5 films influencing fashion right now

At the SS18 shows, designers riffed off the notion of the statement-making power suit, as worn with gusto by Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver in 1988’s Working Girl (that sadly-still-utterly-relatable story of a woman trying to carve out a career for herself in the big city). At Prada, suit jackets were worn oversized with pushed-up sleeves, cut to voluminous perfection in putty shades at Céline and, at Michael Kors and Joseph, presented as tailored two-pieces in pastel palettes. Dress for the job you want – and the style personality you love.

American horror films proved a rich source material for Raf Simons’ sophomore collection at Calvin Klein 205W39NYC. The designer zoomed in on “the dream factory of Hollywood and its depictions of both an American nightmare and the all-powerful American dream”. The deep-red, deep-plunge PVC brought to mind Sissy Spacek’s bloody prom scene in 1976’s Carrie, but there was also a nod to Mia Farrow’s iconic smock in Roman Polanski’s supernatural ’60s chiller Rosemary’s Baby via powder-blue dresses. Shelley Duvall’s primary-color pinafore outfit from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, meanwhile, was given a 21st-century fashion update in waterproof nylon. Thrilling indeed.

The 1983 erotic horror film The Hunger tells the story of a devastatingly stylish vampire couple played by David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve. Deneuve’s iconic look – designed by Yves Saint Laurent – was all slick leather, archly sexy tailoring and blood-red lips. Fast-forward to SS18 and the all-black, sharp-shouldered silhouette took the spotlight at Saint Laurent and Tom Ford. The cat-eye glasses at Acne Studios and Prada also seemed an ode to Deneuve’s timeless appeal, cementing her as an indisputable muse of the season.

The dreamlike atmosphere and picture-of-innocence summer uniforms worn by the ill-fated schoolgirl protagonists in Australian thriller Picnic at Hanging Rock were brought to mind by the porcelain, Victoriana-style dresses at Rodarte, via the sheer, tiered dresses at Christopher Kane (worn with bleached white gloves), and again by Saint Laurent’s high-necked, ruffle-cuffed blouses. Blouson sleeves featured at Simone Rocha, too, and the floor-length, white broderie anglaise dresses at Gucci were equally evocative of the film’s sun-kissed, mystery-steeped scenes.

A joyful showgirl spirit – think sparkle, feathers and pepped-up color – kicked up its heels all over the SS18 catwalks. Alexander Wang, Marques’Almeida and Proenza Schouler showed fabulous plumes, sequins were splashed around at Marc Jacobs, Balmain brought the fringing, and high-shine silvers flashed at Tom Ford. Make iconic performer – and dazzling dresser – Cher your muse and swot up on her spectacular mermaid costume in 1990’s Mermaids, a film in which Winona Ryder also starred as a sartorially astute teenager taking her cues from the Catholic church, to curiously covetable effect. Let’s hope designers will look to her for FW18.