Everlasting Evita Fashion Designers Are Banking On A Forthcoming Movie To Promote A Glamorous New Look
On her deathbed in 1952, Eva Peron whispered to her husband, “What I don’t want is for people to forget me, Juan.”
They certainly haven’t. Her post-mortem triumph as the centerpiece of the hit musical “Evita” made her more famous (and more notorious) than even she could have imagined when she married the Argentinian dictator Juan Peron.
What could possibly be next?
Here comes the fashion industry, which is hitching its hopes to the Dec. 25 premiere of the lavish film version of “Evita.” Some designers and retailers say the film, a Walt Disney Co. release, has handed them a whopping opportunity - nothing less than a chance to change the course of fashion as they promote a glamorous new look. Never mind that Eva Peron was conniving and megalomaniacal. She knew how to dress.
This was a woman who wore clothes to the hilt - Dior suits, fabulous evening gowns, big jewelry, a signature mink stole. With Madonna in the title role - and the avalanche of publicity that accompanies anything Madonna does - what better timing for a fashion event?
“It doesn’t matter if the movie is good - the fashion is fabulous,” said Lloyd Singer, the president of ABS USA, which is coming out with a line of Evita-inspired suits and evening dresses. “This will be phenomenal, a great punch in the arm for fashion.”
Bloomingdale’s is going all out. Kal Ruttenstein, the store’s fashion director, has recruited a veritable platoon of fashion and accessories designers to fill Evita boutiques that are to open on Dec. 1 in nine Bloomingdale’s stores around the country, including the flagship store in Manhattan. He promises that Evita will be as ubiquitous in the stores as the perfume sprayers. He has already taken Team Evita to see a 20-minute clip of the film for inspiration.
What they saw was a made-over Material Girl in padded shoulders, nipped-in waists, ruffled evening dresses, rose-print blouses and calf-length skirts. Those elements will be featured in the clothes created for the Bloomingdale’s Evita shops by Nicole Miller, Victor Costa and Elie Tahari. Also on the racks will be a long black tango dress from ABS USA.
The boutiques will also carry a black suede pump with white-kid trim by Ferragamo, which made Madonna’s shoes for the film. Salvatore Ferragamo, the company’s founder, made shoes for Eva Peron.
The jewelry collection, from Carolee, includes a copy of a five-strand pearl necklace that Madonna wears. Who knows? If Evita’s pearls catch on, they could displace the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis two-strand necklace of faux pearls, which overtook the Barbara Bush three-strand version. After a month of exclusivity at Bloomingdale’s, the Carolee jewelry will also be sold at Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Field’s and Neiman Marcus.
The makeup will be promoted as “The Face of Evita” by Estee Lauder, which has reformulated bright, brash colors that were popular in the late 1940s and early 50s.
Others are also jumping on the “Evita” bandwagon. Bergdorf Goodman will carry synthetic hairpieces that can be twisted into sleek chignons, a la Evita. “People are already coming into my salon saying, ‘How can I achieve that look?”’ said John Barrett, the owner of the salon at Bergdorf.
Barrett says he also expects a strong demand for snoods, baglike nets worn at the back of women’s heads to hold the hair. That could be a problem. “There is a snood shortage,” he complained.
Ruttenstein sees the style of “Evita” as one whose time has come. “People are bored with simplicity,” he said. “They are looking for drama. This is about dressing up. Women aren’t going to ask for another sleeveless, A-line Jackie Kennedy dress.”