Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette & Its Masterful Costume Design
Written and Directed by Sofia Coppola with Costume Design by Milena Canonero, 2006’s Marie Antoinette celebrates femininity at its finest.
Well-renowned director Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’ showcases the ridiculously extravagant world of the Queen of France’s reign in the 18th century, highlighted through the exquisite costume design. The luxurious nature of Versailles is captured through Milena Canonero’s Oscar-winning costumes. It is the silks, frills, florals and candy-like fashion that represent the otherworldly opulence of Marie Antoinette. It is the costumes that take the forefront of the film, making it a visual and cinematic spectacle, thus allowing us to delve into the world of Versailles.
The London Times magazine stated that “At the start of pre-production, (Sofia) Coppola handed Canonero a box of pastel coloured macaroons from the Laduree pastry house. “She told me (Canonero), ‘These are the colours I love’, “I used them as a palette”. Canonero’s interpretation of 18th century Versailles highlighted the very reason that the Bastille was stormed — the grand difference between Marie Antoinette’s excessive spendings and the poverty throughout France. The films’ costumes rather reinterpret Marie Antoinette’s world to showcase this exuberant lifestyle.
The supposed phrase “let them eat cake” can be used as a quote to represent the costumes throughout. As previously mentioned, the fashion really is ‘candy-like’, further proven by Coppola’s inspiration from Laduree macarons. Bright, mouth-watering and sorbet-like pinks, champagnes, pastel yellows, tiffany blues and velvety reds feature in both the womens gowns and mens dress. ‘Another Magazine’ calls the fashion in Marie Antoinette ‘a lesson in Saccharine style’. Excessively sweet and overly sugar coated is a way to describe the choices that Canonero makes, having each costume resemble decadent pastries.
Canonero’s costumes still are historically accurate, but are given a fantastical and colourful twist. It is this twist that celebrates femininity well, as it is the women who are focused on and dressed most lavishly. Sofia Coppola’s films are often decorated in femininity. Whether this be in the sets or costuming, Coppola has chosen to exert her womanhood into her projects. I see this as greatly admirable, as the film industry is greatly male-dominated. Where men overpower filmmaking, Coppola’s telling of women’s stories, written, designed and directed by women is a breath of fresh air and wonderful representation. 2006’s ‘Marie Antoinette’ is certainly her most ardently feminine film, capturing the great beauty of historical fashions.
The grand opulence of Canonero’s costumes are too represented in scenes of Marie Antoinette’s visits to the Petit Trianon in Versailles. Historically, Marie Antoinette had the Petit Trianon and Queen’s Hamlet built in Versailles as a means of sympathising with the impoverished French population. By building a less luxurious, yet still bountiful property, it was a way for the Queen to say ‘I am one of you’. However, the houses themselves were rather patronising, as she was only spending more money in an attempt to prove herself as one with the people.
Upon arriving at the Petit Trianon, Antoinette told her dressmaker that she wanted ‘something simple, nature to wear in the garden’. However, of course, this ‘simple’ dress was still extravagant, compared to what the impoverished French would call simple. However much she tries to dress and act like a farm girl, her greedy nature shines through, ironically spending more on herself as a means to appeal to the poverty-stricken public.
In each scenario, the costuming seems to match the scenery, showing the affluence of Versailles. As Marie Antoinette walks through the palace, she is dressed head to toe in champagne silks, flowing organza and decorative ribbons. As she strolls through the gardens, her gowns are patterned with florals and accessorised with a parasol, making her seem at one with nature. Yet, even attempting to ‘understand’ the ‘farm-girl’ life of the destitute French public, she is draped in white lace, intricately designed corsets and colourful silk ribbon. Even when it’s not meant to be, Marie Antoinette’s world cannot help but be lavish, giving us insight into her excessively indulgent spending that led to the end of the French monarchy.
At the 2007 Academy Awards, Marie Antoinette was up against films’ ‘Curse of the Golden Flower’, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, ‘Dreamgirls’ and ‘The Queen’. Amongst these wonderfully accomplished and memorable costume designs, Milena Canonero’s designs won the Oscar. As beautiful as the costume design was in each of the nominees, it is the detail, colour and life in each and every piece in ‘Marie Antoinette’ that sets it above its contenders. Creating spectacular visuals, Canonero succeeds in embodying the grandeur and utter luxury of Versailles.
Yet, it can also be said that, as much as ‘Marie Antoinette’ celebrates femininity, the Academy Awards does not. In the 92 years of the Oscars, only one female filmmaker has won in the category of ‘Best Director’. Yet, as costume design is seen as a stereotypically feminine endeavour, it is represented well in Hollywood. This can be celebrated, even if there is a very long way to go in terms of female filmmakers’ representation at what is known as the most-watched awards event.
Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’ succeeds in illustrating the ostentatious lifestyle of the French monarchy, seen largely through the costuming. Milena Canonero’s costumes, along with Sofia Coppola’s guidance, bring femininity to the foreground in pastels, florals, feathers and silks. As the filmmakers focus on telling a woman’s story, her character is seen in what she wears. 2006’s ‘Marie Antoinette’ is a staple fashion film and it can be said that the visuals overpower the story itself. Coppola and Canonero’s collaboration definitely makes the film one to remember for years to come.
Stars Out Of Five: 4.5/5
