When I lived in Texas, there was this muddled discount store called, Factory 2 U. For some random reason, when I hear the word “factory” I think of this messy store full of imitation Barbie dolls and food that has been sitting on the shelf for I don’t know how long. What does this have to do with the movie Factory Girl - I have no idea. But my friend did get a discounted doll of Olga Tanon, a Hispanic singing sensation, to give at a white elephant gift exchange.

So let’s get back to the matter at hand: the fashions of the film. After watching the movie, I am officially intrigued by the iconic Edie Sedgwick and the wickedly strange Andy Warhol. With the fashion tone of the film, I was surprised how the film is following the fashion industry’s current trends - the current trend being ’60s mod of course.

That said, does film dictate fashion trends or does fashion take inspiration from film. Or is it just a whole intertwined fashion frenzy?

” I think film has an influence on fashion,” says “Factory Girl” costumer John Dunn. “There is a strong emotional depiction of the clothing. It evokes emotion. When u breathe life into it, it speaks what the person is about.”

The more I talk to costume designers the more I am interested in how clothing and fashions tell a story. It turns out that my theory of “it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it” is fueling my interest in this world. Take a look at the outfit Sienna Miller is wearing in the picture above (it’s from the movie of course). The skirt is short, but she’s wearing a pair of staple Sedgwick tights. This shows that she likes to be sexy and playful, but she isn’t a total tramp. Her heavy eyemakeup not only epitomizes the mod era, but it accentuates her eyes and it brings out the sincerity in her small - and those Erikson Beamon chandelier earrings - those play off of the simplicity of her basic black look, which shows that she puts thought into what she wears. Vis a vis - she knows how to dress.

Seeing Dunn’s track record in costume design, I was impressed that he works on such great films with such characterized clothing. His fashion touch adds so much flair to characters like Basquiat and Bettie Page. Just take a look at what he did with Sienna Miller for the film:

Resemblance is amazing isn’t it? If it weren’t for the obvious recognizable qualities, you wouldn’t really be able to tell them a part…and whoa - how beautiful is Sienna? You can put her in an acid wash bubble skirt and an off-the-shoulder Hypercolor t-shirt and she would still look good. In case you didn’t know, the bottom pic is the real Edie.

In addition to Sienna, he paid homage to Andy Warhol via a waify Guy Pearce and he even made sure Hayden Christensen looked the part of the unnamed “rockstar” - and in fact, his name is never mentioned in the film. He’s credited as “the musician” or something like that.

Now, if you do some research on Edie, it is rumored that she canoodled with another legendary pop culture figure by the name of Bob Dylan. Is Anakin (aka Christensen) supposed to be Dylan? Well, that’s for the audience to figure out - but it’s quite obvious.

But he isn’t all about making Xerox copies out of bohemian Gods and Godesses in pop culture for movies. Sure, he does an excellent job at this, but he maintains a distinct voice in how he dresses the characters:

“It’s very satisfying to do pieces where the people are interesting individuals,” says Dunn.

Speaking of Dylan, I am excited to see what he does with his next project, I’m Not There - a unique take on the “rockstar.” The film tells the story of Bob Dylan through seven different characters playing the role Christensen tried to play. The list includes Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere and even Cate Blanchett.

If he amplifies Blanchett’s performance as Bob Dylan with some believable costuming, Dunn, in my book, would be considered the best costume designer of all time.

But we’ll just have to wait and see…

Bottom line - Dunn is the arthouse movie “it” costume designer. He does wonders with details. Sure, his costumes aren’t elaborate superhero garb or gowns that you would wear at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry Prom, but they are actual garments that people would wear. He takes everyday fashion and gives them personality. He helps transform these true-to-life individuals with his simple, yet stylish costuming - and he is damn good at it too.