Fashion designers who made cinema history, in 10 essential movies

There was a time when the role of the designer became essential in the creation of storytelling for any movie, to the point where one might wonder if it was the immortal little black dress designed by Givenchy and worn by Audrey Hepburn that made “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) the cult film still celebrated today, or what would have happened if Marlene Dietrich hadn't told the producers of “Stage Fright” (1950), "No Dior, No Dietrich," for her portrayal of Charlotte Inwood. At the same time, perhaps Giorgio Armani wouldn't have been immortalized on the cover of “Time” magazine in 1982 if he hadn't designed Richard Gere's jackets for “American Gigolo” (1980).

The relationship between the film industry and the fashion world is a long-lasting one that has adeptly survived every whim of time. The cinema's ability to tell immersive stories through visual language perfectly aligns with the iconic nature of fashion codes, sometimes used to describe a character and their role within the narrative or to outline a culturally and historically accurate backdrop.

The first true promise of love between cinema and fashion dates back to the 1930s, when a young Coco Chanel was asked to design costumes for the American film “Palmy Days” (1931). For the occasion she designed sportswear pieces, but they were not well-received as they were considered too far from Hollywood's dramatic glamour, a style Coco Chanel was absolutely unwilling to conform to. The collaboration wasn’t a success, but the insight was brilliant, and the couturière decided to create costumes for French cinema, learning how to highlight garments through specific camera angles or precise lighting.

In no time, these new approaches and trends created a new aesthetic that found its highest expression in the phenomenon of 1950s divas. A famous example is Audrey Hepburn, who wore a white floral dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy at the 1954 Oscars, one of the most iconic dresses in fashion history and the first of a huge branded wardrobe that would accompany the actress throughout her career.

This reciprocal relationship has only intensified, and today fashion and cinema continue to show a sacred and indissoluble loyalty to each other. This is how the role of the costume designer gained more and more authority: think of William Chang’s work for “In the Mood for Love” (2000), still celebrated as an emblem of class, or the Oscar-winning costumes by Milena Canonero for Sofia Coppola's “Marie Antoinette”  (2006), recognized for their accuracy and opulence.

Even among the most famous names in fashion, collaborations have become increasingly frequent: the fashion house Saint Laurent, along with its creative director Anthony Vaccarello, collaborated with Gaspar Noé on “Lux Aeterna” (2019), merging its aesthetic with the director's narrative approach. The Maison also founded a film production house, Saint Laurent Production, which designed the costumes for “Emilia Perez”  (2024) using Vaccarello's entire archive. Another example is Tom Ford, both designer and director, author of “A Single Man” (2009), where his meticulous attention to detail is also reflected in the protagonist's wardrobe, symbolizing the classic 1960s menswear through the serious and rigorous white shirt, blending with the organic and modernist aesthetics typical of John Lautner’s architecture.

We have selected 10 of these films that became iconic thanks to the contribution of legendary fashion names, spanning from Hubert de Givenchy to Luca Guadagnino, from Miuccia Prada to Grace Jones and beyond, exploring what is increasingly becoming a collective work of art.