Hollywood Beyond The Screen – Fashion, Film and Consumerism

Since the first feature film was released at the beginning of the twentieth century, Hollywood films and their stars have made their mark on society, both on and off the screen. In a world of constantly changing fashions and desires, consumers look to what they see on the silver screen and to celebrity culture to transform and improve their lives.

“What Hollywood shows today, you will wear tomorrow”

While here, Chanel may have been referring to the glamour and spectacular fashion displayed by classic Hollywood film makers and stars, we cannot escape the fact that the world of celebrity today expresses the same notion – whether subconsciously or not.

With little to no access to magazines and televisions in the first half of the twentieth century, films were one of the only ways people could view and consume fashion. Whether it be clothing trends, accessories or interior design, Hollywood films showed images of what was new and desirable; and consumers responded to it almost immediately, without hesitation.

Women of the 1930s and 40s embraced and adapted the styles seen in films such as Gone With The Wind, wearing dresses with tight fitting waists and full bodied skirts.

Above: Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind (1939) wearing a dress typical of the period in which the film was set – the 1860s. Women in the late 1930s and 1940s, adapted this style as can be seen from this dress pattern on the right.

Men too are influenced by filmic fashions. During the 1950s, for instance, actors such as James Dean appeared on screen in films including Rebel Without A Cause. The casual fashions portrayed, translated into everyday male couture of the time.

Above: James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause (1955) breaking away from the typical male fashion of suit and tie. Young men of the time appropriated this style as can be seen in the image on the right.

Today, however, consumers may have taken the idea of appropriating cinema fashion a bit too far – not only adopting fashions seen on the screen but now seeking to imitate all aspects of celebrity lifestyle as published in magazines or as seen on television. We can now see what celebrities consume outside of the cinema world. Take Jennifer Aniston for example. While she may have influenced many women to take on the “Rachel hairdo” during her Friends days, we now aspire to drive the same car that she does or use her home as the basis for the design of our own house. We want the celebrity car, house, lifestyle.

      

Above left to right: Jennifer Aniston showing the hairstyle made popular by her role in Friends. Aniston appears on the cover of Architectural Digest, showing the impact of celebrity on our lifestyle decisions. Will seeing the car that a celebrity drives do more for sales than an expensive advertising campaign?