Fashion in Film – Movies That Impacted The Fashion World

As Americans, we have been raised in front of the television. Entertainment has always been at a premium in our country, and the cinema has been a main purveyor of that force. However, movies are more than mindless entertainment. They are our best record of cultural history; how we have lived, thought, and most importantly dressed.

The styles represented throughout cinematic history are often some of the most influential in modern fashion and the most noteworthy among the styles of leading designers. Debonair explores seven films that impacted the fashion world, and subsequently, impacted how we dress:

A Clockwork Orange – Definitive Punk

Punk rock may purport to reject societal conventions, however society clearly managed to conventionalize the movement and style in this iconic film. Stanley Kubrick`s futuristic direction of Anthony Burgess`s literary marvel inspired a revolution in male dress among designers as well as youth, not only stateside, but globally.

From iconic combat boots, to bowler hats, to suspenders, to dark eye make up, A Clockwork Orange established what it meant to be, and dress, 60`s punk. The film has inspired an entire decade of American dress as well as high fashion designers, Jean Paul Gaultier at the forefront, and retail brands to this very day.

A Hard Day’s Night – Brit-Boy Chic

Has any creative force had more of a long lasting and pervasive effect on popular culture than The Beatles? Not only did they revolutionize the music world and create the entire pop genre, but also had a breathtaking effect on men`s fashion. The Brit boys hail from a city, London, renowned for bespoke, beautifully handcrafted men`s tailoring, a style portrayed in their 1964 documentary film, A Hard Days Night.

Skinny black suits and ties, cropped turtlenecks, gorgeous zip-u boots, and an effortless combination of formal wear with casual sportswear elements were all gifts given to the fashion world by this movie. The precision brand of skinny-boy/formal-meets-casual fashion is not only seen gracing the runways of the likes of Jil Sander, but one also possessed in the wardrobes of the most unlikely pedestrian customers.

American Gigolo – American Sportswear At Its Best

Prostitution never looked as fashionable as it did on Richard Gere in the 1980`s smash hit, American Gigolo, or was that just his Armani wardrobe? The film, centered around the life of a high-end, LA based, exceedingly materialistic male prostitute, features a fashionably rich and elegantly simple sense of style unsurpassed by any other production of its age.

Observing the immaculate, masculine chic wardrobe of this film, one can see, through the work of the not yet noted Giorgio Armani, of what it would be like to own a fashion masterpiece before the designer became a master. Gere may have played a complete narcissist, but with a wardrobe as fashion forward as his, can anyone really blame him?

Annie Hall – Accessible Androgyny

In a world where masculinity has become the new trend in women’s wear and where it has never been more modern for men to embrace androgyny, it seems necessary to pay homage to Woody Allen`s definitive 70`s film, Annie Hall. Both neurotic and fashion forward, Annie, played by a young Diane Keaton, pushed fashion leaps and bounds ahead in her fearless embrace of men`s clothing.

Establishing a sort of `boyfriend`s closet` chicness by sporting oversized male dress shirts and wide legged trousers among other pieces, Annie Hall is the forerunner of androgynous fashion, a trend now overwhelmingly popular in both menswear and women’s wear. It would be exhausting to list the designers who owe this movie a bow of gratitude, so suffice it to say that we are all in your debt, Annie.

North by Northwest – Cary Grant At His Best

There is no name more synonymous with men`s style in cinema than Cary Grant. As the legendary forerunner of men`s chicness, men all over the world over owe the actor a bow of gratitude. Of all of Grant`s films, Alfred Hitchcock`s North by Northwest captures classically stylish menswear at its purest in the actor`s famous gray suit – the product of a century old Saville Rowe haberdashery, acclaimed for its dedication to timeless male style.

The suit, worn for the majority of the film, has had an unrivaled impact of men`s fashion and cinema since the film`s premiere, and has been sported in various incarnations ever since.

Trainspotting – Heroin Chic

What guy doesn`t want to look like a rock star? Wanted by women, idolized by men, this style is displayed in the 1996 hit, Trainspotting. Representing not only a heroin chic rock star attitude, but also style of dress, the Trainspotting boys, Ewan McGregor among their numbers, showed the world what it felt and looked like to be a rock star in the the 80`s.

Clad in weathered black leather, torn jeans, and carelessly cool sweaters, the band of rockers took viewers on a tour of drug crazed, rock obsessed England – a place synonymous with the height of rock stardom. You`ll be hard pressed to find any modern European menswear designer, Hedi Slimane at the forefront, not influenced by Trainspotting`s effortless brand of casual coolness.

Pulp Fiction – Perfectly Simple

No movie is more representative of simplistic chicness than Quentin Tarantino`s 90`s hit, Pulp Fiction. With a sense of style so effortlessly modern, it is sometimes difficult to appreciate the full scale of its impact. In conjunction with the iconic minimalism established in the 90`s by the likes of Calvin Klein and Helmut Lang, Pulp Fiction`s style is one of the most distinctly modern and influential in both men`s and women`s fashion to date.

From Samuel L. Jackson`s slimming monotone suits to Uma Thurman`s crisp and impeccable white shirts, the movie combined effortlessly hip simplicity with modern coolness. In a culture so keen on adopting the next hot trend, it is refreshing to see a movie so casually defiant in its timelessness.