‘The sight of a woman stimulates pleasure, her appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact’ (McCabe, 2004: 30)

Stills from Gilda (1946) Starring Rita Hayworth

YouTube - Rita Hayworth - Gilda's First Appearance

YouTube - Rita Hayworth - Gilda's First Appearance

Forties Film Noir Theme at Christian Dior Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection

The practical element will assist with the exploration of these themes through my visual interpretation of the femme fatale. Supported by my theoretical work her portrayal will take three interwoven yet distinctive forms. These will see the femme fatale as a classic symbol of old Hollywood, a character of representation and finally as a postmodern icon.

‘The femme fatale is the one who ruins the male character by seducing him… Film Noir is visually obsessed with this spider woman at the same time as its narrative is preoccupied with punishing her.’ (Jerslev, 2004: 159)

Inspiration for Shoot 1:

'Imaginary'...

My chosen themes will be discussed using examples of key film from director David Lynch. I find the work of David Lynch of particular interest and relevance to my subject area as his films are often centred on the femme fatale and themes of lust, seemingly in homage to the film noir of the 1940s. Distinct in their surrealism his complex themes are unforgiving and demanding of the viewer. The crushing postmodern aspect of his filmmaking presents the viewer with a strong style of imagery and sound unique to the dark fantasy world of his filmmaking.

Through my theoretical and practical work I will uncover ways in which the femme fatale style is understood and read by society. I will achieve this by taking on an aesthetic view point and examining the way in which Lynch constructs his femme fatale through her visual codes such as clothing, hair and make-up. The femme fatale is recognised traditionally for her ‘highly coded glamour and an armoury of visual iconography arranged to signal sex and define her as a sexual presence’ (Kaplan, 2007: 172).

The focus of my final independent project will be postmodern film noir, or ‘postmodern-noir’, and within this I will examine the contemporary femme fatale construct. This will be in terms of her costume and styling as well as the narrative structures which surround her. The practical element will take the form of three photo shoots which will consider a full exploration of the synergy between film and the world of fashion. My intention is to bring a fresh perspective and present an analysis of the fashioning and significance of the femme fatale within postmodern-noir.

Postmodern-Noir and the Femme Fatale: Fashion and Representations in Film

The purpose of my final independent project will be to investigate the fashioning of women in contemporary cinema, both through costume and narrative structures. Using the medium of film my focus will be on postmodern permutations of film noir and within this I will look at contemporary representations of film noirs classic icon - the femme fatale. My examples will be taken from the work of David Lynch; these will be Lost Highway (1997) and Mulholland Drive (2001: Pictured). My aim is to produce a conceptual, fluid body of theoretical and practical work which explores in some depth my chosen area of investigation.