‘Mrs. Harris goes to Paris costume designer to recreate Dior looks – The Hollywood Reporter

For the new Focus Features movie Mrs. Harris is going to ParisBased on Paul Gallico’s 1958 novel, costume designer Jenny Beavan takes the looks of the legendary Christian Diorwho revolutionized fashion in 1947 with the introduction of his opulent “New Look” silhouette with wasp waist, full skirt and rounded shoulders.

“Oh god, it was a really tough one,” says Beavan, of balancing the portrayal of a compelling story and Dior’s enduringly influential design, which serves as a central plot device in the Anthony Fabian-directed fashion fable.

In 1957 London, inconsolable housekeeper Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) is mesmerized by her aristocratic employer’s floral appliqué Dior dress, “Ravissante.” The glittering pastry serves as a sartorial catalyst for Mrs. Harris, who is still mourning her husband’s disappearance in World War II, to feel love again as she embarks on a Parisian adventure to secure her own Dior.

The dress was supposed to captivate the flower-loving Mrs. Harris, reflect the hauteur of her owner Lady Dant (Anna Chancellor) and, most importantly, “it had to look distinctly like a Dior,” says Beavan, who won. her third Oscar for her fantastic costumes in Cruella† So Beavan interpreted a Haute Couture cocktail dress from the spring-summer of 1949 that evoked the bouquet of the Miss Dior fragrance through an abundance of hand-sewn lily-of-the-valley, rose, lilac and forget-me-not petals. .

Before the film (15 July), Beavan had access to insiders. After Fabian and the producers contacted Dior, the house now owned by LVMH jumped on board and welcomed Beavan to its legendary Héritage archives. “I had a fantastic afternoon in Paris with Madame Soizic Pfaff, the Chief Archivist,” says Beavan. While visiting the temperature-controlled treasure trove of fashion history, she studied Monsieur Dior’s sketches, fabric samples, runway show notes and precious garments.

“To see the real thing is absolutely amazing and to look inside to see exactly how Dior did its little inner corsets and boning,” says Beavan.

To her surprise, she couldn’t rely on the expertise of Dior’s in-house couturiers, but took on the actual and daunting haute couture production process herself. “It takes months to make the clothes, and we had weeks or days, if it did,” says Beavan, who also cites the pandemic challenges of sourcing nearly inordinate amounts of luxury fabric needed for opulent, post-war Dior. . So she gathered her Avengers of costume design (and Dior building experts) to build the Dior recreations from scratch: costume maker Jane Law and Cosprop founder/costume maker John Bright, who shares an Oscar with Beavan for 1985’s A room with a view†

On arrival in Paris, Mrs. Harris essentially crashes Dior’s 10th anniversary runway show in her charming, guileless way. She marvels at the groundbreaking fashion, starting with the ‘Bar’ suit, borrowed for the film from the Dior Héritage collection, along with four mostly black and white pieces. The navy blue and white ‘Porto Rico’ with polka dots, worn by the film’s Dior muse, Natasha (Alba Baptista), is a pristine vintage from Bright’s archives.

Beavan estimates that the team has replicated exactly 16 original looks, from a bridal gown—a couture requirement—to chic daytime dresses and gorgeous evening gowns in gorgeous hues like the ornate aquamarine “Irlande” dress from the movie. †[Dior] was a master of colour,” says Beavan.

Beavan also embraced jewel tones for two additional plot-driven Dior reimagins that made Ms. Harris audibly gasp, including the scarlet “Temptation” dress, which is based on a sequin and velvet embroidered “Diablotine” dress from Fall-Winter 1957. Haute Couture collection.

“I wanted to honor Dior,” Beavan says. “I wanted to make sure it didn’t look like Jenny Beavan’s effort at Dior. I really wanted people to just believe and not worry about it.”

This story first appeared in the July 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.