When someone is glancing for inspiration on their vision board, they usually flip open a magazine and cut out pictures of their favourite stars, what they unravel, how they live and the ideology they follow. Click through Pinterest, or take to the streets for some old-fashioned people-watching. But for the ultimate stimulation of the human mind, feelings and philosophy, people always turn on the most celebrated films. To make a great movie, every fragment of the film’s aesthetic has been evaluated. From the ingenue’s lip colour to the pinnacle of her ponytail and the shape of her eyebrows. The smallest details help masterfully perpetuate the film’s fiction. While this can also be said about fashion spreads or even actors’ outfits, the real phenomenon is seeing this magnificence in physical and virtual motion. When you think of your favourite films, one of the first things that come to mind is the fashion featured throughout. How could we visualize Marilyn Monroe singing “Diamonds are girl’s best friend” in anything other than the iconic fuchsia bodycon gown, with silk fitted gloves? Or Julia Roberts attending the opera with Richard Gere in a red dress. And can we please talk about Anna Karenina’s costume mash-up from the 1870s to the 1950s? From period drama to musicals, from action to rom-coms, the costume your favourite characters unravel is just as figurative as the storyline itself.
