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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/01/jenny-beavan-hollywood-costume-designer-oscars
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| Hollywood, take note of Jenny Beavan: this ‘bag lady’ is what creativity is all about | Hollywood, take note of Jenny Beavan: this ‘bag lady’ is what creativity is all about |
| (6 months later) | |
| There was a time when proving your good faith as a rebel in Hollywood required serious effort and some real risk-taking. Jane Fonda went to Hanoi, while Kirk Douglas insisted a blacklisted writer got the writing credit on Spartacus. But in these more sensitive and conformist times, you can get away with doing a lot less. Indeed, if the Oscars this week are anything to go by, you can rock all those showbiz squares by turning up and collecting an award in a Marks & Spencer jacket. | There was a time when proving your good faith as a rebel in Hollywood required serious effort and some real risk-taking. Jane Fonda went to Hanoi, while Kirk Douglas insisted a blacklisted writer got the writing credit on Spartacus. But in these more sensitive and conformist times, you can get away with doing a lot less. Indeed, if the Oscars this week are anything to go by, you can rock all those showbiz squares by turning up and collecting an award in a Marks & Spencer jacket. |
| Fresh from being called a “bag lady” by Stephen Fry at the Bafta awards, the costume designer Jenny Beavan was at it again at the Oscars. As she went up to collect her gong, the horror on some faces in the audience suggested they were watching The Exorcist for the first time rather than admiring a well-deserved winner [see footnote]. | Fresh from being called a “bag lady” by Stephen Fry at the Bafta awards, the costume designer Jenny Beavan was at it again at the Oscars. As she went up to collect her gong, the horror on some faces in the audience suggested they were watching The Exorcist for the first time rather than admiring a well-deserved winner [see footnote]. |
| Perhaps this reaction was understandable. Not only was there no leg-flashing or cleavage on display, but she also had the effrontery to be wearing something anyone can buy on the high street. Yes, Hollywood people – civilians out there really are wearing this gear. | Perhaps this reaction was understandable. Not only was there no leg-flashing or cleavage on display, but she also had the effrontery to be wearing something anyone can buy on the high street. Yes, Hollywood people – civilians out there really are wearing this gear. |
| What’s baffling about the reaction to Beavan from some guests is that they work in an industry where sticking to the rules, doing what everyone else does and playing it safe are supposed to be a no-no; where creativity isn’t meant to be a 9-5 job attracting 9-5 people. Traditionally this has been embodied by stars who are “difficult” to work with, or driving fast cars. But if you want someone who can think outside the box and truly shock an audience to its core, Beavan has given us a whole new definition. | What’s baffling about the reaction to Beavan from some guests is that they work in an industry where sticking to the rules, doing what everyone else does and playing it safe are supposed to be a no-no; where creativity isn’t meant to be a 9-5 job attracting 9-5 people. Traditionally this has been embodied by stars who are “difficult” to work with, or driving fast cars. But if you want someone who can think outside the box and truly shock an audience to its core, Beavan has given us a whole new definition. |
| • The following footnote was appended on 3 March 2016: after this article was published, Alejandro González Iñárritu issued a statement pointing out that, while he was not clapping as Jenny Beavan walked down the aisle past him and other guests, he did applaud her as she ascended the stairs to the stage. | • The following footnote was appended on 3 March 2016: after this article was published, Alejandro González Iñárritu issued a statement pointing out that, while he was not clapping as Jenny Beavan walked down the aisle past him and other guests, he did applaud her as she ascended the stairs to the stage. |