The Fashion of Film: How Cinema has Inspired Fashion

The Fashion of Film (Mitchell Beazley, 2016) takes a journey through the last 100 years of cinema style to investigate how the most iconic movies have influenced the world of high fashion.

Researched extensively at the BFI library, the book examines this influence through 45 films across seven genres. ‘Crime: Dressed to Kill’ investigates the darker side of human nature that has provided us with style-obsessed archetypes, from the noir detective to the femme fatale. ‘The Musical: Spectacular Fashion’ looks at the lavish excess of this mid-century favourite and how it continues to inspire designers, while ‘Historical Epic: Dressed to Excess’ shows that the distant past still has the power to inspire the future, especially when mediated through the glamour of the film lens. ‘Horror: Supernatural Chic’ centres on the aesthetics of the paranormal, and how blood and monsters can provide unlikely inspiration for dress. ‘Romantic Drama: Seductive Style’ concentrates on the role of love and heartbreak in adorning the body, while ‘Sci-Fi & Fantasy: Bionic Bodies’ explores how our obsession with the future, or alternative realities, can shape the styles of the present. Finally ‘Art House & Independent: Style with Substance’ focuses on films that are made outside the mainstream, shaped by an auteur, whose particular vision can provide unique inspiration for the world of style.

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