Fashion lovers anticipate The Cannes Film Festival each year to witness its guests’ style. The 77th annual Festival this week is special for fashion audiences, though. Saint Laurent Productions showcases three new films costumed and produced by Saint Laurent: Emilia Perez, The Shrouds, and Parthenope.
Saint Laurent is the first fashion house to establish its own film production company, launching Saint Laurent Productions last April. Now, the company has three long featured films competing in the official selection of the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival: Jacques Audiart’s Emilia Perez, David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds, and Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope.
Emilia Perez stars Zoe Zaldaña, Selena Gomez, Edgar Ramirez, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Adriana Paz. The story follows an overqualified and under appreciated lawyer, Rita, who works at a large law firm that prioritizes freeing criminals over seeking justice. Unexpectedly, she receives a way out when a cartel leader hires her to assist him in leaving crime behind and executing his secret plan to become the woman he has long dreamt of becoming.
Saint Laurent Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello is a big fan of Cronenberg, according to Vogue. His film Crash, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, is an obsession of his. He is fittingly among the iconic directors Saint Laurent Productions selected. In Cronenberg’s The Shrouds, a prominent 50-year-old businessman named Karsh has been heartbroken since his wife’s death. His heartache inspired him to invent GraveTech, a groundbreaking and controversial technology that allows people to observe their deceased loved ones in the shrouds. One night, several graves, including Karsh’s wife, are desecrated. Karsh sets out to find those responsible.
A feminine epic, Parthenope tells the journey of Parthenope’s life, from her birth in 1950 till today. It is a film of passion–for Naples, unspoken loves, and freedom. “Life, be it ordinary or memorable, knows how to be very long,” reads the synopsis. Sorrentino’s film evokes the vast range of emotions associated with time. Dario Aita, Celeste Dalla Porta, Silvia Degrandi, and Isabella Ferrari are among the stars.
Despite Saint Laurent costuming the films, the production company is not a commercial endeavor. There will be no product placement or capsule collections inspired by the costume. Instead, this is a passion project for Vaccarello.
He told Vogue, “Film has always been something I was really, really into—I was born in Belgium, not the most exciting country in the world, and so film was a good field to explore to see something that wasn’t my real life… to escape a bit and to dream.”
While this is the first time Saint Laurent has directly produced films, the brand’s relationship with cinema is not unprecedented. Yves Saint Laurent himself designed costumes for Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour (1967) and La Chamade (1968).
The three films are an outlet for Vaccarello to convey the brand’s creativity through a medium other than clothing. This Cannes is a pivotal occasion for the brand, showcasing its extensive talent and vision. Fashion fans look forward to seeing how the critics at Cannes and later audiences receive the three films, as well as what Saint Laurent Productions has in store for future films.
Imagery courtesy of Saint Laurent.
