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Significant Outfits:Almodóvar Wears Chanel Jorge Pérez High fashion has consistently made an appearance in the films of Pedro Almodóvar, and seldom at the mercy of narrative or characterization. In an insightful study focusing on his early films, Gerard Dapena writes that he is "the most fashion-conscious European director of his generation," since fashion has played a "meaningful part in both the look of his films and the construction of Almodóvar's public persona" (495). Repeatedly employed by Almodóvar to make what Stella Bruzzi calls "spectacular interventions," couture garments play a disruptive role in "the scenes in which they appear and impose themselves onto the character they adorn" (Undressing xv). Jean Paul Gautier's collaborations with Almodóvar have been duly analyzed (Bruzzi, Undressing 10–13; Dapena, 515–17; D'Lugo, Pedro 82–84; Smith, Vision 37–55). Less critical attention has been paid to the products of the House of Chanel, even though it is the couture brand that the "chicas Almodóvar" most frequently wear. Except for Dapena's substantial comments about Tacones lejanos (511–15), the Chanel-Almodóvar collaboration has been mentioned only in passing, and usually to point out the costumes' ancillary role in underscoring the characters' social status, as Mark Allinson writes about Tacones (181). The purpose of this article is precisely to examine the compelling presence of Chanel outfits in three of Almodóvar's films, Tacones lejanos (1991), Todo sobre mi madre (1999), and Los abrazos rotos (2009). Interestingly, he works with a different figurinista in each of these films (José María de Cossío, Sabine Daigeler, and Sonia Grande), so this is not simply evidence of a particular costume designer's predilection [End Page 336] for the Chanel brand. Given that the Chanel clothes and accessories periodically appear in Almodóvar's films, I believe they merit more than a quick appraisal as a status symbol. That explanation is unsatisfactory because it reduces the work of one of the most groundbreaking designers of the twentieth century to its material value, detached from any aesthetic quality. A close reading of the scenes in which Chanel couture makes a spectacular intervention in the narrative enhances our understanding of the films' unique visual styles and ethical implications. Additionally, this article argues that it is more fruitful to think of the Chanel-Almodóvar connection not as a one-way street—only in terms of what Chanel garments bring to the Almodóvar's films—but rather as a mutually enriching collaboration in which both branded products infuse each other with meaning. My point here is that the Chanel outfits take on a unique significance in the specific context of each film, and appreciating them via Almodóvar's cinematic universe stimulates original nuances in their sartorial vernacular. Cinema influences fashion too. Unexpected Affinities The comparison between Chanel and Almodóvar is both preposterous and fitting. At first glance, it might be hard to find a more far-fetched analogy between artists. Chanel represents the triumph of functional simplicity, while Almodóvar has been discussed as a paradigm of a contemporary neobaroque aesthetic that is keen on visual and narrative artifice and exaggeration (Egginton 107–126; Varderi). Chanel exudes classic, ageless elegance; Almodóvar made a name for himself by embodying and presenting iconoclast modernity. A long list of traits makes their artistic approach seem mutually exclusive. And yet, strikingly similar aspects of their respective career paths make them ripe for comparative inquiry. Both are lauded as trendsetters whose influence exceeds the contours of their corresponding trajectories. Chanel is credited with the liberation of women's fashion and with creating design strategies that were endlessly copied. Similarly, Marvin D'Lugo and Kathleen Vernon consider Almodóvar alongside a select group of auteurs such as Hitchcock, Chaplin, and Buñuel who might be categorized as "matrix figures" of cinema. With that term, they are referring to Almodóvar's authorial status as a director with a recognizable visual style that other filmmakers have tried to copy ("Introduction" 4). [End Page 337] This reputation as originators of trends goes in tandem with what is probably the single most important similarity...
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