January 30, 2012 |
Editor’s Letter
I have long been fascinated by cinema and how it has always inspired, influenced and informed so much of fashion. It is a constant source of reference for so many of us. In this issue, I really wanted to delve into and discover what it is that so captivates, so absorbs and so moves us to want to see the transition of film to image.
Some of my all-time favourites over the years, the ones that have provided the source of inspiration for so many of my own shoots, are films such as The Virgin Suicides, which featured in this magazine, Eyes of Laura Mars and Suddenly Last Summer. I am also hugely moved by the cinematic interpretations of other fashion creatives – Alex White and Craig McDean with their vision of Picnic at Hanging Rock for W, which is still of the best-executed versions of that film in pictures; The Night Porter, which influenced so much of my favourite Helmut Newton imagery and the Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton show last winter; Rosemary’s Baby; all the Hitchcock greats, especially The Birds, which was so brilliantly referenced in one of my favourite shoots for The Face by Seta Niland and Peter Robathan; and The Piano, as re-imagined by Lucinda Chambers and Paolo Roversi in British Vogue.
So many films have had, and will always have, such a huge impact on so much that happens in the world of magazines. There is much more than just a token nod, as directors create the world we love to mimic. I’m thinking especially of Tarantino, Baz Luhrmann, Tim Burton and his gorgeous gothic land of fantasy, Pedro Almodovar and his beautiful, stylistic moments and the empowered women that are so specific to him and challenge everything we believe leading ladies should be. And of Hitchcock and the many interpretations of his oeuvre we see and even Sofia Coppola with her quiet, moving studies that have left such an impression on us. They work with an artist’s hand and we are so greedy to drink it all in, wanting it to enrich all we do.
So, I have tried to explain this addiction to film. How celebrities and their endorsement have become the ultimate accolade for a designer and have the ability to propel a little-known brand into the blogosphere of fame and definite fortune, as exposure inevitably translates into sales. We talk to Catherine Kallon of www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com about the phenomenon of debating the sartorial choices of these very celebrities and how their fans want to know every detail of their outfits and ape them. How clever brands have wholeheartedly absorbed the stardust provided by these starlets to endorse all manner of goods, from bags to lipsticks, with such success that the discussion of this is irrelevant, and how the search for the most bankable starlet is now like the search for the Holy Grail. Nothing new, I know – celebrity fascination has always existed – but with the huge daily presence of social media in our lives, this has grown tenfold and the appeal of their star is now a means for brands wishing to increase their own appeal. As I said before, it’s all about making the right match.
Even places like Starworks have grown out of recognising the phenomenon of how celebrities have replaced models as cover stars. They were the first agency to become the go-to place for famous faces. The one-stop shop of celebrity fixers for brands, for magazine covers and even red-carpet fashion placement. They saw the future.
I hope you enjoy this exploration into my cinematic obsession and its everlasting fountain of inspiration.
Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou
Editor-in-Chief
