Reel fashion: the power of film and how we are all a bit starstruck when it comes to what we wear

From Diane Keaton’s tomboy aesthetic in 1977’s Annie Hall to Ali MacGraw’s preppy wardrobe in Love Story, we often turn to film for style advice.

But Thatcher? She was famous for many things, but a keen sense of style was not one of them. And yet, when The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, was released earlier this month the fashion world went mad for all things Maggie.

Fashion bible Harper’s Bazaar recently ran a spread starring teenage model Georgia May Jagger as Mrs Thatcher while Launer, the company who manufacture her famous handbags, reported a sales increase of 59 per cent when the film was released. Even high street chains have got in on the act, with budget retailer Peacocks offering a range of pussy bow blouses and structured blue jackets to help shoppers “get the Margaret Thatcher look”.

This week it’s the turn of another woman – no less infamous, but certainly rather more stylish – to influence our wardrobes via the big screen. W.E., the Madonna-directed biopic of Wallis Simpson is released on Friday and fashion folk have been buzzing for months about her distinctive style.

While the film itself has received mixed reviews, the high street has responded enthusiastically to its sumptuous 1930s costumes. The appropriately-named high street chain Wallis has released a number of pieces inspired by the Duchess of Windsor, including a navy rib ponte dress, a fitted jacket and a navy blazer.

“Such is the power and global reach of the big screen that if a film is a predicted blockbuster it is inevitable that some designers will join the spirit of the moment and present their own interpretations,” says Mary McGowne, the founder of the Scottish Style Awards. “Time and again we have seen how a film or television series with a strong style aesthetic goes on to bear influence on people’s everyday dress sense through the designers, retailers and other consumer lifestyle brands who pick up on the trend.”

“When there is an inescapable and ongoing phenomenon on our screens – like Mad Men for example – the influence is evident. When it exploded on to our screens a raft of designers, most notably Prada, presented their own catwalk interpretations which in turn filtered on to the high street. And the look is still going strong as the SS12 collections of Prada, Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler prove.”

When it comes to style, Mad Men – set in the advertising world of 1960s Madison Avenue – has been one of the most influential television programmes of recent years, with countless designers and high- street brands emulating the programme’s impeccable costumes in their collections.

Banana Republic recently launched a Mad Men collection, while Brooks Brothers has created costumes for the programme with Mad Men’s costume designer Janie Bryant since the first season was shown in 2007, and customers can buy into the look with their Mad Men Edition suit.

“Menswear was becoming much less dressy over the past few years until the Mad Men craze fuelled an interest in a mid-century style of dressing,” says Glen Hoffs, the fashion director at Brooks Brothers. “Within that trend, the root of traditional American tailoring is clearly evident, and suiting has once again become a staple in men’s wardrobes. Younger men, in particular, have been quick to emulate this style with slim-fit suits, shirts and narrower ties.”

When it comes to style on the big screen, the biggest story of 2012 is set to be The Great Gatsby. Scheduled for release at the end of this year, Baz Luhrmann’s sumptuous adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic 1925 novel has already caused a stir among designers.

Etro, Gucci and Ralph Lauren all featured Gatsby-inspired ensembles in their SS12 collections. The latter – which has designed costumes for the film’s stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan – opted for the look head to toe in many cases.

On the small screen, Downton Abbey continues to wield influence. The Edwardian clothes in the first series spawned many a ‘get-the-look’ feature in fashion magazines, while the more austere pieces in the First World War-set second series have caused just as much fuss. The First World War is set to continue to influence our wardrobes this month, with a very stylish two-part adaptation of Sebastian Faulkes’ Birdsong being shown on BBC1 starting this Sunday.

Fashion is cyclical, of course, and famously fickle. It was all waspish waists and bullet bras last year when My Week with Marilyn was released, and even James Cameron’s blue-tinged blockbuster, Avatar, influenced catwalks in 2009, with Jean Paul Gaultier referencing it in his couture collection, and US Vogue putting together a ten-page tribute to the film.

As inspiring as they may be, however, do these films actually influence our sartorial choices when it comes to parting with our cash? Surprisingly, they always have done. Sales of white T-shirts soared after James Dean wore one in Rebel Without a Cause in 1955.

Pulp Fiction did the same for masculine white shirts for women after Uma Thurman donned one to play Mia Wallace. Indeed, the Chanel Rouge Noir lipstick she also wore was a sell-out for 12 months after the film’s release in 1994. After Katherine Hepburn wore trousers in Bringing up Baby, sales of trousers for women grew four-fold between 1944-45 and in high fashion, Ralph Lauren has shown safari looks ever since Out of Africa was released in 1985, so popular does the aesthetic remain.

The history of retailers responding to style on the big screen goes back as early as 1932 when stores made reproductions of the bold-shouldered dress worn by Joan Crawford in Letty Lynton. Today, replicas of the wedding dress worn by Kristen Stewart in last year’s Twilight: Breaking Dawn were released just days after the film’s release. And who could forget the Sex and the City effect? Having a product featured in one of the two blockbuster films made for a guaranteed best-seller for designers, who clamoured to dress the film’s four stars. After all, these were the women who made shoe designer Manolo Blahnik a household name via the television series, and set trends for everything from oversized corsages to nameplate necklaces.

Our obsession with style on screen might go some way towards explaining how retailers have recently managed to re-package Margaret Thatcher as a style maven. “If you went to see The Iron Lady at the cinema this weekend,” began a recent piece on Vogue.com, “you’re more than likely to have come back with a renewed want for all things ladylike”.

The same publication says that Thatcher was “not necessarily considered a fashion icon during her time at 10 Downing Street.” It’s funny, then, that she’s considered one now. That’s the power, it seems, of fashion on film.