When most people think of fashion, the first thing that comes to mind may be a runway show, a quirky fashion designer or a glamorous model. But what most don’t think about is its role in film and television. Fashion has the ability to influence and shape characters, visually communicating to the audience a character’s emotions, personality and much more, which plays a crucial role in storytelling. Costume designers, the people that are tasked with designing and creating costumes for each character, play an important role in this process and are often underappreciated. However, costume designers ability to create these costumes have played an immense part in creating some of the most iconic fashion moments in films that are still referenced today.
One of the most well known examples of this is in the film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Marilyn Monroe plays the character of Lorelei Lee, a woman who along with her best friend Dorothy, go together on a cruise. During the sequence in which Marilyn’s character, Lorelei, sings the song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”, she walks onto stage with a shocking pink dress, created by costume designer William Travilla. The dress was made out of pink silk satin. It was a strapless gown with an oversized bow attached to the back. Marilyn also wore pink silk satin gloves. The dress and the scene it appears in went on to become one of the most iconic moments in film, and became the reference for multiple recreations, like when it was imitated by Madonna in the music video for the song “Material Girl” or when socialite Kylie Jenner recreated the scene on the cover of V Magazine.
Audrey Hepburn, one of the most famous actresses to come out of the 20th century has her fair share of iconic fashion moments in film as well. Throughout her work as an actress, she maintained a close relationship with fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy. In the 1961 romantic comedy, Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Audrey wore a little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy. The dress was a sleeveless black evening gown, made out of Italian satin. It had a more fitted design and was paired with a pair of black elbow length gloves and a striking pearl necklace. The opening scene coupled with Hepburn’s statement “little black dress” is one of the most famous opening scenes in film, and even has its own Wikipedia Page.
Fashion in film has the incredible ability to be used as a storytelling tool. Each character’s costumes brings them to life, and seamlessly communicates to the audience the characters personality and emotions. Costume designers play an integral role in film, and in creating these iconic costumes, contribute to the ultimate goal; telling a story.
