What kind of fashion dramas can survive in the era of material abundance, and which ones should we remember?
Text | Li Linjing
Recently, the sequel to the fashion TV series Sex and the City, which is regarded as the "fashion bible", "And Just Like That", was officially broadcast. In the play, the love between the heroine Kelly and the big characters is a screen couple that many fans still remember.
When the big man puts on the Manolo Blahnik family's Hangisi heel blue heels for Kelly, he gets down on one knee and proposes to Kelly.
Scene of the big man proposing to Kelly, image source: movie version of "Sex and the City"
How many people choose to wear shoes of the same brand on their wedding day because of this scene, and promise themselves happiness.
And Just Like That scene where Kelly wears blue heels
However, in the plot of the first episode of "And Just Like That", the moral of these shoes is no longer beautiful because of the death of a character... I believe that as long as the fans who have chased this American drama from beginning to end, it may be difficult to choose a pair of Manolo Blahnik when they get married and enter the hall with their loved ones.
Fashion is attractive, and when fashion items are given energy by high-quality film and television dramas, the power of fashion will be more obvious, and the simplest and most rude presentation is that the single products in the play have become the "explosive models" that netizens compete for.
If the early film and television dramas such as "Sex and the City", "Gossip Girl", and "The Female Devil Head Wearing Prada" are listed as the first generation of fashion enlightenment, then the emergence of many film and television dramas in recent years can also be regarded as filling new needs for many fashion fans.
Poster of "The Witch Head In Prada"
Why are successful fashion dramas memorable? Today, let's take stock of these "new" fashion dramas.
The first generation of fashion enlightenment
"Made in Italy", which reveals the truth of the fashion circle, tells the story of a rookie growing up in the fashion circle, the story originated in Milan in the 1970s, when the country was undergoing social change and other issues, and the fashion industry also began to set off a wave of reform.
"Made in Italy" starring poster
The heroine, Irene, is a graduating art history student who had to suspend her studies because she had different ideas from her mentors on the graduation exams and was reluctant to change her mind. Her family was not rich, and this behavior undoubtedly angered the family's hard-working father, who refused to pay for her education, and when her father refused to pay for his education, Irene fought back and won a job in a fashion magazine.
Image source: Made in Italy
Unlike the plot in "The Witch Who Wears Prada", "Made in Italy" focuses on restoring the real fashion story of Italy in the 1970s. In addition to showing how the heroine gained a firm foothold in the fashion circle step by step, the whole drama also gave the audience a glimpse of the "true face" of the Italian fashion circle at that time. The first fashionista who appears in the show is Walter Albini, known as the "father of Italian ready-to-wear".
Walter Albini brought haute couture to Milan, where he invented the style of duplex clothing, that is, using one simpler style to support another style, thus serving more people.
Walter Albini at work, stills from Made in Italy
In the early 1950s, fashion shows were usually held at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and Walter pioneered the launch in Milan, now known as Milan Fashion Week.
In addition to the introduction of Walter Albini, the play also introduces Mariuccia Mandelli, the founder of Krizia, in order to restore the essence of the costumes as much as possible, the crew bought a lot of costumes from Japan. In addition, due to the lack of video materials, the crew also tracked down the fashion editors of that year, and contacted collectors to ask them to lend the Vintage collection, trying to restore the runway at that time.
Krizia Fashion Show, Image: Made in Italy
There are also many designers in the play who unveil the whole environment of Italian fashion in the 70s in the form of clues. Giorgio Armani in the play to simplify women's clothing from the details, he believes that elegance is not to attract attention, but to be remembered, today's women are independent, can balance work and life, they need more elegant, practical and simple clothing.
Irene shoots a fashion blockbuster for Valentino, image source: Made in Italy
Valentino was introduced as irene's fashion blockbuster, and Irene traveled to Rome with her girlfriend and colleague Monica to shoot a blockbuster for Valentino's iconic red dress series. You know, Valentino's founder, Valentino Garavani, has always been obsessed with red, and red is also the best-selling color in his clothing collection. The reproduction of Valentino red in the play makes it easy for people to remember the red gene of the brand.
When we appreciate the classic and beautiful fashion and the fashion story behind it, the whole play also exposes the thorny problem of how the fashion industry balances business and creativity, and this narrative perspective can make the audience truly understand the reality of the industry.
Irene (first from left) and editor-in-chief Rita (first from right), image source: Made in Italy
Not only that, this drama also subverts many people's views that fashion is very "Mean" and "difficult to engage", although the editor-in-chief Rita also has the same silver hair style as "The Female Devil Head Wearing Prada", she is a gentle personality, considerate subordinates, willing to cultivate new editor-in-chief.
In line with the "tastes" of young people
If the success of "Made in Italy" is mainly due to its provision of the knowledge of Italian fashion in the 70s, "Emily in Paris", which aired last year, is more like a modern version of the fashion urban drama.
Poster of Emily in Paris
It is worth noting that the shape of this drama is jointly created by Darren Star, the gold medal producer of "Sex and the City", and Patricia Field, the stylist of "Queen Wearing Prada", with such a strong gene, it has become a fashion drama in the hearts of many young people before it has been broadcast.
Emily working on the diagram
The heroine, Emily, is a sales executive from Chicago who was unexpectedly transferred to Paris, where she encountered challenges from her workplace, feelings and culture.
Many netizens criticized Emily's dress as not in line with the real French style, and the French wear that the public thinks will make people feel effortless, and even in laziness can exude beauty. And the traces of each of Emily's styling combinations are too obvious, appearing to be incompatible with the French.
Emily and the two French women in the play, from "Emily in Paris"
If you are in France, you must go with the flow and concave French style with French girls, then this is not Emily. Patricia Field, the stylist who designed the model for the show, once said in an interview with Page Six: "Emily wants to have a French style, but also wants to show that she is American, so she will add some typical American street style pieces to the collocation." ”
It can be seen that the heroine's dress in the play is the best proof that it is in line with personal design. It is also this distinctive outfit that captures the mentality of young people who desire to be unique, which leads to spiritual resonance.
Emily's appearance in the play, pictured from "Emily in Paris"
The most impressive are the countless Chanel items that appear in the play, and the bags alone do not know how many have appeared: the 2019 early spring clutch bag, the Chanel Vintage pearl bag, the tweed cross-body bag, etc., are all powerful weapons to help Emily conquer Paris.
In addition, several colorful printed long dresses she wears in the play are just the right expression of the enthusiasm of the characters themselves.
Emily looks in the play, image source: "Emily in Paris"
And this enthusiasm also extends in the play a kind of tenacity to overcome any difficulties, she can love Paris, choose to endure all the things that are incompatible with her in the city, and this Emily may be the root of really grabbing the audience's attention.
Although this drama has not become the fashion bible in most people's hearts, it has indeed harvested many young fans. Some insiders have pointed out that fashion lovers may no longer be willing to follow the pace of Internet celebrities in the future, and everyone is more and more inclined to the fusion of different styles of hit dramas, musicians, or video games.
"Archaeology + Evolution" fashion drama
Fashion dramas are a difficult carrier to tell a good story, and it is easy for audiences to ignore what the show really wants to elaborate because they pay too much attention to the costumes in the movie, and in the face of such a thorny problem, the recently released movie "House of Gucci" in the United States does not have this trouble - it has a true story aura.
Stills from House of Gucci
The film follows the love-hate relationship between Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), a member of the Gucci family, and his wife Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga).
Faced with her husband's abandonment, on February 27, 1995, Patrizia hired a murderer to kill her ex-husband, so she was named "Black Widow".
Lady Gaga looks in the play, image source: House of Gucci
Although the Gucci family was not involved in the production of the film, this thrilling film does give Gucci a historical legacy, and the number of appearances of Gucci's products in the film is more visible to the naked eye.
Stills from House of Gucci, Image source: House of Gucci
Searches for Gucci bags surged by more than 250 percent after the film was released in the U.S., and interest in Gucci and the film has prompted u.S. consumers to steadily increase their searches for the brand on Google.
The reason why the film "House of Gucci" has been sought after is closely related to the historical story of the brand's own existence. In the Internet era with huge amount of information, there are many channels that can contact information, and the audience will no longer pay for it just because of the dressing style of the characters in the plot, and they pay more attention to whether the film can bring them a sense of coolness and whether it can resonate with it.
Like the black widow played by Lady Gaga, her obsession with money is also reflected in a set of pearlescent looks. Janty Yates, who served as the film's costume designer, also called Lady Gaga's Black Widow "a fierce character who pursues extreme beauty, and when she can wear a necklace, she will choose two, and she can wear four bracelets, never one." ”
The ability to carry goods in popular dramas
The relationship between fashion and the film and television industry has never left our vision.
From the pearl yellow diamond necklace in the window of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" to the killer bag in "Mission Impossible 4", and the high heels of Jimmy Choo in "You from the Stars", the emergence of these items directly acts on the evolution direction of the trend.
From the use of genuine products, retro restoration, to the seasonal fashion, or even advanced wear, the strength of the goods... The wear of specific eras of film and television dramas, coherent and vivid stories, and the blessing of the cast are a major gravitational force for us to watch movies and watch dramas.
We will care about whether the "Sex and the City" movie is leading the trend, and we are also concerned about how many Gucci pieces are used in "House of Gucci".
This era must be the era of values, when the material is greatly enriched, if the fashion film and television drama can not find resonance in the values, can not find resonance in the emotion, even if the stylist is strong, can not create today's fashion classics.
In the play, the clever implantation of fashion items, repeated exposure in the trailer, late topic discussion methods, etc., these have been the "explosive bookings" that brands have competed to emulate in the past, and we can see a number of film and television dramas - the broadcast of "Emily in Paris" and "The Crown", which once set off a boom in French and British fashion, "Queen's Chess Game" was played soon after, and the number of clicks on the plaid coat on the Showcase website surged by nearly 4 times; after the release of "House Of Gucci", Keyword searches for "Gucci" on digital shopping platform ShopStyle increased by 31%.
The Queen's Chess Game
Film and television drama co-branded fashion capsule series also appeared in line with the trend, taking this year as an example, in October, Lancôme also released a capsule series product launched in cooperation with "Emily in Paris", which chose red and pink in the appearance design, and added Eiffel Tower and heart-shaped and other patterns, echoing the plot of the play. The collaboration is also a warm-up for the second season of Emily in Paris, which will be released on December 22.
"Emily in Paris" and Lancôme launched a series of capsule products, image source: Lancôme
Dune and sports brand APL have released a capsule collection of shoes inspired by the film's desert and samurai-like clothing elements, including crimson high-top sneakers, dark green high-top waterproof sneakers, and sand yellow lace trainers, priced from $220 to $300.
Dune and sports brand APL launch a capsule collection
From the initial implantation in the play to the current joint series, the inseparable cooperative relationship between fashion and the film and television industry has obviously been reflected in reality. When we watch the play, do we ever think that we are being attracted step by step?