In the film titled “Couture”, Alice Winocour unveils the behind the scenes of high fashion. By creating a contrast between the illusion of aesthetic perfection and the fragility of real life. Through the drama of a female director – played by Angelina Jolie – who is struck by a sudden disease the day before a runway show, the film weaves together various stories of women of rare intensity. A deep journey through reality and fiction that shows the more human side behind the illusion of Parisian fashion.
by Domenico Casoria
In the contemporary landscape, the representation of high fashion often tends to be bound by superficial aesthetic. But with “Couture”, French director Alice Winocour decides to explore the Parisian backstage. With the aim of deconstructing the illusion of perfection and describing the vulnerability of bodies.
The illusion of Parisian fashion
The narration revolves around Maxine, an independent horror movies cinematographer who is hired by a famous maison to direct the short film that will open the fashion show. Played by a meticulous Angelina Jolie, the protagonist takes her steps in an environment governed by symmetry, discipline and obsessive attention to details. However, precisely while she is trying to orchestrate the appearances of others, her own existence slips out of her control due to a sudden diagnosis of breast cancer.
And the discovery of reality
The movie avoids the pitfalls of a melodrama strictly focused on the disease, while it concentrates the narration on the exploration of the loss of control on a conceptual and existential level. During one of the most intense sequences, Maxine speaks with Anton, the director of photography – played by Louis Garrell – wandering about who is responsible for what happens to us. A theme that can be considered the key to understanding the whole film. The direction of Alice Winocour focuses on what is left unsaid, on lingering glances and on the jarring contrast between the body in need for medical repair and the perfect bodies destined for the runway. The unexpected event disrupts the script of life. Forcing the protagonist to measure against the insurmountable limit traced between the fiction of the set and biological reality.
A choral format
The narrative structure unfolds in a choral format. Weaving together Maxine’s path and the stories of two other figures that are part of the fashion show’s world. The first of these characters is Ada. A South Sudanese model – played by the debuting Anyier Anei – who is torn between the dynamics of European runways and the pull of her homeland. Then there is the makeup artist Angèle, played by Ella Rumpf. An impatient soul and aspiring writer who observes the circus of the media with bitter clarity. With a strong cast, enriched by the presence of Vincent London – who plays the medical doctor – the movie composes a network of female solidarity capable of connecting distant figures through a shared sense of precariousness.
Sewing as an act
So, the title holds a sophisticated tailoring metaphor. Couture is not only high fashion, but can be considered as the process – which can be more or less lengthy, but is always painful – of healing human wounds. The camera even focuses on the tailors, the workers and the real effort that is behind the fleeting majesty of the show. A transparent and measured reflection on the meaning of the unexpected. On the search for authenticity even in a place where appearances seem to reign supreme.
Photo Pathé Films
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