The Birth of Fashion Films

There’s something really cool happening in the space where fashion meets film.

Over the last year, a time where we’ve all come to have an unhealthy love/hate relationship with Zoom, sweatpants, and isolation, companies have had to reinvent what it means to stay alive.

Initially, there was the lipstick effect. A real theory that links economic crisis with a boom in lipstick sales. The theory says that when economies take a turn and things become unsteady, consumers will buy small luxury goods, like lipstick, to create a false sense of security. It’s a small thing that feels luxurious and special at a time where things don’t feel luxurious and special. And I bought four shades from Morphe in June so I can attest this is real.

Designers faced this challenge; how could they recreate the feeling of being at a fashion show when no one could attend? Because there is no comparable alternative to experiencing something in person, designers went digital.

Runways have been on YouTube for a while, usually being published after the event has happened. And there are titans like Victoria’s Secret who created an event out of the broadcast of their fashion shows but digital releases were second to the show itself.

Without audiences to experience the runways, what would a designer do to show off their collection? Traditional runways with no audience appeared at the start of the shutdown. In the Summer, we saw runways taken outside. With no audience, designers could show off their collections in a big environment. Countrysides, gardens, empty buildings, and abandoned mansions. Designers decided to forego empty seats in the background and invest in a cinematic telling of their most recent collections.

First, there was Rihanna. In October 2020, her second Savage x Fenty runway shows premiered on Amazon Prime. The second of her runways was filmed with no audience and was immersive and closer to the production of a film than a traditional catwalk. Dancers, music, set design, projections, and a star-studded lineup of models created a uniquely Savage piece of art.

Then came Alexander McQueen. In December 2020, McQueen debuted their Spring/Summer 2021 collection through a five-minute experimental film. It’s like the goth kid grew up and got to make them dream romantic goth film to show off Alexander McQueen’s newest collection.

I mean… that’s exactly what it is but that’s also the best way to describe it.

Director Jonathan Glazer, known for work on music videos like Radiohead’s ‘Karma Police’ and Jamiroquai’s ‘Virtual Insanity’, created a world to display McQueen’s collection. One where the clothes were just walking, some were sitting in the mud, some were wading through water. The piece told a story about where these clothes come from and who wore them.

Then came Dior Haute Couture. In January 2021, Dior Haute Couture released a short film titled, ‘Le Château du Tarot’. This collaborative fantasy was created by designer Maria Grazia Chiuri and director Matteo Garrone.

This Wonderland world follows our main character as she searches for her identity. Cinematically, Garrone has created something often found in Renaissance paintings. Its dark, saturated colors are accented with gold and light.

The beauty of this style of film is that there is no dialogue but there is story. You know who the characters are because of their clothes. This silent film is enhanced with a soundscape fit for only the classiest of Kiera Knightley’s films.

Something these films also do is remove any obstacles between the character on screen and the audience. There aren’t any barriers between us. The clothes are in full view. Until this, I hadn’t realized how often our main characters are separated from us by scenery, props, furniture, or other characters. To paraphrase Brook Shields, there’s nothing between us and these characters.

What I love about Dior’s House of Tarot is the idea that this collection fits together so perfectly because it all stems from our Alice’s imagination. And at the end of the film, each piece is displayed with the title of the character and a description of the garment in the collection.

And did I mention that this was a collaboration of designer and director? Each piece of this collaboration was created to compliment the other. These short films truly feel like the transformative effect videos had on music when video killed the radio star.

A new genre of content has emerged from the darkness of 2020 and I’m here for it. Because this is what happens when creative people find creative solutions. And I think that new designer talent can be discovered from future fashion films.