My daughter went to see The Wild One recently and she commented that Marlon Brando was wearing jeans so long ago. Of course he helped set the trend, so that got me thinking about the link between films and trends in fashion. Fashion and films have gone hand in hand for long. The Wild One is a good example: it appeared in 1954, starring Brando. Dressed in a black leather motorcycle jacket, leather cap and jeans, he created a look which is still considered "cool" today. Everyone from Madonna to middle-aged men is seen wearing the classic leather motorcycle jacket.
Another strong influence on fashion trends was Breakfast at Tiffany's, starring Audrey Hepburn. She made famous the simple black dress that looks perfect at either a cocktail party or just standing around an expensive department store like Tiffany's with a pastry and coffee in your hand, as Audrey Hepburn does in the film. She looks so elegant, wearing simple but beautiful dresses, big dark glasses and a string of pearls around her neck. Audrey Hepburn still influences women's fashion with her "Tiffany's look".
In more modem times, the film star Uma Thurman created a major fashion trend when she appeared in the film Pulp Fiction, made in 1994. Her style was very simple. Her black trousers, crisp white shirt and hair style was copied by women in the world.
Influencing fashion trends can often be about timing. The movie Memoirs of a Geisha came just in time to start a trend in Japanese fashion. It starred the Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who wore beautiful silk kimonos (和服), and it won an Oscar for Costume Design. Many travel companies picked up on the trend and ran "geisha trips" to Japan. The film has also led to a regained interest in kimonos. It is now quite common to see young Japanese women wearing kimonos not just on traditional occasions, but at various social events. The fashion is also beginning to spread to Western countries.
