Here’s the scoop on Marie Antoinette—the movie that gets our vote for Best Costumes of the Year!
 Grab your corsets and your powdered wigs! Academy Award-winning writer/director Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette is out on DVD just in time for Valentine’s Day, and FashionClub.com can hardly wait! The movie is a frothy confection of gorgeous costumes and big hair with not much historical accuracy, so if you want the real 411 on the teenage queen or the details surrounding the French Revolution, you’ll have to look here.
Who: Coppola, who some call the most powerful female director in Hollywood, cast her cousin Jason Schwartzman and Kirsten Dunst (who also starred in Coppola’s first film The Virgin Suicides) in the roles of the ill-fated king and queen. The costumes were designed by Milena Canonero, who has over three decades of experience in the field.
The background: Austrian Princess and Archduchess Marie-Antoinette came to France in 1770 at age 15 to marry crown prince Louis XVI, and the pair ascended to the most powerful throne in Europe while still teenagers. Though her tastes set fashion trends throughout Europe, her lavish spending on her wardrobe, opulent palace at Versailles, and love of nightlife triggered the ire of the French people, who were facing widespread poverty and food shortages.
Her legendary line: She is said to have been told, “The people have no bread!” to which she replied, “Then let them eat cake!” Historians have debated whether or not she actually said this, but no one knows for sure.
Influence on fashion: The film’s influence was spotted on the Paris runways. At John Galliano for Christian Dior, models wore deconstructed corsets and clothing was stained with fake blood, a là Marie-Antoinette’s bloody beheading in 1793. Valentino’s collection was studded with bows and ribbons, and the palette at Chanel was pale and delicate, reminiscent of what was worn in the time of Marie-Antoinette. Gautier showed a hoopskirt made of pearls. You can order your very own Marie-Antoinette baby doll tee from Cafe Press.
The soundtrack: Released as a two-disk set, the first disc is more upbeat and includes ‘80s favorites Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bow Wow Wow, New Order, Adam & The Ants, The Cure, and a few others mixed with classical pieces. Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine remixes "I Want Candy" on the first disk as well as another Bow Wow Wow song on the second disc, which is more low-key and atmospheric. |
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