I love your Funny Face Audrey Hepburn

Now as cheesy musicals go , Funny Face (1957) is one of my favourites. It's one of those films that i can watch over and over again and never get tired of it. In all fairness it would have been very difficult to get this film wrong. It stars Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, was directed by Stanley Donen, with costumes by Edith Head and Givenchy. If ever there was a winning formula this is definitely it!

Fred Astaire plays fashion photographer Dick Avery (a character based on Richard Avedon, the film’s “visual consultant”), who is sent out by his female boss Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson) to find a model who is a “new face”. It doesn’t take Dick long to discover Jo (Audrey Hepburn) working in a Greenwich Village bookstore. Dick whisks the wide-eyed girl off to Paris and transforms her into the fashion world’s hottest model. Along the way, Dick has to work overtime to wean her away from such pseudo-intellectuals as Professor Emile Flostre (Michel Auclair). It's such a dreamy plot. In once sense it also has quite a strong modern message and tells women to embrace their natural beauty and not to follow the plastic, perfect crowd. That said you couldn't really say this is a deep and meaningful film, and i don't particularly believe the romance between Hepburn and Astaire.

The thing that catapults this film into success however, is the costume design. This film has everything; Audrey's dowdy look, her beatnik look, the Dior's 'New Look' for the catwalk shows, Kay Thompson's power dressing, disguises and the list goes on.

The high points for me are Audrey's photo shoot in Paris and the black beatnik costume she wears in the bar.

Here are some examples of these costumes-

1) Here are some photos of what Hepburn wears as a model. These costumes are based on the high fashion of the time and are inspired by Dior's 'New Look'. This was such an exciting time for fashion. The war had ended and fabric became more available again. Women were able to start looking feminine again with full skirts and flowing dresses. Everyone of this outfits would have been exciting and modern.  I love how the colour pink seems to be used as a symbol of the shallowness of the fashion world.

2) As i mentioned before, in this film the colour pink is used to symbolise the shallow, extravagent fashion world. This is seen best in the very first scenes in Maggie Prescott's office and through the song 'Think Pink'. I particularly love how Maggie's workers all wear different costumes in the same colour of pink. This shows that they are all 'clones' that cannot think for themselves and follow the current fashion, no matter what. This still happens today. At the moment you can walk down Oxford Street and every other person is wearing a jump suit!

3) This beatnik costume that Audrey wears in Paris is my favourite in the film. It is utterly timeless. You may notice that elsewhere in the film she is wearing black socks, but here she is wearing white. Apparently there was a disagreement with Hepburn and the films choreographer Eugene Loring. Other scenes had already been shot with black socks but Loring insisted she had to wear white for this scene otherwise her dancing wouldn't show up. You needed to be able to see her feet. Audrey later apologised and admited that he had been correct. I have to admit that i think it was a good call, despite messing up continuity, as this scene is absolutely perfect.

4) Here are some scenes from the beginning of the film when Hepburn is still bookish and frumpy. It's interesting to compare Hepburn's shapeless clothes with the highly tailored garments the models wear.

5) Lastly here are a few extra images of the characters clothing whilst they are in Paris.