ALL THAT GLITTERS: EIKO ISHIOKA

This has been a month of catching up on movies I didn't have time to see in the cinema, and this week was a Snow White extravaganza of back-to-back Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman. Not even the luscious Chris Hemsworth (of Thor fame) could save Snow White and the Huntsman for me, but Mirror Mirror on the other hand, was genius.

Throughout,  the uber-bling costumes and set design gave me the sneaky suspicion I was watching a Hollywood take on a Bollywood film, and the film just let rip at the end with a mad Bollywood-styled musical number sung by Snow White herself (played by Lily Collins, daughter of Phil). The lush set design is the work of Eiko Ishioka, a Japanese designer, who has collaborated with Mirror Mirror director Indian-American Tarsem Singh, on visually delicious films like The Cell.

What I love about the Mirror Mirror set design is that the Indian detail is a subtle influence, like the red peacock dress that Julia Roberts wears, and, as my sister's eagle eye spotted, the peacock feather detailing on the palace wall.
























Ishioka herself died earlier this year, just before Mirror Mirror was released, but what a legacy she's left behind.

Here's J-Lo in the surreally genius The Cell:

 Bram Stoker's Dracula                                           Grace Jones

BE A STAR

When I'm bored (by which I mean, when I'm on deadline), I like to try and work out the plot of old Bollywood movies just from the poster. This one is making me lose my grip on sanity. Why is there a tiny midget yanking on a bell? Why is that dude's face green? And why is sour-puss getting a pink rose? Send me your best caption and I'll send you a prize!

 




































These posters aren't the most subtle, but they're brilliant because they each radiate personality (even if that personality is one that you would cross the street to avoid). Just as the distinctive glamour of old Hollywood (the sexy sizzle of Marilyn and the gamine quirkiness of Audrey) has been replaced by a homogenous army of stick-thin chicks with trout pouts, new Bollywood is populated by an identikit array of girls and boys with vaguely Western features and a 'wheatish complexion' (read an Indian matrimonial advert to know what that means).

The hand-painted posters and billboards of vintage Bollywood are as unique as its film stars were, and the images are now cherished for their kitschy cool. Indian graphics company Indian Hippy makes goodies like bags and pillows with the images on, but they've gone one better. They'll put your face on a vintage poster, and bob's your uncle, you're a Bollywood star!
 
You could, for instance, take a picture of you and your lover in a cab, slightly mashed, on the way home from a party (just guesswork here from looking at the photo), and transform yourselves into star-crossed lovers from the Moghul era:

Or what about a Bollywood-style memento of a wedding?

Personally, I'd pick this one. Feathered head-dress, chimpanzee-looking guy, weird nude on the floor. What more would I want from an evening in Paris?

BOLLYWOOD KITSCH

The riotous colours of Bollywood are inherently kitsch, but mixing the two requires serious skillz. The mad colours, dazzling sequins, and general over-the-topness of Indian movies mean that if you get it wrong, the results will be so heinously tacky that you'll want to chuck it on the bonfire faster than you can scream "my eyes! my eyes!".

Item Number is a label that definitely gets it right, and though I only own a little clutch bag so far, I covet their entire range of accessories including clutch and tote bags, cushion covers, mugs, and notebooks. They've just brought out this new cotton and faux leather cummerband that would look pretty kickass on a white shirt.

Check out these babies...

Oscar-winning dialogue right here. On the left, the angry dude's saying "Bitch! Bastard! I'm going to drink your blood!!! She replies, "Listen, today don't drink blood, drink tea!" Make sense? It doesn't have to! It's Bollywood!

This is my one. Snazzy no? She lives on my bedroom shelf.

This smouldering lady is Rekha, legendary Bollywood goddess