Interview with ELLE CANADA on Influence of the Hitchcock Heroine + Film Noir Style

To those who follow GlamAmor, it will come as no surprise that the style of film noir and the Hitchcock Heroine act as ongoing influences in fashion.  Edith Head, costume designer extraordinaire best known for her work with Alfred Hitchcock, is a hero of mine and huge influence on my own style. Rear Window was an absolute vision to me (and many others) and Edith followed it with more iconic work such as To Catch a Thief, Vertigo, and The Birds.  Edith and Hitchcock had a near perfect partnership for their similar visions of style--clean lines, tailored fit, and controlled pops of color.  Though femininity was becoming much more overt and revealing in the 1950s, both felt that suggestions of sex should be subtle and left largely to the imagination.

The earlier style of film noir, too, is very close to my heart.  Both the movies and their design influence on fashion have also been well documented here.  In fact, several of The Style Essentials--the most iconic costume design that influenced fashion both then and now--are from the genre.  Movies of the 1940s like Gilda, Mildred Pierce, and The Postman Always Rings Twice are regular references in design.  In fact, film noir was already a strong trend in fashion a couple years ago--acting as inspiration for strong suiting in Fall 2011 before it appeared again in gowns for the 2012 Golden Globe red carpet.

For Fall 2013, both film noir and Hitchcock style are back again as trends and can be seen in collections that include Prada, Gucci, Bottega Veneta (below), Marc Jacobs, and Zac Posen.  Even though they sometimes appear in slightly less literal translations this season, the style of the 1940s and 1950s is still quite apparent. It is the reason Elle Canada's Ava Baccari reached out to me to learn more about the origins of the classic cinema inspiration.  I have reprinted Ava's article below, but included links within GlamAmor to learn even more about the history and films behind the style.  You can also visit Elle Canada to read the original article in its entirety, where links will take you to examples of fabulous Fall 2013 fashion found within their site.

If you love learning about the HISTORY OF FASHION IN FILM, stay tuned--there will soon be an announcement of my 6 part webinar that will cover the most iconic and influential costume design from the 1920s to 1970s with their Cinema Connections to fashion today.

Film Noir Fashion: Fall Runway Trend Spotlight

Hitchcock blondes, pencil skirts, and stiletto heels—we explore the origin of film noir fashion (a.k.a femme fatale style), one of Fall 2013’s top runway trends by Ava Baccari

Film noir—the genre of sultry classic Hollywood crime dramas—has literally taken on a style of its own. This season, designers from Miuccia Prada to Marc Jacobs were influenced by the structured silhouettes (and blondes) of classic cinema. “It’s so immersed in our culture now people may not even know where the original references come from,” explains Kimberly Truhler, an L.A.-based film, costume design and fashion historian, about fashion’s love affair with film noir.

Truhler gave us a history lesson on the influence of classic cinema on fashion, and how film noir continues to inspire designers this fall. 

Film Noir Fashion: Origins in Classic Cinema

What exactly are we talking about when we talk about film noir? 

“The ‘40s and ‘50s [provide] the bulk of the film noir genre,” says Truhler, citing French film critic Nino Frank who coined the term in 1946 to describe hard-boiled crime thrillers. In fact, World War II, was a major catalyst for a shift in fashion and costume design.

“Silk use in fashion was banned in 1942, so the shape and materials that you see in ‘40s clothing is about the structure,” explains Truhler. And since wool and cotton was largely available, in fashion, it naturally took shape as structured suiting. The strong-shouldered trend—seen at Gucci and Bottega Veneta’s Fall 2013 shows— can be traced back to Joan Crawford and the Hollywood costume designer fondly known as Adrian.

Joan Crawford in 1945's Mildred Pierce (above) 

and suiting from Bottega Veneta Fall 2013

“As of 1920, with the film influence and influence of costume designers, we entered what I would consider the modern fashion era,” says Truhler. Take any of the Yves Saint Laurent-designed outfits worn by Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour—they maintain the same classic French chic-style as when the film debuted in 1967. For a not-so-subtle translation of an iconic outfit in the film, see the collared black dress from Valentino’s Fall 2013 collection (see below).

Catherine Deneuve in Yves Saint Laurent for 1967's Belle de Jour (above)

and Valentino's version for Fall 2013

Rita Hayworth in 1946's Gilda (above)

and an inspired gown in Zac Posen's Fall 2013 collection

Film Noir Fashion: Enter the Femme Fatale Era 

“A lot of the women in film noir specifically were tough girls,” explains Truhler about the badass appeal of silver screen legends like Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake. With the men overseas and limited availability of fabrics at the time, the attitude toward fashion was more, “‘I’m putting on my armor, I’ve got to go to work now, I’ve got to fight to survive.” The tougher silhouettes in clothing mirrored this social shift.

“It went from the end of the ‘30s—the silk charmeuse bias-cut gowns where women weren’t even wearing underwear anymore—to the ‘40s where you couldn’t even use those fabrics.”

Women at the time were naturally inspired by the onscreen wardrobes of Grace Kelly and Marlene Dietrich—and we still are today.

Veronica Lake in 1946's The Blue Dahlia (above)

and Gucci's Fall 2013 collection

Film Noir Fashion: The rise of Hitchcock Heroine Style 

“Hitchcock style is largely introverted sexuality,” says Truhler about the look of the distress-causing damsels in director Alfred Hitchcock’s canon that’s taken on a life of its own. The tailored aesthetic—pencil skirts, pearls, fitted skirtsuits—was perpetuated by costume designer Edith Head, who began working with Hitchcock on 1954’s Rear Window.

“The Hitchcock heroine has a very classic look, but there’s always a little wink-wink about sexuality in there,” explains Truhler. “[Hitchcock] doesn’t want sexuality out there for everyone to see—he wants people to really think about it, so it can seem a little buttoned-up here and there.” 

Film Noir Fashion: On the Fall 2013 Runways 

Film noir is everywhere this season, creeping up in well-tailored suiting (and classic Hitchcockian blonde hair) at Marc by Marc Jacobs, to structured, colourful coats at Bottega Veneta. “For fall, film noir seems to be a perennial, cyclical reference,” says Truhler. “In fall, you’re going to want more layers, more suits, and the emphasis is naturally more on structure, and how to make a woman look sexy covering up for the season—what a better reference than film noir?”

And while designers have previously translated the aesthetic in a more literal sense—the late Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2005 collection was an obvious homage to Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much—this fall showed a looser interpretation. “Prada in particular, it is a bit deconstructed,” cites Truhler as a significant departure from Edith Head’s polished leading ladies. “It’s open, off the shoulder—it is that Hitchcock look if it was totally buttoned up.” 

Prada included a somewhat deconstructed gray suit (below) 

that could be a nod to Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic Vertigo

Prada's gingham suit for Fall 2013 (above)

seems inspired by Lauren Bacall's iconic gingham suit in 1944's To Have and Have Not

Film Noir Fashion: The Classic Fall Uniform

The thing about the film noir moniker in the fashion sense is recognizing that it’s not a return of the look but a longstanding tradition of designers taking inspiration from classic cinema. “It happens every single year,” says Truhler, drawing on the return on the art deco trend with 2011’s The Artist and ending this summer with Baz Lurhmann’s The Great Gatsby. “There are designers that particularly love classic cinema, like Ralph Lauren, Isaac Mizrahi, Tommy Hilfiger.” 

Truhler doesn’t see the film noir trend ending any time soon, nor the well of cinematic inspiration running dry: “From a designer standpoint, classic cinema is the gift that just keeps on giving.”

Marc Jacobs' Fall 2013 runway

Cinema Connection--Fashion's Fascination with the French Chic of BELLE DE JOUR

The Style Essentials on GlamAmor are so called because they are the elite films whose style has always had an impact on fashion.  This was true at the time these films were released as well as an ongoing influence on the industry today.  1967's Belle de Jour is an excellent example of this.  Everything about its onscreen style--from the Yves Saint Laurent wardrobe to the hair and makeup--became popular offscreen as well.  In fact, the style was so eagerly anticipated that Vogue magazine put then new star Catherine Deneuve on their cover in April 1967, a month before the movie's May premiere in France.  As you'll see from all the images below, the excitement has not waned.

Saint Laurent, of course, would create some of the most iconic looks of the late 1960s and 1970s.  Many were inspired by his designs and how muse Deneuve magically embodied his style.  His "school girl" dress is but one example.  At the time, other fashion designers like Mary Quant did their own "school girl" dresses, but it was Yves who somehow made it sophisticated and sexy.  The impact of Belle de Jour was widespread, ranging from high fashion to ready-to-wear to sewing patterns for women who wanted to make their own clothing at home.  This trickle-down effect from costume design to fashion design is shown below and even includes a dress from a pattern book of the late 1960s.  Whether its the dress itself or look of the model, it screams of Belle de Jour style.   

Today the influence is equally extensive.  In fashion, design houses such as Valentino, Calvin Klein, and Carven were inspired by Belle de Jour for Fall 2013.  Some designers, such as Tommy Hilfiger, adore the movie so much that they continue to reference it in collection after collection.  This is especially true of the military-inspired outerwear from the film.  Fashionista Alexa Chung has adopted the "school girl" look as part of her personal style, even including the design in her own capsule collections for Madewell.  In beauty, makeup artist Francois Nars has had a Belle de Jour shade of lipstick for many years in his eponymous line.  He even expanded upon it in 2010 and styled model Amber Valletta to look like Catherine Deneuve for the advertising campaign (shown above).  Modern magazine editors frequently name and style photo shoots after Belle de Jour as well.    

To learn all about this film, make sure to take a look at my recent article and analysis of Belle de Jour.  And of course in sharing its influence here, keep in mind that this is but a small sampling of the ongoing impact of its timeless style.

The influence of Catherine Deneuve in 1967's Belle de Jour goes from clothes to hair and makeup

NARS Summer 2010 campaign took all of its styling for model Amber Valletta from Belle de Jour

Perennially popular Belle de Jour lipstick by NARS (above)

and behind the scenes as Amber Valletta is styled for the 2010 makeup campaign

Belle de Jour style was such a hit that Catherine Deneuve appeared on the cover of Vogue

and the style trickled down from high fashion to ready-to-wear to DIY dress patterns

(Late 1960s Spinnerin Knit Pattern Book courtesy of My Vintage Vogue, below)

Magazine editorials are frequently inspired by Belle de Jour...

here is but one example from Vogue Spain in September 2012

One of the iconic looks from Belle de Jour is Yves Saint Laurent's "school girl" dress 

The YSL "school girl" dress has continued to influence fashion--here it is for Valentino Fall 2013 (above)

and an earlier version by Valentino on Julia Roberts back in April 2012

Evan Rachel Wood in Alexa Chung for Madewell (above)

and Alexa Chung in her now signature school girl style for Elle UK 2010

Another variation of the "school girl" dress from Valentino's Resort 2013 lookbook (above)

and styled for Emma Stone on the red carpet

Russian socialite Dasha Zhukova in a Carven "school girl" frock

and another version from Valentino on their Fall 2013 runway

Perhaps the hugest ongoing influence from Belle de Jour is seen in the military-inspired coats

Tommy Hilfiger frequently shows his love of Belle de Jour style,

such as last year's Fall 2012 collection 

Tough and titilating yet still sophisticated in YSL's double-breasted leather coat with fur trim

Double breasted leather from Burberry Prorsum Fall 2013

One of the naughtier pieces from Belle de Jour is YSL's black vinyl trench coat

Francisco Costa took inspiration from Belle de Jour for his Fall 2013 collection for Calvin Klein

as seen in his vinyl trench in black (above in Allure) and forest green (on Lady Gaga)

Colorful leather trenches and sunglasses on the Burberry Prorsum Spring 2013 runway

Style Essentials--Catherine Deneuve In (and Out of) Yves Saint Laurent in BELLE DE JOUR

From the beginning of Luis Bunel's 1967 classic Belle de Jour, audiences are awash in his signature surrealism and aroused by an eroticism that has made this movie his masterpiece.  The story centers on Severine Serizy, a haute blonde wife who, despite having a loving husband, discovers a need to live out her sexual fantasies as a whore.  Perfectly played by a 23-year-old Catherine Deneuve, it's easy to see how the part made her an international star.  Her performance is subtle, remaining cool even as Severine's experiences fluctuate between pleasure and pain...morality and immorality...and exploring just how subjective each of those extremes are.  Despite the storyline, the sexuality never seems too strong and much of this has to do with the film's now iconic style.  Classic and timeless with a twist of fetish, Belle de Jour's costumes are courtesy of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.

Few ascended the ranks in fashion faster than Saint Laurent.  He is an example of a true genius who showed signs of his art and talent quite early, designing dresses for his sisters when he was only a child.  His drawings alone were works of art, in quality as well as quantity.  At the height of his career, for instance, he could do tens of thousands; his famous 1976 "Russian" collection allegedly had something like 40,000 sketches.  He would learn the craft of couture from the master, Christian Dior, who saw these talents in Yves while he was still only in his teens.  He quickly made him an assistant and Saint Laurent was soon submitting designs for consideration in the collections.  Season after season, Dior noticed he was including an increasing number of designs from his young apprentice.  Thus, in only three years and with great confidence in his choice, Dior retired and handed his legendary fashion house over to a 21-year-old Saint Laurent.  It was as if a bomb went off in fashion and signaled the modern age.

Though hugely successful with his debut, Yves would soon leave Dior to open a couturier of his own.  This, too, was a great success, but he continued to push himself further.  Always interested in offering more women access to great design, he followed the lead of couturiers Jean Patou, Lucien Lelong, and mentor Dior to be among those from couture to make a mass-produced fashion line.  With his "ready-to-wear" collections, Saint Laurent became the first to turn back to classic cinema of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s for creative inspiration.  Costume designing giants Adrian, Travis Banton, Orry-Kelly, and Milo Anderson were all influential to Yves.  A great example would be his famous trouser suits...the result of much inspiration from Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s (Banton) and Katharine Hepburn in the 1940s (Adrian).  His now iconic Le Smoking mirrors much of Marlene's tuxedo in Morocco (1930).  His strong-shouldered skirt suits of the 1980s found their inspiration in 1940s film noir like Mildred Pierce (1945).  And trench coats, another favorite of Saint Laurent, drew on the spy style that suited Dietrich and Greta Garbo so well.  It's important to note that all these pieces are now considered staples of women's clothing.  As such, Yves Saint Laurent acted as the architect of much of our modern wardrobe...and did it using a blueprint from classic cinema.

Thanks to close friend and muse Catherine Deneuve, Saint Laurent was also able to join the ranks of the costume designers he had long admired.   They collaborated on her style offscreen as well as on, using costumes for 1967's  Belle de Jour to cement her image as a "cold, remote erotic object which dreams are made on" (BBC Radio film critic Phillip French).  This movie is a master study of costume design revealing character.  Even her hair styles offer you clues.  As Severine, you see Deneuve donning clothes in innocent shades of white and pale pink.  As Belle, and even contemplating being Belle, she struts around Paris in dark browns and black from head to toe.  Fabrics, too, are tough yet titillating.  Fur.  Leather.  Vinyl.  There is also a military influence in the clothing that adds to the fetish feel of the film, but the design (such as double-breasted coats) also helps Severine present a proper appearance during her double life.

Belle de Jour is among The Style Essentials because it is iconic costume design that should be celebrated in its own right, but also because of its impact on fashion both then and now.  This was highly coveted trendsetting style when it came out in the late 1960s and yet it is equally influential today.  Much like another fall favorite,  Love Story (1970), the coats alone offer perennial inspiration for designers like Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren.  This year, designers from Chanel, Calvin Klein, Burberry Prorsum, and Valentino have all featured pieces in their Fall 2013 collections that reference Belle de Jour.  This includes the iconic "school girl" dress, which has been seen in numerous incarnations and worn by everyone from Emma Stone to Julia Roberts.  Stay tuned...there will soon be a companion piece here on GlamAmor that shows these Cinema Connections.

So whether you're a fan of great film or great fashion, I believe you'll soon share mon amour fou for the timeless style of Yves Saint Laurent and Belle de Jour.  

We meet seemingly perfect couple Pierre and Severine Serizy (Jean Sorel and Catherine Deneuve)

on a carriage ride in the French countryside

Highly influential military style suiting in red from Yves Saint Laurent

and iconic hair and makeup that continues to inspire

But reality is instead a fantasy--we immediately delve into Severine's sexual desires, 

which include domination, sadomasochism, and bondage

More players in the drama include the couple's friends Renee (Macha Meril, above right)

and antagonist Henri Husson (Michel Piccoli)

Arriving at home wearing a military-inspired brown leather coat from YSL that is even trimmed in fur

Tennis isn't the only game being played when Husson hits on Severine,

especially when they discuss a friend who began working at a brothel in Paris

This time the military inspiration comes in black (note the shoulder epaulets, too) 

and paired with accessories that include a hat, handbag, and sleek sunglasses

Another aspect of Deneuvian style are Roger Vivier's legendary "pilgrim" pumps,

which she favored both on and offscreen along with other timeless style icons like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis 

Down comes the prim and proper updo as Severine assumes the role of Belle de Jour

Great shots of Catherine's iconic hairstyle

along with YSL's camel zippered shirtdress

The hairstyle once again demonstrates the difference between Severine, the good wife...

...and a return to being Belle de Jour

Another incredible piece in Severine's wardrobe is this YSL vinyl trench coat

More moments of humiliation and dominance that bring Severine great sexual pleasure

Severine makes the mistake of falling for a customer--gangster Marcel (Pierre Clementi, below)--

whose obsession with Belle ends up threatening her way of life

Deneuve and YSL show how you can be sexy

even when in a subdued brown shift dress

The YSL "school girl" dress--whose design owes a lot to 1930s film fashion as well as Chanel--

has become iconic in fashion today

 Note scalloped edges of the black pumps (most likely Roger Vivier, who originated the stiletto heel)
that are paired with this seemingly innocent frock

The reality is that her husband has been paralyzed as the result of her need to be Belle de Jour,

but Severine's active fantasy life has them living happily ever after