Film and television have become a massive part of fashion media and an asset for brands. Fashion and costume design are used as a plot device and even sometimes seen as another character in television and film. Not only can fashion and costume design transform a television show or movie, but the media and celebrities have huge value for brands. Brands and luxury houses took a while to see the value of celebrities, but once they did they have found numerous ways to utilize them. Think of marketing campaigns with celebrities, red carpet looks, and more. Film and television really have been transformative for the fashion industry.
The Golden Age of Film in Hollywood took place during the 1920s through the 1960s when studios were producing films like Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and All Quiet on the Western Front. The big stars of the time became royalty after appearing on the big screens. Think back to stars like Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and Bette Davis. Although many brands and people were immediately infatuated with these new stars, the majority of the French luxury fashion houses did not immediately understand the value of the stars.
Coco Chanel was well known for her hatred of all things Hollywood and Christian Dior worried what his clients would think of stars on the screen wearing his pieces. Hubert de Givenchy was one of the few French designers that saw the potential value of Hollywood stars.
Audrey Hepburn went to Paris to pick out pieces at Givenchy for her role in the film Sabrina and that began her relationship with the French luxury house. Although Hubert de Givenchy was not immediately impressed with Hepburn once he learned she was from a high class European family and saw her charm he saw the value this partnership could be to the brand. And the alliance ended up being quite valuable. Givenchy went on to dress her in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade, and then she appeared in one of their perfume campaigns.
Dana Thomas, author of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Lustre writes "Thanks to Hepburn's unparalleled endorsement on and off screen, Givenchy was able to turn his small couture house into one of luxury's first globally recognized and genuinely successful brands. Yet it took decades for his confreres in the luxury business to understand and exploit the force of celebrity. "
In addition to her impact on Givenchy she also impacted Louis Vuitton in a major way. In 1930 Louis Vuitton introduced the “keep-all” bag, designed as duffle luggage for the traveling elite. The "keep-all" bag was loved by Audrey Hepburn so much that she requested that Louis Vuitton create a smaller version of the bag that she could carry on a daily basis. Hepburn's request was made in 1965 and in the same year the timeless Speedy 25 Bag was born.
The Speedy 25 quickly became one of the brand's best sellers and the bag is now offered in a variation of sizes, including the nano, 25, 30, 35, and 40. It was even so popular that it has been reissued in new styles every season and used for collaborations with artists like Jeff Koons and Stephen Sprouse. Clearly Hepburn's impact in the fashion industry and with French luxury houses displayed the power of celebrity and Hollywood.
Quite possibly the most well known American costume designer and stylist has to be Patricia Field. She's best known for her work for Sex and the City, Emily in Paris, The Devil Wears Prada, and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Her work in Sex and the City is her most well known seeing as she created the iconic style of Carrie Bradshaw.
Sex and the City aired from 1998 to 2004 and in those six years it created numerous trends and created quite a few famous it bags by featuring them in the show. One of the most notable impacts Sex and the City had on the fashion industry was the turning the Fendi Baguette Bag into an it bag and quite possibly the first it bag.
The Baguette bag was created in 1997 by Silvia Venturini Fendi and since has become a timeless piece for the brand. Its shape is slim and long, like a baguette that you would hold under your arm. See the video below to see the iconic scene where Carrie gets robbed at gunpoint on the street and the man says give me your bag to which Carrie famously states "its a baguette".
This episode aired in 2000, just three years after the bag's creation. Fendi was actually the first luxury house to lend an item to Field for the show. Clearly it ended up being a smart move for the brand because this scene is remembered as one of the most iconic Carrie moments and Carrie was seen with other versions of the bag in later episodes.
The Baguette's appearance in the show gave it a whole new audience of fans obsessed with Carrie Bradshaw's style and who wanted to add a little bit of Carrie to their wardrobes. Fendi sold one million Baguettes in its first twenty years and it is a bag that has become a massive part of the Fendi brand and they are still selling it today. In 2019 Fendi capitalized again on the Baguette craze started by Carrie Bradshaw by having Sarah Jessica Parker star in a campaign video for the bag. The campaign video featured the same baguette bag Carrie was seen with nearly twenty years prior and saying her iconic statement "this is not a bag, it's a baguette".
While we are talking about fashion in television we have to discuss Emily in Paris. Emily in Paris is a series produced by Netflix that came out in October of 2020. The show follows Emily, a girl in her twenties that transfers to work in a luxury marketing firm in Paris, France. Over the ten episodes we get glimpses into Emily's love life, adapting to French culture and stereotypes, and what its like to work with luxury brands.
Before the show came out everyone was excited to see Patricia Field's work, seeing as her work in the past has been so iconic in shows like Sex and the City. The show took viewers by surprise and immediately it started to receive criticism on the clothes and the storyline. Viewers were expecting to see a modern day Carrie Bradshaw wearing Parisian chic looks, but viewers ended up seeing something very, very different.
Luke Meagher of Haute Le Mode, a fashion commentator with half a million followers took to his Youtube channel after watching the series. He created two videos commentating on the costume design and styling of the show. In these videos he goes through each of the outfits Emily wears in the ten episodes and rips them to shreds. Combined the videos received just under a million views with tons of comments expressing similar viewpoints on the confusing costume design and styling in the show.
The show made its way all over fashion media with tons of articles and other commentary almost everywhere you consume fashion media. Just a few headlines from Vogue articles on the show were Tres Cliche: Deconstructing the Exquisite Tackiness of Emily in Paris, This Is How Emily In Paris Should Have Dressed, How the French Really Feel About Emily in Paris’s Style, and Here’s What Emily Should Wear in Emily in Paris Season Deux.
Going back to the concept that costumes and styling is a plot device was really where Field missed the mark with Emily in Paris. Even if Emily's looks do align with your personal taste the styling and costume design still missed the mark for the show seeing as how it confused viewers. Emily's job in Paris is working for a marketing firm as a marketing assistant. She's very low on the totem pole, and clearly she's not making the salary she would need to go along with her wardrobe.
Her collection of Chanel pieces she's seen wearing throughout the show would have been more than her salary alone, and that's just the Chanel . She is seen throughout the series wearing seven Chanel bags, a few Chanel jackets, a Chanel scarf, and numerous pieces of Chanel jewelry. The average price of a Chanel bag is around $5,000, and that is not including some of the limited edition and exotic leather Chanel pieces Emily is seen wearing. One bag in particular she wears is a python Chanel bag that she would be lucky to find for around $10,000.
Viewers were immediately confused by this disconnect between the plot and costumes. The costumes in a show like this clearly are another plot device or even another character, and display its importance in media like television and film.
In conclusion film and television are a massive part of fashion media and have had a huge impact on the fashion industry over the past hundred years. Although it may have taken brands a while to see the value of celebrity, television, and film they have come a long way.
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