PARIS – Forget Charli XCX: This year’s summer style icon could be Jean Seberg.
Thanks to two films, the American actress with the Pixie haircut is back in the spotlight: Richard Linklater “Nouvelle Vague”, which premiere at the Cannes Film Janes, and “Bonjour Tristesse”, a new adaptation by the French author Françoise Sagans, Sama-Cominal Cominal novel.
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While Zoey Deutch Sebeberg plays the birth of the French New Wave Cinema in Linklaters Black and White, the emerging actress Lily Mcinerny repeats one of the most famous roles from Seberg in the remake of “Bonjour Tristessese”, which marks the feature film debut of Canadian Writer and Derega Chew-Bose.
Seberg, who died in 1979 at the age of 40, played the main character Cécile in Otto Preminger’s adaptation of the book from 1958 – a stylish affair with clothes from Givenchy, Jewels by Cartier and Accessories from Hermès.
Mcinerny said she only saw the original film after shooting. “It was a deliberate decision so that not even unconsciously try to imitate her incredible creation of Cécile,” she said in an interview about WWD.
“Our films differ in many ways. Durga is really a writer in her own world. She works with the original text of the novel. She herself is very deliberately tried to build something that touched Preminger, so we are both big fans of the film and appreciate it very differently, but they are very different in her styles,” she said.
When Sebeberg saw the conspiracy navigated, which records the destructive behavior of a free-spiritual 17-year-old and her Playboy father, the 26-year-old actress turned out intensively.
“I felt very emotional and felt very connected and felt very close to Jean Seberg at that moment, and it was almost like I was a distant relative or a friend I knew, or a strange dream of myself,” thought Mcinerny. “To have this connection with someone who is as bright and untouchable as Jean Seberg, it was so cool.”
For the costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, the project was an excuse to enjoy her passion for time films and vintage fashion that influenced the overall marriage of the film.
“I collect” 30s, 1940s, “50s”, only in general. I have an archive of everything, “said Bellizzi, who at the same time worked on” Marty Supreme “for the costumes of the 1950s, which she designed for the stars Timothée Chalamet and Gwynethspate, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The joy of a fashionistas
“From the beginning, Durga and I always talked about how we miss the beauty of old films and how in many classic films the way the costume design approached was different than now,” said Bellizzi, quoting the work of the legendary costume designers like Adrian and Edith Head.
“I mourn with films that have a good taste in clothing. It is one of my biggest pet peeves in contemporary films,” she added. “I really wanted to present that, you know, bring it back.”
The fact that one of the main characters in “Bonjour Tristesse” is a fashion designer was the icing on the cake. Chloë Sevigny plays Anne, whose arrival in the family’s holiday villa on the French Riviera starts a fatal cycle of jealousy and retaliation.
Bellizzi, known for her work on films such as “Good Time” and “Uncut Gems”, enjoyed changing the register. “Most of my films are very male, and this is the first time that I had three women and it is so fashionable,” she said about working with Mcinerny, Sevigny and Nailia Harzoune, the Father’s girlfriend.
The film is infused with a strong design sensitivity and is the joy of a fashionista because it indulges in obscure references and not the lively resort paths, which is often the standard wardrobe option for films and series against a Mediterranean background.
“We could make the ‘White Lotus’ from the south of France,” said Bellizzi and added that the idea was rejected in favor of something more timeless. “I wanted it to be super classic.”
She used Renaissance Renaissance, the Lebanese label founded by Cynthia Merhej, which has reached the semi-finals of the LVMH Prize twice, as a replacement for Anne’s fashion label. Sevigny is wearing several looks of the brand, in addition to Vintage Yohji Yamamoto and Jean Paul Gaultier and Accessories by Sophie Buuhai.
Merhej also designed an important look for Mcinerny: a 50s-pouf dress that symbolizes the transition from Cécile from the Wildfang to Ingue. But many of their clothes in the film are authentic vintage: Bellizzi and Mcinerny have an early start to the cloakroom preparation by searching through in New York City Second hand shops.
“She lives down the street from me, so I would:” Hey, let’s go shopping, “said Bellizzi.” She is so small that all the largest and coolest vintage pieces fit her like a glove. “
This includes a yellow swimsuit that was on the allusion made by Seberg in the original film. Mcinerny spends a large part of her time on the screen in swimsuits and bikinis, but said she doesn’t feel confident.
“It was never a hesitation for me,” she said. “When I was able to move out of the film, I said:” Was I covered up too? “Because we are on the beaches of France, it is quite common to be up without being.”
A Seberg homage
Part of her self-confidence came from the fact that she knew cheese bose since childhood. Part of it was to know that Bellizzi had her back.
“Miyako prioritizes the comfort and trust of an actor in the clothes in which she dresses her. In terms of our performance, it is very long,” she said, adding that it is important to give up personal hanging.
“If you understand your character thoroughly, you will also understand what you feel confident and what you feel attractive, and that can differ from what you would do yourself [wear] In your daily life, ”she added.
Mcinerny has built up a close relationship with Celine on the red carpet since she gave her big screen debut in the indie drama “Palm Trees and Power Lines” in 2022. She worked with the French brand on her look for the premiere of “Bonjour Tristesse” at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“I came to you with a picture from Jean Seberg’s original Preminger film in this classic black party dress. It was one of my favorite costumes from the original film,” she recalled.
“Something that specializes for me would be a dream, let alone something that is so intimate and closely linked to this project that is so nice to me, and in a few weeks they came back with this beautiful sketch of the dress, which I ultimately made for our debut,” said Mcinerny.
She noticed that Zouzou, the last fragrance of creative director Hedi Slimane for Celine, was charged as a tribute to Sagan and Seberg.
“It felt very organic and sensible to know that everyone behind the scenes and beyond was so passionate about the story we step into,” said the actress. “This is our greatest hope that it will put them in an era of style and film that is sometimes overlooked today.”
Start gallery: Like “Bonjour Tristesse” Jean Seberg’s permanent steelspiration for the summer of 2025 channeled
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