In every motion picture, clothing holds an aesthetic value. As characters come alive on the silver screen, their costumes often mesmerise the audience with creative and iconic designs. However, they are far from being mere garments and accessories.
The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and School of Creative Media (SCM) of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) invited Professor Stella BRUZZI, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Film at University College London, to deliver a Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture titled “Fashion and the Fiction Film, 1910 - 2020: An Introduction” on 15 Jan 2024. Attended by over 60 students and faculty members, the talk brimmed with insightful perspectives and engaging discussions.
In the opening remarks, Professor Richard M WALKER, Dean of CLASS, extended a warm welcome to the speaker and gave an overview of the inaugural lecture in the Distinguished Visiting Professor series. Professor Richard William ALLEN, Dean of SCM, also delivered opening remarks to outline Prof Bruzzi’s extensive research on fashion in cinema.
Throughout the lecture, Prof Bruzzi demonstrated several case studies from contemporary popular cinema spanning over a century. These examples aimed to reassess established ideas about costume and fashion in cinema. “The study of costume matters because it challenges the conventional notion of how meaning in films and screen media is generated. It’s generally viewed as subservient to the art of storytelling, camera work, editing or acting,” she said.
According to Prof Bruzzi, costume design is more far-reaching than the audience can imagine. The speaker remarked, “Clothing, appearance and fashion are all central to identity creation, sexuality and gender. They are part of what makes us who we are.”
To wrap up the lecture, Professor Dannii YEUNG, Associate Dean (Research) of CLASS, facilitated a Q&A session. Attendees posed thought-provoking questions that delved into the cultural and commercial significance of the topic in today’s world. With Prof Bruzzi’s scholarly inputs, the lecture effectively unravelled the intertwined connection between fashion and film from a fresh perspective.
Photo 1: Professor Richard M Walker, Dean of CLASS, welcomed and introduced the speaker before the talk began. 
Photo 3: Attendees inquired about the commercial and historical implications of fashion in cinema during the Q&A session. 
Photo 2: Professor Dannii Yeung, Associate Dean (Research) of CLASS, invited questions from the floor.
Cover Photo: Professor Stella Bruzzi spelt out the relationship between fashion and film during the Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture.
