In a development that confirms our long-held beliefs (fashion is fake but movies are real), Saint Laurent’s artistic director Anthony Vaccarello has launched Saint Laurent Productions. No surprising turn to those who’ve kept co-productions in their eyes: the last few years have seen a range of projects from capital-A Auteurs (Abel Ferrara, Gaspar Noé, Jim Jarmusch, Pedro Almodóvar) supported by the capital-M Major fashion house. Some (Noé’s Lux Æterna) got proper releases; others (Ferrara’s Sportin’ Life, Jarmusch’s French Water) are nice curious or (like Almodóvar’s Cannes-bound Strange Way of Life) anticipated entirely on their own terms. What we’ve seen wouldn’t suggest corporate stranglehold––I think Charlotte Gainsbourg briefly flashes a YSL bag in Lux Æterna?––but a resource-fueled place using power for good, or something like it. [Variety]
It’s then encouraging that Saint Laurent Productions, which aims for two or three films per year, already has a who’s-who of big figures on their docket: David Cronenberg’s forthcoming The Shrouds is the one truly known entity, while unnamed films by Jarmusch (this?), Ferrara, Noé, Paolo Sorrentino, and Wong Kar-wai are said to proceed. But on that last name we’ll wait (and wait, and wait) and (maybe) see.
Vaccarello claims his creative input will be limited to costume design (fair trade), and while (per this paywalled WWD article) the lineup currently leans towards “seasoned auteurs, European sensibilities, and to his personal favorites,” a younger generation is expected to receive a hand down the line. (Kindly note that WWD also mention a TBA short debuting at Cannes alongside Almodóvar, and Variety‘s original story had mentioned Godard’s Funny Wars––now rumored to be titled Trailer for a Film That Will Never Exist––before being scrubbed.) If the matter of how favorites or potential stars are picked is anybody’s guess, and yes, cinema’s graveyard is littered with production companies even the most seasoned cinephile couldn’t name with a gun to their head, one has to respect a cineaste putting their money where their mouth is––just as we hear Vaccarello say “making a film can be more impactful than a seasonal collection” and are willing to invest enough hope these directors are treated right
For a couple of the recent Saint Laurent-director collabs, take a look below: