The seventh art through fashion
The fruitful creative exchange between film and fashion is an excellent relationship to be examined in this exhibition.
In this exhibition, Jean Paul Gaultier takes a look at the mutual influence between the two industries, fashion and cinema, and takes a closer look at the social contexts in which they develop. After its stop in Madrid, CaixaForum is hosting this exhibition in our city, which includes 250 pieces that demonstrate the excellent combination and harmony between the seventh art and designers – mainly posters, photographs, fragments of films and clothing.
The relationship has always been close. Many renowned fashion designers are responsible for iconic dresses worn by film stars. In turn, several actresses became muses for designers and fashion houses. These two worlds share many commonalities, such as glamour and the pursuit of aesthetics.
We all remember Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), standing in front of the Tiffany window in her little black Givenchy dress and oversized sunglasses. It was the work of the great French designer Hubert de Givenchy, who passed away in 2018. In 1967, Catherine Deneuve, in Luis Buñuel's film Belle de Jour, established the relationship between the actress and a then thirty-year-old Yves Saint Laurent. And, of course, our enfant terrible Jean Paul Gaultier, one of the most acclaimed designers in the sector, dressed Victoria Abril in Kika (1993), the first collaboration between the designer and Pedro Almodóvar.
The exhibition aims to go beyond the myth. Gaultier, co-curator and artistic director, has prepared a show that, beyond the idealised image we have of the actors and actresses, looks at the different contexts of creation, both of the costumes and of the films. Empowerment movements, especially women's movements, are important and have been particularly prominent. One of the most interesting aspects of the exhibition is seeing the fluid ties between the great designers and the actors. The former have always tried to dress, both on and off-screen, those actors and actresses of international fame in a symbiotic relationship.
The objects on display come from the prestigious collection of La Cinémathèque française. You can find tickets at this link.