Sex and the City - in my opinion

So it has been a week now since Sex and The City has been released in Belgium. I hope you all have seen the movie by now, so that I don't ruin your fun by revealing the movie plot.

(picture: imdb.com)

So, that's why you can read the review after the jump:
*spoiler alert*

Sex and the City - Product Placement

Quote of the day:

"Sex and the City 2 (...) brandishes enough product placements to embarrass a Formula One driver..."
(Telegraph.co.uk, 25/05/2010)



This morning I was reading some SATC2 reviews -like this one for instance-, when this little line mentioned above made me smile.
Wednesday I'm going to see the movie during a so-called 'ladies night' at our local theatre. I am excited to see the movie, but I can't help but feeling that I won't be able to enjoy the movie since I probably will be watching it with a 'I-wrote-my-thesis-about-this-subject-and-now-I-can't-help-but-criticise-the-film-constantly'-perspective. No fun at all.

So, which of you have already seen the movie? And what did you think? Are the film critics right?

Sex and the City - Product Placement

I know you probably expect me to upload the rest of The Sartorialist-pictures, but I want to take my time to write the post since it has been such an overwhelming day. Anywho, If you care to see the pictures, you can always check my sister's blog, she's made a nice review of our day...

Just a moment after I decided to head off to bed, I came across this article and I am shocked! Remember how I tried to count the number of product placement / signature designer outfits in the Sex and The City 1? Well, the article basically says that tomorrow a 'style guide' (500 pages!) will be released for fans who want to obtain the SATC-look, and off course all of the outfits will be credited...

I had a feeling that the sequel would be more of a long commercial than a real story, but this time the product placement and tie-in team is really pushing it... And it's getting on my nerves actually. In my thesis I say that fashion films offer the designers a great platform to place their designs in an unobtrusive and natural way in a story... but Sex and The City has lost just that! The film, not even in theaters yet, already feels forced and unnatural.

Such a shame.

Anywho, I'm I the only one who feels this way?
This I do know: I am going to mention this on the presentation of my thesis to the jury! Curious to find out what my promotor thinks about my opinion on this evolution...


Pictures we took in NYC during the shooting of SATC2.

-What seemed to be- carefully picked out Burberry and Henri Bendel bags as product placement! 

Product Placement

Another weekend has passed and once again, I've spent it working on my thesis. Since I'm analyzing the use of product placement in 'fashion films', I have to check which brands I and my two 'assistants' (my sister and boyfriend) are featured in the four films I've selected for my research.

Remember when I did the same thing for Sex and the City?

Back then I spotted 25 different high end fashion brands. My sister did the same thing two weeks ago, and got 23 brands, while my boyfriend found 17, if I can figure out his hand writing correctly. Chanel got a leading role in the movie since it was featured the most amongst the brands.

Yesterday, my boyfriend helped me out with The Devil Wears Prada. And Patricia Field and the producers did a great job on this one. Just by recognizing bags, boxes, and labels in the back drop, or listening to which designers and fashion houses the characters are talking about we've found a whole list of fashion brands; Although he claimes he doesn't have a good eye for these sort of 'where-is-wolford?' and other brand recognition-games, my boyfriend spotted 30 different brands. My list on the other hand featured 32 labels. Once again Chanel was the big winner, although Prada is mentioned in the title and gets the spotlight.

I'm planning to do the same thing for Confessions of a Shopaholic, Funny Face and Prêt-à-Porter, which should be interesting since the two latter are more of a parody on the fashion world. Furthermore, I'm going to analyze the four films on what message they send out; a Hollywood dream world or rather "don't sell your soul for shoes and bags"?

Either way, although the high amount of brands featured in these films might be irritating for the viewer, they don't disrupt the film experience, nor are they perceived as payed advertisement. Since the main story is set in the fashion world, it is only natural that the characters talk constantly about their favorite fashion label or that bags and recognizable must-haves are lying around in the background? And that all of the scenes take place in luxurious fashion stores and fashion salons? The fashion film is the natural habitat of product placement, and this without giving the crowd the feeling that they're watching a commercial...

Think again, this scene bothered me the most...

Sex and the City Inquiry

For my second chapter in my Fashion/Film-thesis, I am writing a segment on product placement in fashion movies. Since the first Sex and the City-movie got awarded with the title 'Film Whore of the Year' by the Brandcameo Product Placement Awards, I just had to mention the film.

Als we all know, the movie is packed with the namedropping of high fashion brands, glamourous -recognizable- fashion must haves and tie-ins. The collaboration with Bag Borrow or Steal is the most remarkable, in my opinion. After the e-shop was mentioned explicitly, the number of members increased by 217%, and more importantly, the number of 'bag borrows' rose up to 400%. And the website gets the idea of product placement and tie-ins perfectly: "Look like a SATC star: Carry Bags Seen in the Movie".

(source: Bag Borrow or Steal)

Many significant authors state that the reason why these marketing techniques are a success, is because they give the film viewer the illusion that they can follow into their favorite star's footsteps and be a little like them. The movie as well as the leading characters become sales men and once again, Hollywood functions as a dream maker -remember what I concluded about the shirt scene in It Happened One Night?

Vanity Fair send two fashion reporters to examine how many brands were exposed in the movie. They counted about 25 fashion brands, excluding fashion magazines, stores and other brands. But since the two probably were experts on the subject, I was wondering how much of these fashion brands will a 'normal viewer' spot and recognize?

If by any chance you are planning to watch the movie again, and if you care to join me, and help me count, you are all more than welcome! Every dress -, shoe -, purse designer that you can spot, counts in this one, even the one the four ladies namedrop... Thanks a million.

Edit: I have just finished up searching for the 'hidden' labels in the film, and I've found every brand the Vanity Fair team reported, except for Ferregamo, Nike and Adidas. I did however spot some brands that they didn't find: Judith Leiber, Roberto Cavalli and the rainbow bird of paradise Alexander McQueen dress, which is quite saddening given today's tragic event.