While burgling a Parisian apartment, a small-time thief discovers the torture chamber of a professional dominatrix. So begins Barbet Schroeder’s 1975 film starring Gérard Depardieu and Bulle Ogier, which soon descends into a subterranean world of sadomasochism and deprivation. Karl Lagerfeld, then at the helm of Chloé, was on hand to design Ogier’s provocative costumes. By day she wears louche loungewear, while late nights call for leather trousers, elbow-length gloves, a purple cape, a blunt black wig and powder-blue eyeshadow.
Giorgio Armani in American Gigolo
Photo: © Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection
The image of Richard Gere smoking in a belted camel coat in American Gigolo has come to define Giorgio Armani’s polished aesthetic. When the Italian designer was tapped to create power suits for Paul Schrader’s 1980 drama about male escort Julian Kaye, he was still in the early stages of his career. Kaye’s impeccable tailoring caught the eye of the fashion industry and launched Armani’s career. It also sparked the designer’s lifelong love affair with the silver screen. Since then he has dressed the cast of The Untouchables, Christian Bale in The Dark Knight, Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street.
Azzedine Alaïa in A View to a Kill
Photo: © United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection
