Fashioning Spanish Cinema: Costume, Identity, and Stardom (Toronto Iberic)

Review "Fashioning Spanish Cinema enriches the Spanish canon by adding an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of contemporary Spanish film production. Jorge Pérez offers an intelligent and well-informed critical approach to gender studies by analysing the impact that film costumes and film costume design have on both social change and the construction of gender identities. The book presents a well-theorized and innovative aspect of Iberian culture grounded in the knowledge of relevant scholarship on film, celebrity studies, and design studies, as well as feminist theory and gender studies. This is a significant contribution which will be of interest to graduate students and scholars of contemporary Spain." -- Cristina Moreiras-Menor, Professor of Spanish and Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Michigan"With its broad cultural scope and detailed analyses, at once wide-ranging and penetrating, fact-filled and engaging, Fashioning Spanish Cinema balances contextual exploration of fashion trends with close examinations of specific visual styles and film narratives. This book takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the connections between garments and issues of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, and nationhood, thus revealing the role clothing plays in the articulation of identity. Jorge Pérez is a brilliant writer who continues to add compelling new dimensions to the scholarship on Spanish cinema. This book establishes him as one of the most original thinkers in the field of film studies." -- Barbara Zecchi, Professor of Cinema & Iberian Studies, Director of the Interdepartmental Program in Film Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst Product Description Costume design is a crucial, but frequently overlooked, aspect of film that fosters an appreciation of the diverse ways in which film and fashion enrich each other. These influential industries offer representations of ideas, values, and beliefs that shape and construct cultural identities. In Fashioning Spanish Cinema, Jorge Pérez analyses the use of clothing and fashion as costumes within Spanish cinema, paying particular attention to the significance of those costumes in relation to the visual styles and the narratives of the films. The author examines the links between costume analysis and other fields and theoretical frameworks such as fashion studies, the history of dress, celebrity studies, and gender and feminist studies.Fashioning Spanish Cinema looks at instances in which costumes are essential to shaping the public image of stars, such as Conchita Montenegro, Sara Montiel, Victoria Abril, and Penélope Cruz. Focusing on examples in which costumes have discursive autonomy, it explores how costumes engage with broader issues of identity and, relatedly, how costumes impact everyday practices and fashion trends beyond cinema. Drawing on case studies from multiple periods, films by contemporary directors and genres, and red-carpet events such as the Oscars and Goya Awards, Fashioning Spanish Cinema contributes a pivotal Spanish perspective to expanding interdisciplinary work on the intersections between film and fashion. About the Author Jorge Pérez is Peter T. Flawn Centennial Professor of Spanish at the University of Texas at Austin.