the lady noir affair

[niseema]

http://www.ladydior.com/thefilm/

[JV]

http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/bon ... ticle/7971
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-09-04-cops-and-robbers

[JV]

"Star Style: Marion Cotillard"

"It’s no surprise that this Beautiful French Actress is the face of Dior (Lady Dior handbag advertisements).

Her sartorial choices whilst promoting public enemies were amazing, my personal favourite being the powder pink Dior dress she wore to the Paris Premiere.

Her look is very feminie old Hollywood…soft curls, defined waist, sexy draping…However she proved she could rock something more edgy by offsetting her bright red Vivienne Westwood dress with slicked back hair at the London premiere."
http://fashionenigma.wordpress.com/

[JV]

http://twitter.com/lady_dior
http://www.ladydiortwitter.com/lady_dior_4.html



http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnno/3924386057/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48807079@N00/3924637593/

[JV]

"...Elsewhere on the fashion house's horizons, Marion Cotillard is getting vocal - in a music video for Dior. To be shown online on January 14, it features music and lyrics written by Franz Ferdinand and follows on from another short film starring Cotillard last year, focussing on the Lady Dior handbag."
http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/10010 ... dior-.aspx

[JV]

"Dior Cocktails For Marion Cotillard And “Nine”"


"Producer Ron Yerxa, actress Marion Cotillard, actor Tobey Maguire, and wife Jennifer Meyer-Maguire attend the Dior Cocktails for Marion Cotillard and "Nine" event at Chateau Marmont on January 9, 2010 in Los Angeles, California."
(By: John Shearer WireImage)
http://www.celebritymound.com/photos-di ... mp;utm_cam
http://www.wetdarkandwild.com/2010/01/j ... llard.html
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2010/01/10 ... Cotillard/
http://www.tv.com/photos-dior-cocktails ... 23967.html
http://www1.wireimage.com/GalleryListin ... =4d&qckv=y
http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Searc ... rtainment#

"...MARION Cotillard hates talking fashion during awards season.

The Academy Award-winning actress says she’s dreading this year’s Oscars ceremony because she’ll be quizzed about what she’s wearing.
“The only part I dread about awards season is talking about fashion,” she says. “Everyone always asks what or who you are wearing. I pretend I know what I am talking about but really I don’t have a clue.”
http://www.showbizspy.com/article/19749 ... shion.html

"The lovely French fancy Marion Cotillard sparkled in a silver dress at the Dior cocktail event thrown in her honour for the release of musical movie masterpiece Nine. Chateaum Marmont in LA was overflowing with celebrities such as the broody Jake Gyllenhaal and suave Tobey Maguire to toast the actress in her role as Luisa Contini in a megastar cast including Nicole Kidman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Kate Hudson and Judi Dench.

Her hairstyle has the office split down the middle with some viewing her tight, spiral curls as more befitting a poodle than an A-list actress. But the hair and beauty team can't help but love her style, which is fun and playful yet allows her to show off the elegant neckline of her dress. There is a very fine line between fun and frizzy, but if you're looking to recreate the corkscrew curls of Marion's style be sure to apply an anti-frizz curling cream such as the Bumble and bumble Curl Conscious Defining Cream and check out our video of stylist Ben Cooke creating fabulous frizz-free curls with just tin foil and a hair dryer."
Posted by Veronica Kirby
http://www.handbag.com/hair/celebrity-h ... ne/gallery

[JV]

"Cotillard records Dior tune with Franz Ferdinand"

"French Oscar winner Marion Cotillard has teamed up with Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand to record a new song for fashion house Dior.

The Nine star, who is the face of the French brand, has stepped up to the microphone to sing lead vocals on Franz Ferdinand's The Eyes Of Mars.

The tune will accompany a new Dior commercial, starring Cotillard, who portrayed torch singer Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. The role won her a Best Actress Oscar in 2008."
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/1/20100118/ten ... 0bd6d.html

"Marion Cotillard and Franz Ferdinand Hit Studio for Dior Duet"

"Actress Marion Cotillard, who is dubbed as the face of fashion house Dior, has recorded a new song for the French brand with rocker Franz Ferdinand.

French Oscar winner Marion Cotillard has teamed up with Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand to record a new song for fashion house Dior. The "Nine" star, who is the face of the French brand, has stepped up to the microphone to sing lead vocals on Franz Ferdinand's "The Eyes Of Mars".

The tune will accompany a new Dior commercial, starring Cotillard, who portrayed torch singer Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose". The role won her a Best Actress Oscar in 2008.

Her project with Franz Ferdinand aside, Marion Cotillard was recently awarded with Best Actress prize at 2010 Palm Spring Festival for her role of Luisa Contini in "Nine". In the musical, she stars alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson and Judi Dench."
http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/w0000426.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnCk0IMd6CQ

[JV]

"WATCH: Marion Cotillard Rocks Out with Franz Ferdinand for Dior Film"

"Not that you had any doubts that Marion Cotillard could sing — she did win an Oscar for playing French chanteuse Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her song-and-dance turn in Nine, after all. But as part of her other famous role, as the face of Lady Dior, the actress gives new range to her vocal talents with her second short film with Scottish band Franz Ferdinand, directed by Jonas Akerlund. Alternating between a feminine red dress and menswear-inspired tuxedo, Marion rocks out in the video, singing an original composition, the Eyes of Mars..."
http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2 ... dior-film/

[JV]

"Marion and Dior take on Shanghai"

"Christian Dior's high drama ads with Marion Cotillard will soon feature Shanghai, with a David Lynch directed 12-minute piece entitled “Lady Blue.” Says Galliano, “In the David Lynch film, Marion is reciting a poem that he wrote, and was inspired by the Pearl Tower itself. The words and building fuse in the picture he paints on-screen. Shanghai is such a vibrant and inspiring city.” Well, it's got more than enough twin peaks...
Fab Frenchie Marion Cotillard continues to star in Christian Dior's high-drama ads. This Spring, the chase continues, where Cotillard is caught with a secret agent, the Chinese city's sci-fi skyscrapers serving as the fantastical background. Steven Klein shot the scene, titled Lady Blue. This campaign is the third in a four-chapter series; stay tuned for a 12-minute film directed by David Lynch, debuting on Ladydior.com May 15. This is also the day Galliano will show Dior's cruise collection in Shanghai. It's all coming together. Galliano explains: “In the David Lynch film, Marion is reciting a poem that he wrote, and was inspired by the Pearl Tower itself. The words and building fuse in the picture he paints on-screen. Shanghai is such a vibrant and inspiring city.”


http://www.fabsugar.com.au/Marion-Cotil ... ds-7946147

"First Paris, then New York and now Shanghai. In her latest round of ads for the Lady Dior handbag, French actress Marion Cotillard is framed on a balcony with the Chinese city’s futuristic sky line in the back. Playing an international femme fatale, Marion tries to escape from a secret agent while wearing a plunging leather gown but still clutching her Lady Dior purse. The new campaign is titled “Lady Blue”, according to WWD, and will be followed by a 12-minute film directed by David Lynch that was shot in Shanghai last December. The ads, shot by Steven Klein, are scheduled to break this week in Air France Madame before hitting U.S. and European fashion titles later this month. Catch Marion’s mini movie on May 15 when it launches on LadyDior.com. We can’t wait to see the rest of Marion’s Shanghai series."
Andrea DeSimone
http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2 ... -dior-ads/

[JV]

"Christian Dior Cruise 2011 in Shanghai"

"John Galliano gave Shanghai a heaping dose of Parisian chic on Saturday night, unveiling Dior’s cruise collection in a massive tent along the city’s iconic Bund. Galliano turned to the Nouvelle Vague cinematic movement for inspiration and channeled the likes of Jean Seaberg, Romy Schneider, Jeanne Moreau and Francoise Hardy. He opened the show with Karlie Kloss in a plissé dress of pink leather and progressed to flirty knit frocks and fresh takes on the bar jacket before closing with a series of dramatic gowns in embroidered silk and organza. “I didn’t want to come here and present a Chinese-inspired collection to my Chinese friends,” the designer said a day before the show, which attracted stars Charlize Theron, Marion Cotillard, Maggie Cheung and Kelis, who also performed a set to a packed after-party. “I’m the ambassador of the house of Dior and I wanted to come here with a French-inspired collection and to show the savoir-faire of France.”
http://sandiinthecity.onsugar.com/Chris ... ai-8440306

"Christian Dior in Shanghai"

"SHANGHAI — John Galliano gave this city a heaping dose of Parisian chic on Saturday night, unveiling Christian Dior’s Nouvelle Vague-inspired cruise collection in a massive tent along the city’s celebrated Bund. The show coincided with the reopening of Dior’s revamped boutique in luxury shopping mall Plaza 66 and the inauguration of a retrospective exhibition. Galliano’s decision to incorporate haute couture creations, such as dramatic organza and tulle gowns, into the show further underscores just how much the house is banking on big spenders in China.

“As a designer, I’m very much sensitive to my markets,” Galliano, who was wearing braided pigtails, told WWD in an interview from the vertigo-inducing 93rd floor of the Park Hyatt, overlooking the city’s sci-fi skyline of spires and skyscrapers. “[China is an] emerging market and a big player in the field and very thirsty to understand couture, craftsmanship and the savoir faire Français.”

Although Dior chief executive officer Sidney Toledano declined to disclose sales figures, he said Dior is registering “very strong double-digit” growth in China. “Price is not a problem,” he said, adding there were some customers who insisted on coming to preview the Plaza 66 store’s new Parisian decor a day before it opened to the public and place orders. “It’s a market that is growing at a speed…not only numbers but [in terms of] the depth of their understanding and demand,” Toledano said.

Bernard Arnault, LVMH Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton chairman and ceo, expressed a similar view. “We want to show the Chinese customer what is Dior today.”

Although Galliano has referenced Asian themes in several of his past collections, the designer said he thought it was important for Dior to make a characteristically French statement and “capture the exuberance, the energy” of French New Wave cinema and its heroines, Jean Seberg, Romy Schneider, Jeanne Moreau and Françoise Hardy.

“I didn’t want to come here and present a Chinese-inspired collection to my Chinese friends,” said Galliano, clad in a checked shirt, vest, rolled jeans and a black hat with feather trim. “I’m the ambassador of the house of Dior, and I wanted to come here with a French-inspired collection and to show the savoir faire of France.”

Karlie Kloss opened the show in a dress of butter-soft pink plissé leather with scalloped details as a miniature orchestra harmonized to a rousing soundtrack of Diana Ross & the Supremes’ “Love Child.” Galliano progressed to flirty frocks in striped knits and delicately faded rose prints. He also revisited the iconic Bar jacket — one version came in Prince of Wales plaid with cap sleeves and a large bow. “You can imagine her — that type of character — on the scooter with a boyfriend with a helmet racing through Paris,” he said. A series of embroidered silk gowns in mint, candy pink, apricot and lilac closed the proceedings with a glamorous flourish.

Galliano said he sought to create a “Left Bank, gamine, lovers-on-the-Pont Neuf” vibe, which he believes will resonate with women in both France and China. “I think our Parisian and Shanghai sisters — they both share the same love and passion, which is for tradition and innovation,” Galliano said. “They’re both so thirsty for new technology but still have a great respect for the tradition and I think that’s where I draw the parallels between the two women.”

Before the show, Dior premiered its new advertising vehicle: a 12-minute film by David Lynch called “Lady Blue Shanghai,” which features Marion Cotillard and a mysterious Lady Dior handbag that prompts her to recall a dreamy, romantic tryst. Cotillard, clad in a pale yellow dress, also made an appearance at Saturday’s show, along with Dior’s other leading lady, Charlize Theron, and actress Maggie Cheung. Another front-row guest, R&B singer Kelis, performed to a packed after party, which saw both Galliano and Toledano dancing on the DJ’s platform.

The show and party attracted a diverse crowd including many fashion-forward Chinese, most of whom reacted positively to the show. “This is my first Dior show, because the shows have always been in Paris. I was very excited,” said Zhou Yingying, a 20-year-old from Shanghai. “I was surprised to see that the clothes were so suited to our age.”

Guan Anna, another 20-year-old from the city, was just as upbeat. “I love Dior because of Galliano,” she said. “He’s very ku [the Chinese slang word for cool].”

Holed up in the Park Hyatt hotel for fittings, Galliano said he hadn’t had time to visit the city this time. Dior transported about 150 people to Shanghai to produce the show, including his design team, makeup artist Pat McGrath, hair stylist Orlando Pita and models Kloss, Magdalena Frackowiak, Tanya Dziahileva and Anja Rubik.

And Dior & Co. may be gearing up for more road trips. “I think the cruise opportunity is fantastic to go to a new market. This year it’s in Shanghai. I’m sure next year it will be somewhere else,” Toledano said. But he stressed that these global ambitions — for both cruise and the rest of the business — don’t mean the house is forsaking the U.S. market. Dior has showed cruise in New York three times, and he said the market continues to be an important part of Dior’s business. To that end, the brand plans to refurbish and reopen its New York flagship later this year. Toledano said he hopes that will occur in November. “I’m sure we’ll have something special there,” he said.

In the meantime, Dior is dominating the scene at Plaza 66, where its ads are plastering the mall. A giant sculpture of a Lady Dior handbag in bars of lights sits outside the main entrance to greet shoppers, many of whom are in town for the World Expo. Inside, the retrospective exhibition chronicles Dior’s 64-year history, running from Christian Dior’s original New Look pieces to some of Galliano’s most outlandish couture creations, including a 2004 number made entirely from strips of gold metal. There are also plenty of high-tech touches, like a giant e-book with pages that can be flipped by hand.

Near the exhibit sits Dior’s newly refurbished 5,167-square-foot boutique. Designed by Peter Marino, the store features a curved staircase, French-style moldings and a wall of video screens displaying runway footage and other iconic images from the house’s history. It also houses a dedicated salon for fine jewelry and watches, which will be rolled out to other Dior boutiques. Marino, on hand in all his tattooed and leather-clad glory, said he was particularly proud of the store’s second-floor ceiling featuring porcelain lily-of-the-valley blossoms handcrafted by artist David Wiseman.

Galliano, for his part, said he had enjoyed some of Shanghai’s customs, especially those of the chakra-aligning persuasion. “The first thing I did here was have acupuncture,” he said. “I have to kind of contain [my energy] and give it to the girls on the day of the show.”
by Amanda Kaiser
http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/christi ... 1-3074246/


"Zhou Xun and Marion Cotillard, front row at Christian Dior Cruise 2011"
http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/christi ... 46/3075321

[JV]

"Fashion Films Become the Hottest New Accessories"

"Brigitte Bardot — the curvaceous sex kitten of the 1950s — is so intimately associated with the South of France that her image has become the mascot of the Cannes Film Festival and its beachside glamour.

So it is not surprising that Karl Lagerfeld combined BB with the double C’s of Coco Chanel for the collection he showed on the Saint-Tropez waterfront last week, as France’s annual movie event opened.

“What I like is the spirit of Saint-Tropez — the clothes are not supposed to be intellectual — they are easy clothes for an easy life,” said Mr. Lagerfeld, who chose the pouting Georgia May Jagger on a Harley Davidson as the reincarnation of the Bardot look.

But, significantly, it was not just the girly gingham checks, the curvy bosoms and casual sexiness — so prominent in summer collections — that were Mr. Lagerfeld’s tools of choice. He also directed a mini-movie called “Remember Now,” as an artistic meld of smoldering passion, the ennui of gilded youth touched with the essence of “La Dolce Vita.”

The film, in which the French actor Pascal Greggory revisits Saint-Tropez after 30 years — with other roles for the rising star Elisa Sednaoui and for the hot Italian male model Baptiste Giabiconi — even features “Kaiser Karl” in a snow-white suit. It is the latest in a series of movies the designer has made for Chanel and can be viewed on www.chanel.com.

Trust the visionary Mr. Lagerfeld to realize that while red-carpet dressing seems like a played-out trend, movies have become the hottest new fashion accessory — a way to bring emotion and visual excitement to branding for the YouTube generation. The designer’s ability to turn his talent to directing films as well as fashion makes him unique.

But there are other ways for brands to join the celluloid revolution. On the sandy beach on the Croisette at Cannes is the StyleStar Lounge, where the Italian Marina Garzoni is promoting the marketing of online films for the luxury sector, which she has been developing since 2007 with her company Moda e Tecnologia. That included a strong presence at the Venice Film Festival last year. Her aim is to encourage brands to create mini-movies that can be used across all new media, from their own Web sites through social networking sites, mobile phones and video games.

“Catwalk shows were good in a period when they were restricted, but now billions of people are interested in having a relationship with a brand, so the emotional appeal is more important than before,” says Ms. Garzoni, who believes that can be achieved not just physically, but virtually.

“A short movie has to be more cultural with an authentic story — not just advertising — so that the message lives on in people’s minds,” says the Milan-based consultant, who is working with MSN-m$ on the Cannes project. “Everybody wants a small piece of the dream. Brands need to understand the opportunities technology gives to them — from a catalog to an emotion.”

Smart brands have already grasped the power of three-dimensional fashion and are making small movies the big new thing, bringing to life the artistic advertising campaigns and energizing images that can be viewed from smart phone to iPad.

On Saturday, far from the South of France in China, Dior introduced John Galliano’s latest cruise collection during the vibrant World Expo atmosphere of Shanghai. The same day, the company released the latest online Lady Dior film, the third in a series starring the Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard in variations on Film Noir style, featuring — in this order — mystery, intrigue and handbags. After “Lady Noire” and “Lady Rouge,” the Shanghai version, directed by David Lynch, is called “Lady Blue Shanghai” and is designed to create excitement anchored in a place — this time not the Eiffel Tower but the iconic Chinese city. The film, on www.ladydior.com, has Mr. Lynch’s signature eerie tension as he creates a love affair with the city’s famous Pearl Tower in the Pudong district, with a romantic stranger and with a (literally) smoking-hot Dior bag.

Just as the Brigitte Bardot look has popped up — bosoms, pouting lips and checks to the fore — in collections from Prada and MiuMiu, through the British designer Christopher Kane to the fall/winter Louis Vuitton collection by Marc Jacobs, a luxury brand’s commitment to film takes many different forms.

Prada is currently running “Riviera Love” as a promotion for its Lolita-like sunglasses with a backdrop of the beach set of its summer collection (www.prada.com). And Louis Vuitton’s mini-movie “An Encounter with Greatness,” featuring the historic football icons Diego Maradona, Pelé and Zinedine Zidane pitting their famous skills at table football (louisvuitton.com), has already reached cult status.

Gucci also has a deep commitment to film in its sponsorship of Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, which the American director founded in 1990 with 12 of his peers, including Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford and Steven Spielberg.

On Friday in Cannes, Mr. Scorsese unveiled a digital restoration of Luchino Visconti’s masterpiece “Il Gattopardo” (The Leopard), which won the festival’s Palme d’Or award in 1963 and has now been restored with a portion of a $1.5 million donation from Gucci.

“Film is an art form particularly vulnerable to deterioration and decay,” said Mr. Scorsese, thanking Gucci for helping raise awareness and donating money to the “innumerable films in dire need of restoration.”

Next on the agenda will be the re-launch of the digitally restored version of Frederico Fellini’s classic “La Dolce Vita,” whose 50th anniversary will be celebrated in Rome this fall.

“Visconti and Fellini are filmmakers whose impact on cinema has been enormous, and both these films are as powerful today as when they were first released,” said Mr. Scorsese. The creative director for Gucci, Frida Giannini, said that the house “has a long history with film dating back to the late 1940s” and that the company was proud “to keep these vibrant, timeless films alive.”

In the neat way that fashion tends to mirror life, the sensual young Claudia Cardinale in her low-cut gowns in “The Leopard” could be a role model for the stars walking up the famous Cannes steps. Except that fashion is now moving away from merely making a splash at film premieres to making movies happen."
By SUZY MENKES
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/fashi ... &ref=style

"Watch: Marion Cotillard in Dior's Lady Blue Shanghai"

"Spooky director David Lynch ("The Elephant Man," "Blue Velvet," "Mulholland Drive") rocked into Shanghai last December, and here's what he got up to: a 16-minute film for Dior called "Lady Blue Shanghai." Art directed by designer John Galliano, it stars Marion Cotillard as an appropriately distressed damsel in a perfectly tailored Dior skirt suit. The film begins with our heroine returning to her posh Shanghai hotel, where she quickly discovers that someone has entered her room and left behind a beautiful sapphire Lady Dior quilted handbag sitting smack in the center of the room. It emits smoke and light, so she freaks out and calls security. I'd have flung myself onto the bag and thanked the mysterious Dior gods for their blessing."
http://shanghaiist.com/2010/05/18/watch ... rs_lad.php

[JV]

"Why Is David Lynch Pimping This Handbag?
The new trend of "advertising films."

"How would all you film fanatics like to see this movie? Creating his typically unsettling atmosphere, David Lynch directs the beautiful Marion Cotillard in a romantic thriller set in old Shanghai. Or how about: In his last turn behind the camera, Dennis Hopper directs Gwyneth Paltrow in an Antonioni-inspired dash through Rome. Or maybe you'd like a reprise of the Jean-Pierre Jeunet/Audrey Tautou collaboration you loved so much in Amélie and A Very Long Engagement, this time with a Brief Encounter-style love story to keep you on the edge of your seat.

If any of those taglines are to your taste, you're in luck, because they've already been made. But here's the catch: Instead of cinema-release feature-length films, they're between three and 20 minutes long, and they're all promotional pieces for high-end fashion houses. In other words, they are commercials, or at least some new brand of commercial that's becoming increasingly popular. Lynch's Lady Blue Shanghai is the third in a series promoting the patent leather Lady Dior bag; the first, The Lady Noire Affair, was directed by Olivier Dahan of La Vie en Rose fame, the second, Lady Rouge, by Swedish music video director Jonas Akerlund, and all three star Cotillard as Lady Dior. Hopper's Roman romp is called Pashmy Dream, and it has Tod's Pashmy bag at its center, while the Jeunet/Tautou story is for Chanel No. 5.

Fashion films such as these have been appearing here and there for several years, but they've reached a crescendo this summer. On May 15, the 17-minute Lynch film was screened at the World Expo in Shanghai before the line debuted its 2011 cruise collection. Meanwhile, Chanel had just screened a short film before its cruise show in St. Tropez. Remember Now, directed by Karl Lagerfeld, features suave French leading man Pascal Greggory as well as a dancing, mewling multitude of Chanel models who reenact scenes from St. Tropez's past; Brigitte Bardot, the Jaggers, and Coco Chanel all make appearances. This week, Four Play, a two-minute film "inspired by" Donna Karan's Eldridge bag, which stars Christina Ricci and was directed by Jake Sumner (aka Sting's son), will open the Los Angeles Short Film Festival. And to top it all off, September will mark the online premiere of Martin Scorsese's film for men's fragrance Bleu de Chanel, which he shot in Williamsburg last winter.

What are these things? Are they films or commercials? Should we be horrified that a string of first-class directors are lending their talents to pimping bags and perfumes, or does this collaboration exist in some other, more rarified realm where fashion and high art coexist? When Baz Luhrmann's Chanel No. 5 commercial starring Nicole Kidman came out in 2005, Chanel's PR department snootily proclaimed that it had to be a film because "Baz Luhrmann doesn't do adverts." It seemed like a dubious assertion, considering the similarities between this two-minute bit of celluloid prominently featuring a product, and what we earthlings call commercials. But it did signal a new kind of ambition that later collaborations have more closely lived up to.

Chanel likes to call them "advertising films," while others just go for the art-centric "short film" or the oddly Austin Powers-derived "mini-movie." The fashion world has always danced with Hollywood's artier side; Lynch himself directed four literary-themed commercials for Calvin Klein's Obsession back in 1988. (The first of these featured a younger and dewier Benicio del Toro alongside Heather Graham, who always looks exactly the same.) While those commercials had a certain edgy sexiness that charted new TV territory, there was no doubt that they were indeed commercials, and that Lynch was acting as hired gun. Since then, houses have been carefully shifting the emphasis from advertising to filmmaking, making the films longer, giving their big-name directors carte blanche or close to it, taking the central focus off the product, and packaging them as "art" on their Web sites and in film venues. In other words, they've relinquished branding control of the films, which must make them a lot more fun for the directors.

In 2005, Prada debuted the Ridley and Jordan Scott-directed "Thunder Perfect Mind," at the Berlin Film Festival. The film intercuts shots of model Daria Werbowy navigating Berlin with scenes of her discovering her wild side through swing dancing, all to a free jazz soundtrack and voiceover recitation of a Gnostic text celebrating the divine feminine. The film was cut up into shorter segments for television airing. This was a first, both because Prada had never done a television campaign before, and because, at six minutes, the film really was longer than a TV commercial. But in spite of its length and the fact that the perfume doesn't make an appearance until the final frame, it still feels like a commercial. It's just so fashiony in that pretentious, model-obsessed way, and the flimsy narrative in which a supposedly plain girl is transformed into a glamorous creature of the night isn't treading any new territory.

The good fashion films have a sense of humor about what's really going on here. Lynch shows his sly humor with the ta-dah!-style revelation of the bag in a burst of light and smoke. Once she's discovered the Lady Dior in her hotel room, Cotillard suddenly recalls what might be a past life. As she drifts into this other world, she and her lover, played by the actor Gong Tao, blur and double amidst the lights of the old city.
There are disorientingly cavernous lobbies and long hallways, extended pauses between oddly empty lines of dialogue, ominous fish-eyed close-ups on Cotillard's lovely, frightened face, eerie music
… in other words, it's a David Lynch film. The final shot once again puts the Lady Dior bag front and center with a blue rose given to Cotillard in her dream-memory reappearing inside of it. One blogger noted that "it almost seems as if Lynch envisioned the film with just a flower, but then threw the bag in there when Dior came a-calling." That may well be the case, and the over-the-top symbolic weight placed squarely on the bag might be Lynch's way of winking at his audience.

Hopper's quick little fairytale, in which fire-breathers, mimes, and clowns lurk behind every corner, also teases the connection to the brand. "Gwyneth, your bag! Your bag, Gwyneth!" shouts the journalist played by Daniele Savoca, his earnest cry repeated to the point of absurdity. The director gave a wry summing up of the film/brand relationship: "Cinderella has her shoe. Gwyneth has her Tod's Pashmy bag." Hopper paid lip-service to the bag, but it was ultimately more peripheral to the film than the heart of it.

This may well signal a disturbing cynicism on the part of the directors. You can imagine them muttering "I'll throw whatever bag they want in there," as they sign off on the budgets the houses are offering them to make their vanity projects. And audiences might not mind or even notice, since, over the years, movies have buckled in other ways to commercial demands. A slogan for a bag in a Hopper flick is not so far away from Absolut Vodka product placement in a Sex and the City movie. We've gotten used to advertisers intruding on our storylines.

But the real reason these feel natural is because of where they're shown. The Internet has also revived the great music video, offering a wide-open space for innovative collaborations between artists and musicians. That DIY spirit has been on display at fashion houses with less money at their disposal than Dior or Chanel, as they invite viewers to enter their websites and their way of life for a little while. Whether it's an insider glimpse of models prepping for a runway show on Victoria Beckham's site, or zippy hipsters showing off the new looks from Rogan, these little films body forth the spirit of the brand. And if those guys can experiment online, well so can Dior and Chanel, with all the resources and names that are available to them. The line between making cool stuff and selling out just isn't as clear as it used to be.

Critics sometimes compare the shorts to student films, and a few of them feel like that. Viewing Remember Now, you do wonder, what am I watching? A music video? Boring footage of a party I wasn't invited to? A documentary about the real lives of models? In the end, though, it's the vagaries about defining these films that make some of them worth watching. It's as if Lynch and Hopper have been liberated by being asked to create on a smaller scale with a well defined gimmick, set free to see what they come up with.

In his 2006 book on transcendental meditation and creativity, Catching the Big Fish, Lynch talked about his creative process, comparing ideas to fish. The beautiful thing is that when you catch one fish that you love, even if it's a little fish – a fragment of an idea […] Then you're on your way.

In Lynch's film, Cotillard sits in front of a screen decorated with fish leaping in and out of a golden pond. That's what these films are, pretty little fish tossed into the big digital sea."
By Sasha Watson
http://www.slate.com/id/2262572/?from=rss
http://www.slate.com/id/2262572/slideshow/2262042/

[JV]

"Marion Cotillard is someone I always look forward to scrutinising whenever she has a new flick to plug.
The 34-year-old actress is synonymous with chic glamour and modern sophistication. (...)

Cotillard was in top form last year for the movie premieres of Public Enemies and Nine, but she didn't produce as many shining moments while doing the rounds for her latest film Inception.

In Christopher Nolan's intellectual blockbuster, she plays the intriguing dead wife of Leonardo DiCaprio's corporate dream thief who ends up being a destructive force intruding into both his waking and his sleeping life.

Cotillard experimented with three varied styles for Inception's big nights, but not all were premiere-perfect.

1 The Gallic stunner usually has such a great track record, but this oversized handkerchief at the London premiere didn't do her any justice.

It may be Thakoon, but it's such a letdown. Cotillard is also a little old for this kind of dress.
I'm not crazy too about the patent leather trim, uneven hemline, flat wavy hair, lacklustre make-up, busy layered gold necklaces and chunky black patent cut-out heels from Christian Dior (she's the French fashion house's spokesmodel after all).
This is surely not a red carpet-worthy outfit. Save it for the beach, honey.

2 From one fashion nightmare to an absolute dream.

Christian Dior came to the rescue of its muse in her hometown of Paris and helped her look flawless again in a charming black and white strapless lace cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline and delicate bow detail.
Cotillard modernised the overall retro feel with a playful pompadour and nude Jimmy Choo Private sandals which let the outstanding frock do all the talking.

3 She saved the best for last in Los Angeles.

Her sapphire silk jacquard L'Wren Scott sheath screams sexy elegance - the fit's flattering, the lines clean and the sleek bun completed the pretty picture.
Cotillard also stayed true to her favourite brand by donning black Christian Dior quilted bow peep-toe pumps.
All is right in the universe again."
Jeanmarie Tan
http://tnp.sg/show/story/0,4136,252575,00.html

"Marion Cotillard - Vogue Paris - September Issue 2010"

"Marion Cotillard? echoes Hollywood's golden era on the cover of Vogue Paris' September issue. The editorial promises that we will see Paris through Marion's eyes. Exciting! Watch out for it on August 26th."
http://music.blogdig.net/archives/artic ... g+Posts%29

"Paris : deux syllabes et une aura éternelle. Deux syllabes qui à elles seules évoquent un flot d'images universelles. (...) Une inspiration inoxydable à l'origine de ce numéro de septembre", écrit Carine Roitfeld, rédactrice en chef de Vogue Paris, dans l'édito du numéro de septembre. Une rentrée dédiée à Paris, incarné par Marion Cotillard qui pose en couverture, méconnaissable avec une bouche rouge noir et des sourcils bleachés. Cela faisait cinq ans qu'aucune actrice n'avait posé en couverture de Vogue Paris, depuis Nicole Kidman en 2005, mais avec son interprêtation oscarisée de la môme et sa carrière qui monte en flèche, elle est l'idéal féminin de la ville lumière..."

http://www.vogue.fr/Mode/News/100820-ma ... -du-v.aspx
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47498218@N ... Cotillard/

[JV]

"Fashion meets Hollywood: David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive) directs an Internet movie for Dior’s new “Lady Blue Shanghai” handbag.

It is blue, it is pretty – and it is the central mystic artifact in a sixteen minute long advertising spot directed by David Lynch. The famous inventor of dark subconscious worlds without any narrative conventions has now served Dior’s “Lady Blue Shanghai”.

Lynch is the master of avoiding chronology in time and place. He sends his unstable characters into a parallel universe and insists on not bringing them back. When Oscar-winning Marion Cotillard wanders along the corridors of a desolate hotel in Shanghai, the line between dream and reality gets blurred.

Suddenly, there is Tango music. The French actress, representing the modern age and traditional beauty, enters her hotel room. The radio is on. Somebody must have been here. First, a sizzle: A bolt of lightning. Then a white cloud embraces a blue handbag. A blue rose and lost love somewhere between the Pearl Tower and old Shanghai, and Lynch quietly ends his path of commercialism.
This is the ultimate mixture of Hollywood glamour and high-end fashion. The Lady Dior handbag, classy and originally named after Lady Diana, got a whole online movie trilogy (all with icon Marion Cotillard first as Lady Noir, second as Lady Red and now, Lady Blue).

Even hardcore fashion addicts might ask – why?

For a long time, luxury brands hesitated to enter the online market. Too much style and influence could be lost on the way into the culture of cyberspace freedom and sharing philosophy. Buying a handmade unique piece of haute couture on net-a-porter.com? Unthinkable.

Movies are supposed to carry the message of desired exclusiveness. Twirl art around a commercial product; add a Hollywood beauty and voilà – there you have the soft sell.

Like the hushed version of a loud artificial TV spot: “Psst, please buy!”
Unfortunately, sixteen minutes can be very long in the world of advertisement. Especially when the suspense act does not work as usual and “fans” can voice criticism openly (remember, it is online).

However, Dior is not the only traditional high-end fashion house that tries to establish itself online with expensively produced short films. Chanel, Prada, Louis Vuitton – all luxury brands live on exclusive features. It is an illusion that blends along just fine with the movie dream fabric."
http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=11513
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGNBVxDpgzY