Hitchcock, blondes and fashion

Alfred Hitchcock loved blondes, but he famously dismissed Marilyn Monroe as too "obvious". So, it's a little surprising that Scarlett Johansson – Monroe's modern-day equivalent, complete with curves and pillow lips – is starring in next month's Hitchcock, the biopic that recounts the making of Psycho. She plays Janet Leigh, a woman definitely more in Hitchcock's favoured buttoned-up mould. But while the casting may seem a stretch, one thing is certain – the film will encourage yet another tryst between fashion and the director's heroines.

Hitchcock heroines have become a style trope – classics rolled out as a reference on the catwalk every so often, just like Edie Sedgwick, Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour or Kurt Cobain. Alexander McQueen famously presented a Hitchcock collection for autumn/winter 2005 and, with its angora sweaters, put-together hair and sharp skirt suits, it became one of his most popular. This season, Miuccia Prada at Miu Miu dabbled with over-the-knee pencil skirts, car coats, gloves and ladylike bags straight out of one of the director's later films, Marnie.

Read more here.

Costume and Identity in Hitchcock’s Vertigo

Kim Novak in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a disquieting story of obsession, love and death. Receiving lukewarm reviews on its release, Vertigo is now considered Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever made. Hitchcock’s imaginative direction, Bernard Hermann’s memorable score and Robert Burks’ dreamy cinematography are justly praised. Often overlooked, however, is the legendary Edith Head’s contribution to the film’s costume design.

In a fascinating piece in clothesonfilm.com art critic Iris Veysey discusses Head’s significant contribution to the film:

Head’s work, particularly in dressing Kim Novak, helped to ground characters and signpost the narrative in a complex and convoluted plot. Dressing Novak in the dual role of Madeleine/Judy, Head’s designs successfully define two distinct characters, one polished and sophisticated, the other brassy and cheap...

Elster believes Madeleine to be possessed by the spirit of Carlotta Valdes, and Madeleine’s image is appropriately ghostly. Edith Head dresses Madeleine in a sombre palette of mainly grey, black, white and blue: white coat with a black chiffon scarf, black polo-neck, navy blue dress. This washes out Madeleine’s fair complexion, granting her a pale, deathly air. Indeed, Hitchcock especially requested the colour grey for Madeleine in the knowledge that it tends to be too harsh on blondes. These stark tones lend Madeleine a sinister edge; it becomes easy to believe that a spirit might possess her. When Madeleine appears in the florists, softly lit in her smoky grey suit, she looks as Hitchcock desired: as though she has ‘just stepped out of the San Francisco fog’.

More specifically, Madeleine’s appearance illustrates her assimilation of Carlotta’s identity. Mimicking a portrait of Carlotta, Madeleine carries a bouquet of pink roses, and pins her hair into a stiff curl at the back of her head. Scottie watches Madeleine as she sits before the portrait and the camera closes in on these details. No dialogue is necessary. Madeleine’s appearance is enough to persuade both the audience and Scottie that something is terribly wrong.

Kim Novak as Judy in Vertigo

For the full article see here:

http://clothesonfilm.com/costume-identity-in-hitchcocks-vertigo/25039/