Freud + Malkovich = fashion success
| Designer using
film medium to promote her styles Date: July 20, 2000 by: Stacey Wilkins Source: cnn.com (CNN) -- Who says fashion designers need fashion shows to compete in today's marketplace? They never asked Bella Freud. All she needs is film, and a little help from acclaimed American actor John Malkovich. Freud, who is the great-granddaughter of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, has chosen the psychology of celluloid to sell her most recent lines. Her film, titled "Lady Behave," displayed her spring-summer 2000 wares for buyers at New York's Fashion Week. The 16-minute short is directed by Malkovich, who is a fan of Freud's styles. "'Lady Behave' is the story of a girl who lives in such a disgraceful, unkempt way," says Freud. "She is such a pig that her boyfriend finally says, 'I can't put up with this anymore.'" So he sends her to an etiquette school matching the title of the film. Supermodels Laura Bailey, Jodie Kidd and Devon Aoki star in the flick, which pokes fun at snobbery in the world of high fashion. Wave of the future?"Lady Behave" follows the first Freud-Malkovich collaboration. "Strap-Hanging," a 10-minute film, showcased Freud's fall-winter 1999 line in New York. It's the story of a Japanese man who is obsessed with the possibility of a tidal wave crashing over his homeland, so he invents a pair of underpants that inflate into a life raft. Film -- no matter how quirky the plot line -- is a better medium for displaying her work, Freud says. "You get more of a feeling of how it would be to wear (the clothes)," she says. 'I like it'Malkovich, meantime, seems to enjoy the foray into fashion, a place where he has dabbled before. "I like it," Malkovich told the Chicago Tribune last year. "It's not something I take incredibly seriously." But Freud does, and she might be on the wave of something new: Her work has garnered a cult-like following in Europe, particularly in London, where she's based. And now, independent retailers are introducing her creations to shoppers in the United States. Styles like her signature dog sweater are what make Freud stand out. It's a style that has been labeled "upmarket irreverent." 'Having a famous name ...'Ironically, the medium that is making Freud so renowned was not her first choice. Eager to show her lines for the first time in New York, she discovered the city's Fashion Week calendar was full, so a desperate Freud turned to film. The last name is another selling point, Freud acknowledged. Along with her great-grandfather, she is the daughter of painter Lucian Freud; her sister, Esther, is the author of "Hideous Kinky," which was turned into a 1998 movie starring Kate Winslet; her brother, Clement, is a noted commentator and journalist; and her husband, James Fox, is the author of the book "White Mischief." But Freud, 38, says the family success has only taken her so far. "Having a famous name is only helpful in that you get more attention very quickly, initially," she says. "I have to prove myself with what I do, so it becomes quite beside the point very, very quickly."
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