Kubrick's gaze and its influence on fashion

Feb 5, 2024

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The influence and genius of Stanley Kubrick in cinematography are undeniable. Spielberg, Wes Anderson, Ridley Scott, the Coen brothers, Christopher Nolan, David Lynch, Guillermo Del Toro, and countless others have been influenced by the director. The BAFTA award for lifetime achievement is even named after Kubrick, a testament to the reverence that the film industry has for him in the country he called home for much of his life.

Kubrick's colleagues and those who followed in his footsteps frequently cite his unparalleled storytelling ability, his meticulous narrative style, and the way he worked on set. But it is the aesthetic of his films that is most often mentioned as the source of his influence on cinema.

The camerawork, framing, composition, and symmetry stand out as the most brilliant elements of his work. One of Kubrick's most characteristic techniques is the so-called "on point perspective" - a framing that directs the viewer's gaze to a specific point in the scene. We observe this same technique in Wes Anderson's photography.

The central point of Kubrick's unique aesthetic lies in his appreciation for framing and symmetry, which stems from his obsession with photography.

The beginning of his career

Born in 1928 and raised in the Bronx, Kubrick started taking photographs in early adolescence. From then on, photography occupied much of his time, and in 1946, he became an apprentice photographer for LOOK magazine, before becoming the official staff photographer. In the late 1940s, Kubrick became obsessed with film and, in 1951, began producing short documentary films, movies he could make on a tight budget.

Kubrick's filmography encompasses everything from World War I, the Vietnam War, fictional futurism to period dramas set in the 1800s and psychological horror films, with his most significant works being completed between 1964 and 1999.

From the beginning of Kubrick's filmmaking career, costumes and design in general were used to frame the audience's perception of the characters, a supportive medium to promote the narrative of the story.

2001: A Space Odyssey

It was truly with 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) that the director's film style became undeniably important. It is no coincidence that 2001 is also regarded as his most aesthetically pleasing film, thanks to the photographic symmetry and the use of color, but also to the aesthetics and proportion present in his sets. The inherent futurism of the composition and its settings played a crucial role in the film's revolutionary photography, as science fiction presents challenges: we do not know what the future will be like, so how can we create something that feels timelessly futuristic?

The film uses architectural modernism as a starting point to imagine a plausible future. Still, it also equips its universe with furniture and details specially created to give these rooms a lived-in sense. Kubrick was heavily involved in production and set design, selecting significant pieces of furniture, contemporary actors, and costumes. The bright red Djinn chairs created by Olivier Mourgue, prominently displayed in the Hilton Space Station, are the film's most notable furniture pieces. The pedestal tables by Eero Saarinen from 1956 are another well-known example of "modernist" design.

The truth is that Kubrick would end up predicting much of the technology we know today. As time passed and humanity actually reached the stars and traveled through space, it became almost chilling how accurate Kubrick and his team's depictions of the future were - highlighting that this is a film from 1968. Despite the extensive research conducted for the film '2001' and the countless hours of discussion the director had with experts in all related scientific fields, it still seemed that the filmmaker had a supernatural ability to foresee the future. In light of recent advances and concerns regarding artificial intelligence, Kubrick's predictions are even more precise.

In the film's making-of book, filled with unseen images, the central tension of the film's design stands out: even as Kubrick and his team, including cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and production designer John Hoesli, were creating a fictional future set in space, NASA was racing to put a man on the moon. The sets and props in 2001: A Space Odyssey had to dramatically surpass the emerging technology so that NASA, during space filming, didn't make Kubrick's vision look outdated or entirely incorrect.

The solution was to hire astronomical artists, aerospace engineers, and former NASA employees who provided consulting on spacecraft designs, control panels, display systems, communication devices, and much more. This close consultation not only created a sense of scientific accuracy but also produced a series of visionary predictions about humanity's future technologies, all based on real possibilities.

Kubrick worked with Hardy Amies, the legendary Savile Row tailor, to create outfits that were innovative yet rooted in classic tailoring. The result was modern clothing, uncomplicated space suits, and simple uniforms for astronauts. 2001 serves as yet another reminder that Kubrick viewed clothing as another means to promote his narrative and cinematography. To this day, the film has a strong influence on fashion: this is a movie that Raf Simons continues to discuss in interviews.

Released in 1968, the year of student turmoil in Paris and the Beatles' "White Album," Kubrick would use 2001 to play with elements of the avant-garde, pushing the mainstream.

More than half of its nearly three-hour duration is free of dialogue. Historical themes also permeate, from Renaissance interiors, looking toward the future through illuminated floors, to a soundtrack that combines The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II with compositions by György Ligeti. Simply put, Kubrick was masterful at grouping elements together in a way that had never been considered before.

And, certainly, there are more subtle ways in which Kubrick shaped fashion and more apparent tributes to come. One example is a collection by Undercover based on The Shining, just over 40 years after the film's original release. As a filmmaker, his films and fashion have a symbiotic relationship. Throughout his films, Kubrick and his series of costume designers used clothing as a means to achieve an end: to add depth, symbolism, and nuance to the overall narrative. And due to Kubrick's attention to detail, innovative approach, narrative, and the aesthetic sensibility that dominated much of his work, his films have become cultural touchstones. Fashion does not exist in a vacuum and, therefore, has taken notice of Kubrick's work, commenting on it. So, no matter how you look at it, clothing and Kubrick are inherently linked. For decades, Kubrick has been a source of admiration and inspiration for the fashion industry, from punk-minded streetwear brands to couturiers.

UNDERCOVER SS18

With this aesthetic sensibility and obsession with details, it is no surprise that his influence intertwines with the world of fashion, from inspirations for elaborate costumes for his characters to posthumous tributes from contemporary brands.

Tributes to Kubrick and the director as inspiration

His work, considered timeless, is used as a reference point for fashion collections, set designs, and soundtracks of runway shows as well. Below, we list some key moments when fashion paid homage to Kubrick.