Louis Vuitton Cruise 2012

Can someone please tell me when the collection will hit the stores?
Seeing this new Sofia Coppola-line makes me want the bag even more!

image via ELLE - December 2011-issue

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...

Film influences fashion

So for the last past days, I've been going through literature on how elements from the film industry can influence the fashion world. And I've found quite a few. For instance, a film star or character can start up a trend easily, like the Louise Brooks-look or the Letty Lynton-dress.

But aside from influencing the public, film has cast a spell over some fashion designers as well. Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano, they both have a thing for Hollywood movies and film stars, hence their many collections inspired by the industry's golden age... (see: JPG haute couture 2009 & Galliano's Fall 2005)

Alexander McQueen, also a film-enthousiast, based some of his creations and fashion shows on Hitchcock's work or movies like The Shining and They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Also, after watching a Harry Potter-movie, the designer incorporated the chess segment in his 2005 spectacle, where the models functioned as pawns.



And the fashion business is catching up on the film world really quickly, with Burberry being the first fashion brand to broadcast their entire fashion show in 3D globally, only weeks after Avatar premiered.

Alexander McQueen

The day we all found out about his tragic death, I was doing some research for my thesis on fashion short films and the live streaming of shows. Although these aspects of the industry are quite new, that day one name kept popping up in literature; Alexander McQueen.

His innovative view on what a fashion show is and how it should evolve, has shaped and changed fashion. He was a story-teller, who saw the potential of film to get his vision and message across. I'm glad that I can somewhat honor him by mentioning his contribution to both industries in my thesis.

Alexander McQueen Interview from SHOWstudio on Vimeo.

Burberry 3D

My second term has started at the University of Leuven, and I had just begun pondering on my Fashion/Film-thesis -what content to include or exclude, why the subject is relevant, setting up my research part...-, that sort of things, when I came across this Twitter-message by Business of Fashion:

BREAKING: Burberry to beam live 3D fashion show from London to NY, LA, Paris, Hong Kong, with local hosts like Colette and Tina Brown.

Apparently the British label is hosting 'the first ever truly global fashion show… 3D technology will bring our global audience into the London show space allowing them to see the colors and fabrics, to hear the music and to be a part of that moment when it all finally comes together'. And those lucky fashion VIPs will catch up on the whole atmosphere of the fashion show as well, since there will be a pre-show segment filled with behind the scenes action and red carpet moments.

This for sure will be a part of fashion history, and even better, this is great material for my thesis-chapter How fashion is influenced by film -or at least by a motion picture technique which recently has been causing a small riot in theaters.

Too bad us mortals just have to witness the whole thing via live.burberry.com in 2D. You can comment and review the fashion show in real time through your facebook or Twitter-account.

Save the date: February 23rd, at 4 PM. (WWD)

Sofia Coppola for Louis Vuitton

For years now, movie stars have been appearing in ad campaigns of famous fashion houses and by doing so, contributing to their and the brand's image. Another aspect which interests me for my fashion/film thesis, is when a celebrity takes on the role as a guest designer for a brand. And so, I'm pretty sure that I will include the collaboration between film director Sofia Coppola and Louis Vuitton, in my project.

I'm not a huge fan of Louis Vuitton's monogram bags, but I do however love the line Sofia Coppola designed for the french luxury brand. The small black clutch has been on my wishlist for a while now, and seeing the bag appear on the Jak & Jil blog today, makes me a bit jealous of the owner.

(source: Jak & Jil Blog)

(source: e-shopping page of Louis Vuitton)

Oh and I am a bit shocked of that price tag by the way, since it is such a small bag. Maybe it will be better to just save up for classic watch, like the girl is wearing in the picture above? I'm guessing it's the Rolex Day-Date.

Armani'can Gigolo

My dad already is a great help in finding valuable sources for my Fashion/Film-thesis, since he found me an important article on the subject. The piece primarily focusses on Anna Wintour, and her direct and indirect influence on films and Hollywood. The September Issue is only one example.

In that documentary creative director Grace Coddington states that fashion has become entertainment, which will probably support the outcome of my hypothesis. Film and fashion go hand in hand since the beginning of the 20th century and this synergy has worked out for many designers, such as Hubert de Givenchy who collaborated intensively with Audrey Hepburn for various projects. Another designer that had the best of both worlds is Giorgio Armani.

The article compares him with Wintour. She was the first to put Hollywood stars on the cover, while Armani was the first to dress them up for red carpet-events. In my first chapter however, I mention him as a costume designer for numerous films such as Miami Vice and the gangsters in The Untouchables. Armani's relationship with film is most prominent -in my opinion- in American Gigolo. The opening shot of the movie says it all: Richard Gere goes out for the perfect date-outfit.

Below, you'll find the trailer of this 80's movie.

That voice-over is hilarious.

Fairchild

No more Human-Computer Interaction, please! Yesterday I finished up studying the approximately 1500 slides of the course and now I'm reading and making an extract out of the reader, which is 800 pages. I'm going crazy. It's fairly interesting but it is taking forever. So I would rather be spending my valuable time on preparing for my other exam Costume and Fashion, although that textbook is quite elaborate as well.

And I've just realized that I left my trustworthy fashion guide at my dorm in Leuven. As an addition to the standard course reader, with no illustrations what so ever, I was planning to look up the various fashion trends throughout the centuries (like e.g. the Peter Pan collar or Greek chitons) in my Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion.

The book really is a must have for anyone planning to enter the industry professionally or anyone who is just extremely interested, since it offers essential terminology. Any fashion journalist or retailer needs it. Period. Plus, it has helped me out a lot for my thesis as well, since it features lists and lists of clothing items, in which movie they originally appeared and which fashion trends they set into motion. Think: Marlon Brando in The Wild One and his perfecto jacket, which caused the sales to increase tremendously.

A great bonus on the very last pages of the book is the overview of fashion designers, ranging from Armani to -once again- Worth.

By the way, Fairchild publishes many other amazing fashion books, check out their overview by category.

Christmas films

First of all, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love. I had a great time to say the least. And eventhough we spent most of the evening/day at the dinner table, there was never a dull moment.

Every Christmas though, on the Belgian and Dutch television stations the same kind of movies are being aired. (Think: Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Elf and many B-rated movies) We never really watch them. However, there is one film that is usually programmed during the holidays that I do watch: Sissi. It reminds me of lazy December nights at my grandmother's where we would watch Italian dubbed movies like Gone With The Wind. Today on the other hand, it caught my attention since I have to study the empress' wardrobe for the my exams in January.

In this portrait she is dressed by Charles Frederick Worth, the first designer known in history. Before that, authorship did not exist in the 'industry' and fashion trends were not dictated by one single person. In 1862 Worth introduced the oval shaped crinoline, which was flat at its frontside.

These are some photographs of the older, round ones. The biggest crinolines could have a diameter of 2 and a half meter, which is crazy. How did those women move at all? Many men at that time were not very keen on those 'skirts' since they kept their ladies on a asocial distance. However, I would love to go back in time for a day and try one of those dresses on. I guess one would feel like a princess in a heartbeat.