Pedro Almodóvar’s new film is produced by Saint Laurent, which also has investment projects through visionaries such as David Cronenberg and Wong Kar-wai. Don’t worry, writes Sam Joyce.
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Strange novelty in finance: Ethan Hawke (left) and Pedro Pascal in Pedro Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life,” supported by Saint Laurent
When Ethan Hawke walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival this summer ahead of the premiere of his new film, Pedro Almodóvar’s romantic western Strange Way of Life, his costumes contained an appealing anecdote: it had been combined by the film’s producer.
Strange Way of Life marks the first creation of Saint Laurent Productions, a new film production arm of the prominent fashion house. The fledgling studio is overseen by Anthony Vaccarello, Saint Laurent’s artistic director, and has projects in progress among an enviable list of skills. , adding David Cronenberg, Wong Kar-wai, Paolo Sorrentino, Jim Jarmusch and Gaspar Noé. “I’m working on and providing space for all the wonderful cinematic skill that has animated me over the years,” Vaccarello said in announcing the studio’s launch.
Although Saint Laurent is lately the only fashion space to feature a film studio in space, Strange Way of Life is not the first commission of its kind. In 2019, the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight hosted the premiere of The Staggering Girl, financed through Valentino. , through Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name), another popular writer with an elegant European sensibility. Similarly, Olivier Assayas’ two collaborations with Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper, were supported in part by Chanel. of which Stewart is a long-time ambassador. And the release this month of Louis Garrel’s The Innocent became imaginable in part thanks to the participation of Giorgio Armani, mentioned in the film’s opening credits.
Of course, fashion has been strongly connected to cinema since its inception: the medium is able to capture the movement and swaying of garments in a way that photography or representation rarely can. Many of cinema’s most iconic moments were created through the most important fashion artists. ; Think of Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy dresses in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or Richard Gere’s wide-shouldered Armani suits in American Gigolo. In recent decades, it is not uncommon for fashion houses to entrust the crème de los angeles crème of cinema with the task of forging the visual identity of their brands; Martin Scorsese and David Lynch directed ads for Jil Sander and Calvin Klein respectively in the ’80s, while Sofia Coppolo Angeles and Darren Aronofsky resumed their work between films, putting their sensibility to clever use in Marc Jacobs and Saint Laurent ads.
For a fashion-conscious director like Almodóvar, whose films are famous for their color and spectacle, partnering with major fashion brands proves to be an ideal solution. ” Almodóvar is one of the European filmmakers who collaborates with designers from the beginning. ” says Elena Caoduro, a film and media specialist at Queen’s University Belfast. He cites his 1993 film Kika, in which Jean-Paul Gaultier’s iconic tapered bra appears in one scene. “For him, collaborating with designers is essential,” says Caoduro “Highly visual filmmakers are interested in the texture of their films, so costumes or fashion garments are useful. The collaboration is very fruitful.
By generating primary work through filmmakers like Almodóvar, fashion brands forget the reputation for advertorial-style that clung to some director-directed crusading films in the past. In return, they have been accepted into renowned film festivals and institutions. But this may not count only in the artistic merits of the work. ” The film festival, as a business, survives on the profits from sponsorship and public relations dissemination generated through the organization of those brand events,” explains Caoduro. “So, for the festivals themselves, it’s from an economic point of view. “
Fiona Cuningham of fashion PR firm LDN Communications sees Saint Laurent’s decision as part of a decades-long transformation — the festival’s red carpet as a highly competitive advertising space for fashion brands. “The red carpet is probably one of the most important elements in the right dress with the right star can reach billions of consumers. “Producing the films that advertise those stars turns out to be the right next step.
Today, consumers need brands to have a purpose. Partnering with big-name filmmakers is a way for brands to create meaning.
“We’re in an attention recession,” says Melanie Larsen, a strategist at trend forecasting firm WGSN. “Today, consumers need brands to have purpose. Partnering with renowned filmmakers [. . . ] is a way for brands to create meaning. Larsen sees those new collaborations as part of a sea change in the luxury industry, in which “brands are moving beyond fashion, expanding their reach and repositioning themselves as broader cultural intermediaries. “
The stylish traveler would probably have realized that this transition began in the last decade. In 2014, Louis Vuitton opened a gallery in Paris, and Saint Laurent did the same with his own museum in Marrakech in 2017. Prada, meanwhile, operates the Fondazione Prada in Milan, an exhibition area that includes a cinema and café with luxurious interiors. As a company, it is also actively involved in funding the recovery and reissue of old films and has produced a decade-long series called Women’s Tales, which invites filmmakers such as Variados such as Naomi Kawase, Lynne Ramsey and Isabel Sandoval to create short films featuring pieces from Miu Miu’s newest collections.
However, this is not automatically altruistic. Artistic philanthropy can also turn the intangible benefits of a brand opportunity into something that has a more direct impact on a company’s bottom line. “There are tax breaks if a part of the business is reinvested in the arts,” says Caoduro. “In Italy, for example, if a company needs to invest in cultural production, it can benefit from a tax break of up to 30 percent. “
Fashion film: Julianne Moore starred in Luca Guadagnino’s “The Staggering Girl,” financed through Valentino
Interested filmmakers at least seem grateful for the opportunity to otherwise realize commercially challenging visions. Chanel’s money for Clouds of Sils Maria allowed Assayas to shoot his film in 35mm instead of digital, and Noé already beat Saint Laurent to create Lux. Æterna, a favorably criticized improvisational video essay featuring witchcraft, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and the specter of Cecil B DeMille’s work.
“I was looking to do things that had never been done in the west,” Almodovar told IndieWire of the inspiration behind his new project, which stars Hawke and Pedro Pascal as two lone gunners combined in a passionate reunion. Meanwhile, Guadagnino’s non-linear film The Staggering Girl was built from the ground up to capture the essence of Valentino’s creations. “If I have time, I’d rather do something,” he told Deadline in 2019. “I felt that in the work [of Valentino’s artistic director], Pier Paolo, there was a narrative to develop. “Fittingly, for a wealthy film animated by haute couture collections, the credits of The Staggering Girl end with a detailed description of the pieces worn by star Julianne Moore as her character tries to bring her artist mother back to New York from Italy.
But despite all the sumptuous garments featured in those films, the reviews were cold. Despite The Staggering Girl’s star-studded cast (Mia Goth and Kyle MacLachlan also appeared) and its long list of esteemed collaborators, including the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, the film has been widely criticized for being a somewhat remote painting and lately has a score of just 29 percent. In rotten tomatoes. ” It all looks like a complex and entertaining wrapper for [Valentino’s] haute couture collections. . . ,” David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote in a negative review.
So far, Saint Laurent’s technique turns out to be lighter towards labels, providing traditional suits than branded items. Strange Way of Life also got a slightly warmer reception, and critics probably agree that Almodóvar’s film smoothly achieves its best styles.
It’s also worth noting that two of 2023’s biggest blockbusters, Barbie and Super Mario Bros. , are stealthy and elaborate studio promotions for a doll and a video game. This means that the new fashion style is hardly incredibly commercial. In fact, with Saint Laurent Productions as the first call to appear on the poster for Strange Way of Life, the task seems almost admirable for the way it brazenly carries its sponsorship. And if brands are determined to turn art cinema into showrooms, at least have smart company.
“Strange Way of Life” will hit theaters Sept. 25 for one-person, with an exclusive Q&A with Pedro Almodóvar.
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Fashion film: Julianne Moore starred in Luca Guadagnino’s “The Staggering Girl,” financed through Valentino
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Strange novelty in finance: Ethan Hawke (left) and Pedro Pascal in Pedro Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life,” supported by Saint Laurent
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