When brilliant films align with inspired styles, fashion icons are born.
In what have inevitably been dubbed Times Like These, women are wisely reverting to timeless classics like the navy blazer, the crisp white blouse and the little black dress. Blame it on attempting to deflect attention in the hopes of avoiding the corporate axe or on the fact that conspicuous fashion consumption is just plain uncool right now, but either way, it can get a bit tired. In honour of lifting those dashed fashion spirits, we would like to celebrate a different class of iconic classics: the ones that came out of iconic films.
Undeniably, fashion and film have forged a furious friendship over the years, putting to shame fashion's other collaborative bedfellows like music, art and dance. We dare say, there are some films that would have suffered a forgettable demise were it not for the fashions within — The Devil Wears Prada and Confessions of a Shopaholic, anyone? Herewith, ellecanada.com narrows down the most iconic fashions to emerge from the most iconic films dating from the 1950s to today.
1950s
Movie: Funny Face (1957)Icon: The Capri Pant
Audrey Hepburn is credited with doing a lot for fashion, not the least of which was helping to put French couturier Hubert de Givenchy on the map. But in between her haute couture turns in Sabrina and Breakfast at Tiffany's, Hepburn elevated the Capri pant to everyday all-American fame. Her turn as Jo Stockton, a young intellect who is swept into the world of fashion and love in Funny Face, meets its crescendo when she splashes out in a solo number clad in a Beatnik uniform of black turtleneck, black ballet flats and those memorable black Capri pants. Later they would be seen on the trendsetting Jacqueline Kennedy and controversially, on Mary Tyler Moore's Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show; much later, they (and Hepburn's Jo Stockton) would be celebrated by The Gap in an ad campaign and, well, they probably won't be disappearing anytime soon. Officially, we owe it to the fact that they cover enough leg to hide imperfections while exposing enough ankle to denote femininity, but in our hearts we know it's thanks to Hepburn's enduring charm and legendary sartorial influence.
