Emilia Pérez and the romance between film and fashion

By now you’ve probably come across the Oscar-winning film Emilia Pérez. Perhaps you heard about Zoe Saldana’s best supporting actress win for her role in the movie; or its many problems. MSNBC reported that “by most accounts, the Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez is a terrible movie. Mexican critics panned the film’s portrayal of cartel violence, while trans critics hated how gender transition was used as an empty plot device with a highly inaccurate depiction of the medical process of transitioning. And yet the musical has been nominated for an incredible 13 Oscars, the most of any film this awards season. With an audience score of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s clear almost everyone hates this movie, it seems, except for Oscar voters.”

There have been other controversies, including the film’s star, trans actress Karla Sofia Gascón and her racist and Islamophobic social media posts. For the purpose of this piece, however, the controversies are irrelevant.

What’s relevant is that it is produced by Anthony Vaccarello, the Belgian fashion designer who is the creative director for Yves Saint Laurent. It’s not his first foray into feature films, having produced a few others through the relatively new Saint Laurent Production — a division of the famed house, created to produce films by iconic auteur filmmakers.

Per Vogue: “Their first offering, in 2023, was Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life.” Last year, the house had three premieres at Cannes: David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds, Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope, and, from Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez, which stars Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Edgar Ramirez, among others.

The relationship between film and fashion stretches back to the early part of last century. As part of its Inside Chanel series of short films, the fashion house explores its iconic founder’s relationship with Hollywood in Gabrielle Chanel and Cinema.

Elle magazine reported: “‘It is through cinema that fashion can be imposed today,’ the savvy designer said in 1931, and she would wisely use the medium to increase the reach of her brand. That same year, Chanel journeyed to Hollywood as a guest of film magnate Samuel Goldwyn. His request? For Chanel to dress his actresses, among them Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo. At that point, Chanel had already had a creative hand in several French films.”

Chanel dressed Michelle Morgan in the 1938 romance-noir film Port of Shadows; and Delphine Seyrig in Last Year in Marienbad (1961). For the 1950 film Stage Fright, lead actress Marlene Dietrich demanded that director Alfred Hitchcock hire Christian Dior. Bridget Bardot wore Pierre Balmain’s boat neck dresses and breezy button-up skirts in And God Created Women (1956); Hubert de Givenchy designed what is perhaps the most iconic look in film — the black dress that Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly wears to go window shopping in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), accessorised in long opera gloves and a stacked pearl necklace.

Almost six decades before the establishment of Saint Laurent Productions, house founder Yves Saint Laurent costumed Belle Du Jour (1967). Giorgio Armani dressed Richard Gere in American Gigolo (1980).

Most recently, however, fashion designers like Tom Ford have opted for the director’s chair. The former Gucci and YSL creative director’s critically acclaimed film A Single Man (2010) was a critical success, going on to win several accolades for art direction (Critics’ Choice), and costume (the Bafta went to costume designer Arianne Phillips). Though his 2016 follow-up, Nocturnal Animals, was also a critical success, it received no nominations for costume or art direction but banked several awards for cinematography.

In 2013, minimalist French designer Agnes B directed My Name is Hmmm…, and Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte released the horror film Woodshock in 2017. However, neither one of their efforts endeared them to film critics in the way Tom Ford’s two outings did, scoring a lousy 24% and 26%, respectively. Audience scores fared no better. Film auteurs have also been known for crossing over into fashion. Just last year, Martin Scorsese directed Timothee Chalamet in the short Bleu De Chanel.

The relationship between fashion and film is a beneficially mutual one, and Saint Laurent isn’t the only brand diving into film head-on, even though they are probably the most visible now. Kering, the parent company for Gucci, and Saint Laurent, is a big patron of the film world. One of its many projects in film includes the Women in Motion programme, established in 2015 to foster female representation in film. The company also presents two awards at the annual Cannes Film Festival, including the Women in Motion award, which honours inspirational figures in cinema, as well as the Young Talent Award, which seeks to highlight promising talent.

Last year, LVMH followed suit by introducing its own division to explore what projects it may want to get its brands involved with in Hollywood.