H&M Dragon Tattoo collection

It’s not the most obvious homage by fashion to film, but you can’t blame H&M for trying. With the release of the English-language version of the Swedish film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo imminent (although a later Jan. 12 in Australia), those in the Northern Hemisphere can also step into Lisbeth Salander’s shoes, well her lace-up boots anyway, from Dec. 14 (see preview, above). The collaboration gets even more kudos, being created for the Swedish chain by the film’s costume designer, Trish Summerville.

Says Summerville: “Salander’s look is very real and very lived in, with pieces that her character has worn for a long time. I wanted the collection to have the essence and strength of Salander, with a fashion edge, and I’m pleased with the result! My goal is for women to find pieces in it that they love and then mix them with their own wardrobe to create their own personal style.”

If those women are already fans of cyberpunk hacker chic, then they’ll be lapping it up. Let’s just hope they only steal Lisbeth’s style, not her storylines.

Meanwhile, here’s the film’s trailer…

Dragon Tattoo official trailer

Duran Duran: Girl Panic!
Directed by Jonas Akerlund

Way back when Miss Prescott was but a wee slip of a thing, Duran Duran ruled the airwaves and MTV (thank you, Russell Mulcahey) and supermodels strutted down catwalks like beautiful, gleaming beasts. In these times, pop stars and supermodels lived glamorous, hedonistic lives (or so we were led to believe) and Size 0 and reality TV didn’t even exist. They were good times indeed.

Fast-forward to 2011, and there’s a weird sense of déjà vu setting in, thanks to DD’s new video for their single “Girl Panic”. Except that, in this odd, parallel universe, the band’s members have been replaced by those same supermodels, who are now living the hedonistic ’80s lifestyles, complete with free-flowing Roederer, bondage-chic model groupies (possibly Size 0) and not very much sleep.

Enter Naomi Campbell as Simon le Bon (lead vocals), Eva Herzigova as Nick Rhodes (keyboards), Helena Christensen as Roger Taylor (drums), Cindy Crawford as John Taylor (bass) and Amber le Bon (wife of Simon) as the “ever-changing” guitarist. (Helena: “I’m sure you know we tend to change guitar players a lot.” Amber, ironically, adds: “I am not a member of Duran Duran.”)

Herzigova as Rhodes. Although not playing one.

The real Duran Duran mostly play second fiddles as bellhops, barmen, room service waiters and even journalists, interviewing their female alter-egos. As Naomi says to Simon, “We were the first to put models in our videos.” Nick to Eva: “You have had some truly shocking reviews over your careers.”

Given the cast, the fashion is front and centre. Dolce & Gabbana took care of the styling, and even make a cameo, preparing the band for a Harper’s Bazaar cover shoot. Says Cindy as Simon, “It makes me nostalgic for the old days. The shoulder pads, the big hair. This is a little throwback to that look.”

Shot at London’s Savoy hotel, there is Louis Vuitton luggage for days, long limbs and luxe furs. There’s also some girl-on-girl action (as well as girl-on-girl-as-boy action)—nothing new for Duran Duran. (Remember “Girls on Film”? “The Chauffeur”??)

The music video was sponsored by Swarovski Elements (among others), who created a number of pieces for the band, including a crystal microphone for Naomi, and guitar straps for Cindy and Amber. The video also features a crystal chandelier and curtain, dresses, shoes—and even a crystal-encrusted sofa. All of which makes for a glittering backdrop to this hilarious and tongue-firmly-in-cheek video.

Enjoy…

Duran Duran Girl Panic

And for your viewing pleasure (let’s face it, the boys are looking rather good) here’s another video with the band explaining the Swarovski collaboration…

Duran Duran Swarovski

Images courtesy of Swarovski.

Midnight in Paris

Miss Prescott admits she has been harping on about The Great Gatsby of late, and with good reason given the 1920s feel emerging in fashion at the moment. But getting the Lindy Hop on the ’20s trend on the big screen is Woody Allen’s latest film, Midnight in Paris.

At a preview of the film last night in Sydney—a truly French affair courtesy of Chopard, AirFrance, Sofitel and FranceGuide—those Paris nostalgics amongst us (oui, c’est vrai) sighed a collective, “C’est magnifique!”

While the touristy Paris guide moments were gorgeous, the film really came into its own in the 1920s segments, where Gil (Owen Wilson) is whisked back in time to hang out with his dream team, including Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalì. In a cute parallel to the whole Gatsby moment, the first people he meets in this alternate universe are Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald.

Marion Cotillard as Adriana (lover of Picasso, Modigliani and Braque, among others) is the romantic focus of the film, and as such gets to show off some beautiful flapper ensembles. Her silver-beaded lemon dress is just dreamy, while a bead-trim sailor dress is a sweet counterpoint. Her go-everywhere accessory is a tiny mesh purse (the sort that always seem too delicate to put anything in at all).

The beaded flapper dress is looking like being the hot-ticket item next season—Asos already has some online for those early adopters out there.

Midnight in Paris in cinemas October 20.
Images courtesy Hopscotch films.

The Great Gatsby

Now here’s a match made in celluloid heaven. The latest news from the Baz Luhrmann remake of The Great Gatsby has come not from the Sydney set, but the New York HQ of Tiffany & Co, which has announced its collaboration on the film.

The luxury New York jewellery house will partner with Warner Bros. Pictures and Bazmark to create a number of fine jewellery pieces for the film’s lead characters. In particular, they will draw on their archives of Art Deco pieces in  platinum and diamond, and also pearls, no doubt featuring in flapper-worthy strands.

“This collaboration is a natural for us,” said Jon King, executive vice president of Tiffany & Co. “Tiffany is America’s premier jewelleer. Our archives contain spectacular jewels from the 1920s that are the basis of the one-of-a-kind designs we have created for this iconic American story.”

Adds costume designer Catherine Martin: “Tiffany & Co seemed the perfect fit for the jewelry of The Great Gatsby not only because F. Scott Fitzgerald himself was a customer but also because Louis Comfort Tiffany, the brand’s first design director, mixed in the actual Long Island circles described in the novel. The Tiffany & Co archives have proven to be an invaluable resource in looking back at this Golden Era of affluence and fine jewellery and the continuing tradition of excellence and exquisite craftsmanship has allowed us to both create and recreate pieces that we hope will do justice to this extraordinary novel.”

Tiffany & Co will also supply china and sterling silver flatware for Jay Gatsby’s home in the film.

My Week with Marilyn

Get set for wiggle dresses and cat-eye sunglasses—here is the official trailer for My Week with Marilyn (out Jan. 5 in Australia), with Michelle Williams (above) starring as the iconic blonde.

Somehow Yardley’s Lavender doesn’t have quite the same ring as Chanel No. 5…

As the first images from the “Untitled Snow White” project were unveiled this week, Miss Prescott couldn’t help but notice a striking similarity between one of the costumes and one of the recent spring/summer 2012  collections…

Lily Collins vs Giles Deacon

Swans became the key motif for Giles’ collection, complete with red, white and black swan headpieces, swan prints and flighty feathers. And now we see that Lily Collins’s Snow White will don a swan headdress for a ball scene in the upcoming film.

And let’s not forget that other great piece of film plumage of the avian variety, when Natalie Portman becomes the Black Swan itself. Three hits makes swans officially the hippest birds in the pond.

Natalie Portman (pre-metamorphosis) in Black Swan.

Director Steven Soderbergh and executive producer Jerry Weintraub have confirmed that rather than a theatrical release, US cable channel HBO will be releasing the film, Behind the Candelabra, on the small screen.

As Weintraub told AP, the film “is a tough one” thanks to its subject matter: “You’re doing a picture about a gay couple—in a time when gays did not come out of the closet.”

He added: “It’s a fun movie because Liberace is a fun guy—I knew him very, very well. But there’s a dark side as well. It’s very dark and it’s very light.”

The telemovie starts filming next US summer in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Palm Springs. A release date is yet to be confirmed.

Here’s hoping they’re stockpiling supplies of sequins as we speak.

Diane Pernet’s A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival 4 took place at Paris’ Centre Georges Pompidou on the weekend, featuring fashion shorts from the likes of Bruce Weber, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin and Ellen von Unwerth.

The festival included a competition covering various aspects of the fashion film, including best styling, soundtrack, art direction and an overall “grand prix”, as judged by a panel that included journalist Elisabeth Quinn (jury president), Rossy de Palma (Almodóvar favourite) and Daphne Guinness (all-round fashion icon and fashion film subject).

Below is the final list of winners, along with a few of the winning shorts…

ASVOFF GRAND PRIX: I Want Muscle by Elisha Smith-Leverock

BEAUTY PRIZE: Waters by Kira Lillie

BEST STYLING PRIZE: Twin Parallel by Justin Anderson

BEST ART DIRECTION PRIZE: Fantastic Man Serie by Lernert & Sander

YOUNG TALENT PRIZE: Is This Real Life (Nuptialis Project) by Suzie Q + Leo Siboni

BEST SOUNDTRACK PRIZE: Praise Break (Director’s Cut) by Eric Weidt

BEST ACTOR PRIZE: Danny Trejo in OnionsDontMakeMeCry

THE CORNER.COM’S AWARD: Scalpel/Stradivarius by Jason Last & Jaime Rubiano

SPECIAL ANIMATION PRIZE: Exercise In Sartorial Depravation by Davide Bedoni

Spring/Summer 2012

Miss Prescott has already mentioned the Great Gatsby style on the catwalk at Ralph Lauren. But it seems the 1920s trend is only going to get bigger until Mr Luhrmann’s movie comes out next year. Here is another selection of spring/summer 2012 dresses inspired by flappers, Art Deco and one Ms Buchanan…

Etro’s graphic, fringed flapper.

Versus: anyone for tennis?

Sheer femininity at Alberta Ferretti.

Catwalk images courtesy elle.com.

Spring/Summer 2012 collections 

We can blame Baz Luhrmann. Shooting on his 3D update of The Great Gatsby has barely begun, but already its heady 1920s style is hitting the catwalk in rabid anticipation.

At New York Fashion Week’s spring 2012 collections, none showed this particular trend as specifically to the 1974 film version—starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford and with costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge—as Ralph Lauren.

Down to the cloche hats, the silk lounging wear, strands of beads and ethereal drop-waist dresses, Lauren presented pure Gatsby. He went so far as to specifically reference certain outfits from the film, particularly the beaded silver dress and close-fitting beaded cloche, and Jay Gatsby’s cream suit, pale blue tie and baker boy cap.

Other designers to tap into the 1920s trend were Marc Jacobs and his ruffled modern flapper dresses; and Carolina Herrera also sent out a couple of beaded drop-waist dresses that would be perfect for Daisy.

Get ready to Charleston—the Jazz Age has officially returned.

Ralph Lauren S/S 2012; Mia Farrow and Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby

Catwalk images courtesy elle.com
Film images © Paramount Pictures 1974