Description

A thought-provoking examination of the challenging and sometimes sinister roles that fashion has played in the history of cinema

When Marlene Dietrich makes her entrance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright, the Dior dress she wears immediately draws the viewer’s attention—not because of its designer label, but owing to the dramatic blood stains ruining its stylish surface. Fashion in film goes far beyond glamorous costumes on glamorous stars, as Jonathan Faiers proves in Dressing Dangerously, a pioneering study of the “cinematic negative wardrobe” revealed in mainstream movies. The book emphasizes how problematic, even shocking depictions of dress, until now largely overlooked, play pivotal roles in shaping film narrative.

Integrating fashion theory, film analysis, and literature, the insightful text investigates the ways cinema influences fashion and, conversely, how fashion speaks to film. The book also reveals how clothing, imbued with its own symbolic meaning, can be read much like a text; when used to provocative effect, for example, in films such as Villain,Leave Her to Heaven, and Casino, the stars’ costumes as well as their actions elicit a complex set of emotional responses. Dressing Dangerously brings together a wealth of illustrations, from glossy publicity photos featuring immaculately dressed stars to film stills that capture "dangerously" fashionable moments.

Dressing Dangerously: Dysfunctional Fashion in Film

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Hardback by Jonathan Faiers

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A thought-provoking examination of the challenging and sometimes sinister roles that fashion has played in the history of cinema When... Read more

    Publisher: Yale University Press
    Publication Date: 15/11/2013
    ISBN13: 9780300184389, 978-0300184389
    ISBN10: 0300184387

    Number of Pages: 304

    Non Fiction , Art & Photography

    Description

    A thought-provoking examination of the challenging and sometimes sinister roles that fashion has played in the history of cinema

    When Marlene Dietrich makes her entrance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright, the Dior dress she wears immediately draws the viewer’s attention—not because of its designer label, but owing to the dramatic blood stains ruining its stylish surface. Fashion in film goes far beyond glamorous costumes on glamorous stars, as Jonathan Faiers proves in Dressing Dangerously, a pioneering study of the “cinematic negative wardrobe” revealed in mainstream movies. The book emphasizes how problematic, even shocking depictions of dress, until now largely overlooked, play pivotal roles in shaping film narrative.

    Integrating fashion theory, film analysis, and literature, the insightful text investigates the ways cinema influences fashion and, conversely, how fashion speaks to film. The book also reveals how clothing, imbued with its own symbolic meaning, can be read much like a text; when used to provocative effect, for example, in films such as Villain,Leave Her to Heaven, and Casino, the stars’ costumes as well as their actions elicit a complex set of emotional responses. Dressing Dangerously brings together a wealth of illustrations, from glossy publicity photos featuring immaculately dressed stars to film stills that capture "dangerously" fashionable moments.

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