In the last few weeks there has been a bit of a debate on a few websites about Academy Award winner costume designer Catherine Martin collaborating with bush outfitter R.M. Williams to create a line of clothing inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s new blockbuster Australia.
The film, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, went on general release yesterday, but there have been quite a few features about Martin collaborating with R.M. Williams during the last few weeks. The wife of Baz Luhrmann, Martin was the recipient of two Oscars for Costume Design and Art Direction for the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! 
While working on Australia she collaborated with R.M.Williams - a famous Australian outerwear brand that first started making boots and saddles in the early 30s - to create her costumes.
To coincide with the film release, the Australian brand launched three different ranges that went on sale at the beginning of December in New York and on Boxing Day in London. The Australia range includes six licensed products featured in the film, such as The Drover boots and jacket; the "Look of Australian Style" collection includes instead a wide range of outerwear and accessories inspired by the R.M. Williams heritage while the third and final collection was designed in collaboration with Catherine Martin and is entirely based on the character of Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman). This collection features both clothes - most of them in a 30s-40s style - and kangaroo leather/salt-water crocodile accessories.
Among the best garments there are the Stapleton trench inspired by R.M. Williams' traditional oilskin coats, the Berrimah jodhpurs in stretch moleskin fabric and the equestrian jackets and blouses that call to mind for their cut Victorian style blouses.
The Martin-R.M. Williams connection though is not the only link the blockbuster has with the world of fashion: following the tradition of its founder, Italian house Salvatore Ferragamo, created a wardrobe of shoes for Kidman’s character, such as riding boots and ruched red-velvet sandals. The cases that appear in the film are instead by Prada while jeweller Stefano Canturi created precious gems for the film that will be available only on order at the Canturi boutiques.
I read a few things on the Internet about Australia and the products connected with the film and some of the articles were rather negative. While it’s obvious that money dictates such strategies and collections, it’s also clear that this is not a simple money-making exercise. First of all the R.M. Williams-Martin range and the limited Ferragamo collection, being designed and manufactured by professionals, feature high quality clothes and accessories.
I saw extremely sarcastic comments hinting at product placement on the Italian edition of Marie Claire and I must admit that, though I'm usually rather skeptical about products being placed in films or collections linked to blockbusters as it happened with Sex and The City, I found such comments absolutely unnecessary. You might like or not like these lines, you might think that the idea of “bush couture” is rather far-fetched, but at least the collections were designed and made by professionals and not by some kind of celebrity who suddenly turned fashion designer.
I cringe at the thought of what might have happened if Nicole Kidman would have been left to design her own line of clothes for this film (don't laugh, anything is possible in our times...). Besides, I genuinely think that there are costume designers out there who are perfectly capable of spotting and launching a trend better than many fashion designers. Think about Italian Milena Canonero: I must admit that if she launched a line of clothes I would probably be queuing up to buy it and, if I could not afford it, I would still be queuing up even if it were just to see or touch it.
So, yes, I'm against product placement, but I do approve of Ferragamo releasing a line inspired by the film footwear, after all when Ferragamo himself made shoes for famous Hollywood films or stars such as Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn or Ingrid Bergman, thousands of women coveted them, but in the early days of cinema collaborating with fashion houses, it wasn’t certainly possible to buy what you saw a style icon wearing in a movie.
Will the "bush aesthetics" win the heart of consumers? Naturally not all the pieces of the collections will be successful also because of their prices - there are only 10 Merinda wattle-print silk-chiffon dress and they will set you back $8,000 - but there are quite a few items with enough potential to sell well and even influence future fashion collections. In a way Australia already had an enormous impact on fashion and style even before it came out: a few months ago Nicole Kidman appeared on the cover of Vogue wearing a dress by Catherine Martin and the magazine also featured a photo shoot inspired by the film. So, who knows, maybe by 2009 we will all be sporting an Australia-inspired look, but, if you do opt for such look, remember to avoid wearing the classic Faraway Downs hat at your most formal appointments. After all, the chances of being asked to herd some cows during a formal appointment are very remote.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Comments