Reading Summary: “Cinema and Haute Couture: Sabrina to Pretty Woman, Trop Belle pour Toi!,...

text summary:

cinema andhaute couture“ ”

@barb_leungWednesday, July 6, 2011

http://www.twitter.com/barb_leung


context

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

contextpublished in ’97 by Routledge (NY and London)


context

!rst chapter of Undressing Cinema

published in ’97 by Routledge (NY and London)


!rst chapter of Undressing Cinema

published in ’97 by Routledge (NY and London)

and for the visual learner...

context


that’s the book cover


that’s the book coveraccording to amazon.com anyway


who?


this is the author: stella bruzzi

who?


this is the author: stella bruzzi

she’s a professor of !lm and television at University of Warwick

who?


researchspecialties?


interested in fashion and costume; gender and identity in !lm, particularly masculinity;

documentary !lm and television

researchspecialties?


keywords


keywordscostume


keywordscostume

costume designer


keywordscostume

costume designercouturier


keywordscostume


subservient visual role


keywordscostume



functional intermediary


keywordscostume



functional intermediary

simulacra


more!


more!semiology of fashion



technological/iconic/verbal




fetishism




fetishism

designer identity


presumably...


presumably...her thesis “the belief that clothes can function independently of the body, character and narrative, that through them alternative discursive strategies can be evolved that, in turn, question existing assumptions about the relationship between spectator and image, not necessarily p rob lemat i sed th rough the use o f conventional costumes.” (Bruzzi 3)


old and new


old and newold traditional ethos of costume design: means of creating looks c o m p l e m e n t i n g n a r r a t i v e , character, and stars (3)


old and newold traditional ethos of costume design: means of creating looks c o m p l e m e n t i n g n a r r a t i v e , character, and stars (3)

new clothing prioritizes over narrative (3)


history lesson


history lessoncinematic fashion shows



fashion !lms with simply displays of gowns progressing to story-lined movies built around the display (4)



fashion !lms with simply displays of gowns progressing to story-lined movies built around the display (4)

distance between costume and couture fashion minimized during the 1930s and 1940s


the costume designer


the costume designer

veteran costume designer edith head image (via)


http://ediesnews.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

http://ediesnews.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

the costume designeronce the dictator of fashion



hot names included Head, Adrian, Orry-Kelly and Branton




new relationship between stars and clothes emerged with Sabrina and Hubert Givenchy




new relationship between stars and clothes emerged with Sabrina and Hubert Givenchy

demise of costume designer and rise of couturier


examining Sabrina

image (via)Wednesday, July 6, 2011

http://alisafujita.blogspot.com/

http://alisafujita.blogspot.com/

examining Sabrinacostume designer Edith Head was given the responsibility of pre-transformation clothes


examining Sabrina

Givenchy designed all the “show-stopping Parisian fantasies” (6)

costume designer Edith Head was given the responsibility of pre-transformation clothes


examining Sabrina


showcase of designs via !lm



examining Sabrina


!lm fashion became more intrusive

showcase of designs via !lm



fashion & the times


fashion & the timesLate 1950s to 1980 "uid mutual relationship between fashion and costume design with !lm gradually becoming a general re"ector of outside fashion and trends (7)


Late 1950s to 1980 "uid mutual relationship between fashion and costume design with !lm gradually becoming a general re"ector of outside fashion and trends (7)

1960s more harmonious relationship between couture and street styles

fashion & the times


exhibitionism & art


exhibitionism & art

should clothes “perform a spectacular as opposed to a subservient visual role in !lm?” (8)


exhibitionism & art

should clothes “perform a spectacular as opposed to a subservient visual role in !lm?” (8)

and should “those same costumes ... remain functional intermediaries to narrative and character, or stand out as art objects in themselves?” (8)


example of Kika


http://www.fharaoncovers.com

http://www.fharaoncovers.com

costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier

example of Kika



not only “distancing devices but e x a g g e r a t e d , c o n v e n t i o n a l i z e d mechanisms for making the female form into an objecti!ed spectacle” (11)

example of Kika



not only “distancing devices but e x a g g e r a t e d , c o n v e n t i o n a l i z e d mechanisms for making the female form into an objecti!ed spectacle” (11)

aesthetic displays and perversely functional (11)

example of Kika


from the text:


“This contravenes di rect ly the t r a d i t i o n a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f adornment, as something which accentuates and complements the f e m i n i n e , b u t i s s o m e h o w symptomatic of how couture as opposed to the generic fashion operates in cinema” (13-4)

from the text:


identity & costume

Pretty Women image (via)Wednesday, July 6, 2011

http://mettelray.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/156-pretty-woman/

http://mettelray.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/156-pretty-woman/

identity & costumePretty Woman presents no clear differences between couture and non-couture clothing


identity & costumePretty Woman presents no clear differences between couture and non-couture clothing

only importance is the display of c o n s u m e r i s m , a s o p p o s e d t o individual pieces


Pretty Woman presents no clear differences between couture and non-couture clothing

only importance is the display of c o n s u m e r i s m , a s o p p o s e d t o individual pieces

fashion, here, exists as dependent and casual response to narrative

identity & costume


identity & costume

Funny Face image (via)Wednesday, July 6, 2011

http://mybigfatgreekmove.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-fair-lady-in-making.html

http://mybigfatgreekmove.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-fair-lady-in-making.html

identity & costumedifferent functions and symbols present in each !lm


identity & costumedifferent functions and symbols present in each !lm

Sabr i na p l a c e s f o c u s o n t h e signi!cance of each piece


roland barthes


http://emilymkeeler.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/roland-barthes-by-roland-barthes/

http://emilymkeeler.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/roland-barthes-by-roland-barthes/

roland barthesauthor of The Fashion System



distinctions between real, written, and imaged garment “useful for oscillating dialogue with couture” (17)




three different structures for each item: technological, iconic, verbal




three different structures for each item: technological, iconic, verbal

fashion requires contextWednesday, July 6, 2011

simulacra


simulacrarepresentation of something/someone



i d e n t i ! c a t i o n o f i d e a l f e m a l e conceived through male fantasyi d e n t i ! c a t i o n o f i d e a l f e m a l e conceived through male fantasy



i d e n t i ! c a t i o n o f i d e a l f e m a l e conceived through male fantasyi d e n t i ! c a t i o n o f i d e a l f e m a l e conceived through male fantasynotably higher female spectatorship for these fashion !lms



i d e n t i ! c a t i o n o f i d e a l f e m a l e conceived through male fantasyi d e n t i ! c a t i o n o f i d e a l f e m a l e conceived through male fantasynotably higher female spectatorship for these fashion !lms“clothes more than the woman that render her perfect and become the point of identi!cation” (19)


interesting to note...


interesting to note...clothes can be used as a distancing device (as is the case in Belle Du Jour) in which assumed bond between beauty and sexuality is displaced



couture garments need context to be desirable: link to class and exclusivity



couture garments need context to be desirable: link to class and exclusivity

differs from Richard Dyer’s sartorial idea of femininity: sensual fabrics (20)


perfect simplicity

Belle du Jour image (via)Wednesday, July 6, 2011

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/belledejour.htm

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/belledejour.htm

perfect simplicitywhen iconic and real are separated, “a distant, unreal feminine ideal that could be termed ‘too beautiful’” may be imposed (18)



in which case, couture garments can have an independent identity imposed on the character, and be alienating



in which case, couture garments can have an independent identity imposed on the character, and be alienating

an example would be Belle du JourWednesday, July 6, 2011

hurrah, freud!


http://autreouverture.unblog.fr/tag/reflexion/page/4/

http://autreouverture.unblog.fr/tag/reflexion/page/4/

hurrah, freud!fetishism manifests itself between “ f a s h i o n a n d s p e c t a t o r a s a contradictory impulse that de-eroticises the body”(24)



response to the female and the often perceived masculine gaze



response to the female and the often perceived masculine gaze

hysteric confronts masculine imposed femininity through surface-expression


neglected males

American Gigolo image (via)Wednesday, July 6, 2011

http://programacinemafalado.blogspot.com/2010/06/indispensavel-mostra-cinema-de-moda-na.html

http://programacinemafalado.blogspot.com/2010/06/indispensavel-mostra-cinema-de-moda-na.html

neglected malesfor a while, male actors were expected to supply their own costumes



“what I shall wear” has been a “traditional female preserve” (26)




American Gigolo illustrates fetishism in the clothing of the protagonist




American Gigolo illustrates fetishism in the clothing of the protagonist

balance between self-promotion and immersive design necessary


the point of it allto argue that clothes are not to only be considered relevant in relation to the body



clothing in cinema does not possess an aesthetic discourse or that it cannot function independently of narrative and character (34)



clothing in cinema does not possess an aesthetic discourse or that it cannot function independently of narrative and character (34)

clothes; objects of spectatorial gazeWednesday, July 6, 2011

web: www.barbaraleung.comemail: [email protected]: @barb_leung

thanks!


http://www.barbaraleung.com

http://www.barbaraleung.com

mailto:[email protected]?subject=I%20want%20to%20hire%20you!

mailto:[email protected]?subject=I%20want%20to%20hire%20you!



Reading Summary: “Cinema and Haute Couture: Sabrina to Pretty Woman, Trop Belle pour Toi!,...

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