Happy birthday Wes Anderson: Five ways in which the auteur influenced the world of fashion

Prattusa Mallik

The Prada partnership

Both Wes Anderson and Miuccia Prada are enamoured with the eccentric style of yesteryear. Wes created a series of short films for the brand and even designed a cafe called Bar Luce in Milan. The fusion of fashion and cinema proved that a director’s visual vocabulary can be used to market a lifestyle.

Rise of the geek-chic

When Alessandro Michele was appointed as Gucci’s new creative director, the runway became reminiscent of the reunion of the Tenenbaums family. Wes is responsible for creating a decade-long geek-chic fashion by designing berets, large glasses and vintage clothes that were put together.

Narrative uniforms

Wes defines a person’s whole personality by means of what he wears. This is from Margot’s fur coat to Chas’ tracksuit; such ‘uniforms’ caused the phenomenon of obsession for fashion in real life. Wes showed everyone how a person needs only one unique style of clothing to make an impression.

The pastel palette

Before the arrival of Millennial Pink, Wes had already started building his entire worlds through his candy-colour tones. His film The Grand Budapest Hotel made an impact on the palette of the season as well as interior design due to its pink and blue tones.

Cult accessories

Items from his movies that were once merely props have been converted into status symbols and luxury products. This ranges from the specially made Louis Vuitton suitcases from The Darjeeling Limited to the Team Zissou Adidas sneakers. Wes makes desirable objects. These items indicate that Wes’ world-making for movies has become successful product design.

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