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Lights, Camera, Fashion! Designer Couture Featured in Film

Photo Courtesy of Breakfast at Tiffany's
There’s nothing better than unwinding after a long day by grabbing your favorite beverage, a bag of popcorn, and kicking your feet up in front of a great movie. While some might get invested in a story line or even doze off, we’re enchanted by cinematic details, including the makeup, costumes, and luxury fashion. Some movies even showcase wearable pieces by our favorite top luxury designers. In case you hadn’t noticed them yourself, we rounded up a list of those films for you, so all you have to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the high-end show.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Not surprisingly, the landmark 1961 movie that tops almost every fashion-related list is first on ours as well. Audrey Hepburn is stunning as Holly Golightly, the leading female character who is considered one of the most iconic images of 20th Century American cinema— and for good reason. The New York City socialite’s classic image takes credit from accessories that are now associated solely with the film— the cigarette holder, long gloves, tiara and pearls— but it’s her simple black dress that is the staple piece of Holly’s look. Givenchy, a lifetime friend of Hepburn’s, crafted three black dresses for the film that starred his muse— instantly inspiring a wardrobe essential in women's closets for years to come. One of Givenchy's Breakfast at Tiffany's dresses sold for $947,000 in 2006 at Christie's Auction House in London, making it the highest price paid for a dress from a film until it was surpassed in June 2011 by the $4.6 million that was paid for Marilyn Monroe’s “subway dress” from The Seven Year Itch.Photo Courtesy of Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Great Gatsby

Though the highly anticipated film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s literary classic won’t be released until next summer, we already have some inside information in regards to the film’s fashion details. According to Vogue, luxury designer Miuccia Prada has reportedly reworked 40 dresses from the Prada and Miu Miu archives for the film’s ‘20s era costumes. Though Prada once designed a suit worn by Leonardo DiCaprio in 1996’s Romeo + Juliet, it’s the girls who get to don designer duds in the form of flapper dresses for Gatsby. Actress Carey Mulligan stars as the film’s heroine, Daisy Buchanan, and she really lucked out— she gets to sparkle and shine in fine jewelry by Tiffany & Co., as well. A collection of platinum-set diamond and pearl pieces were designed specifically for the film, which seemed only fitting to its producers, as F. Scott Fitzgerald himself was a Tiffany’s customer back in his day. In addition to the jewelry that Tiffany's made for the film, the luxury brand also supplied interior home props like sterling silver flatware, all of which can be seen when the movie hits theaters next July. Photo Courtesy of The Great Gatsby
Anna Karenina

In what seems like a fashion face-off, (that we’re not complaining about) a second period film will be released around the same time as Gatsby that will also feature extravagant designer pieces. But while Mulligan will sport flashy jewelry symbolic of the Roaring Twenties, Keira Knightley, as Anna Karenina, will model delicately detailed diamonds and pearls by Chanel Joaillerie. As the film’s historically vain heroine, Knightley has the luxury of wearing pieces whose opulence represent her character’s personality in late 19th Century high society Russia. It’s no surprise that Banana Republic just announced that it will release a collection of clothing and accessories inspired by the movie this fall, but with the film featuring an abundance of textured fabrics, fur and lace, we're interested to see what kind of a look the brand comes up with. Photo Courtesy of Anna Karenina
W/E

Finally, Madonna’s work in the director’s chair produced yet another period piece that is overflowing with fashion by luxury designers. Through telling the 1930's love story of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, the 2011 film called W/E showcases designs by some of today’s top fashion designers. With Simpson’s character having about 80 costume changes throughout the film, the works of such designers as Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Madeleine Vionnet, John Galliano, Issa and Elsa Schiaparelli are featured on the big screen. Though many of Simpson’s actual dresses are kept in museum archives and were untouchable to Madonna, several of the designers offered to create new dresses from scratch for her movie. Stephen Jones, whose luxury hats contribute to many couturier’s fashion shows, created a batch for the movie, while Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels provided the jewels. Photo Courtesy of W/E

Nicolle Keogh

Nicolle graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX in 2011 with degrees in Journalism and French. Originally from the East Coast, she is a recent San Diego transplant who is trying to take advantage of all that this sunny city has to offer. She was a contributor to her campus newspapers at SMU and was previously the Editor of San Diego-based start-up DailyCrowdsource....(Read More)

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