, celebrities in the 19th century were the stage performers.  The actresses featured in fashion magazines such as The Queen and Myra's Journal of Dress and Fashion, which encouraged women to aspire to a more luxurious lifestyle whilst promoting domesticity.

One of the most famous actresses of this time was the French born Sarah Bernhardt (sometimes referred to as Sara) who went on to become one of the first French film stars in the 20th century.  She often featured in fashion magazines with descriptions of her lavish theatre costumes.

However, in the early 19th century, the acting profession was viewed as morally corrupt and their audience uncivilised.  It was only in the late 19th century that actors were accepted in society but only if they were regarded as successful and earning a good wage.  It was at this time that middle and upper classes started going to the theatre.  This was brought about by the industrial revolution, which resulted in people moving from the countryside to the towns where they had access to theatres.

As late as 1898, it was claimed that it was impossible "for a woman to remain pure who adopts the stage as a profession" Clement Scott, theatre critic.  Accordingly, a woman would be mortified if her daughter told her she wanted to be an actress.  It was not viewed as the correct way for a lady to behave.  Cox and Mowatt (2009) state the consensus was that a woman belonged at home tending to her husband, children and the house.  Albeit whilst dreaming of wearing elaborate costumes such as those featured in the magazines they read.

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