The Philippine Online Chronicles

Fashion, as some would argue, is not considered fine art. But there is some wisdom in the words of Nigel from the movie The Devil Wears Prada that said Halston, Lagerfeld, and de la Renta are some of the greatest artists this century simply because, “What they did, what they created was greater than art because you live your life in it.”

Few people are fortunate as to have their creations last longer than the time for which it was made, and to have it immortalized on canvas. But for fashion creations to have, indeed, their own life and even character and to have the silver screen for its canvas is an incredible feat to make anyone rest on her laurels. For celebrated costume designer and stylist Patricia Field, however, who seems to have managed both, basking in the glory of her achievements is hardly the case with her ongoing, busy career.

Photo from Nitroclicious, by Mike Ruiz

The beginning

Patricia Field, whose parents are Greek and Armenian, was born in New York City and raised in Astoria, Queens. Her career in fashion started in 1963, when she worked as an assistant buyer at the department store Alexander’s. She opened her first boutique three years later, called the House of Field at East 8th Street of Greenwich Village. She was—and still is—wildly eclectic, offbeat and bold in her choices for her collections, and it only made her popular with the underground fashion groups and drag queens, and helped launched the careers of many innovative young designers. Mostly, she made and selected clothes that were fit for the glittery, urban trappings of the “scenesters” and nightclubbing life. The world had yet to know how truly versatile Field could be with glamour and sophistication.

Her sense of style led her to branch out into a career of costume designing. She went to work for shows such as Crime Story, Wiseguy, Spin City, Hope and Faith, Six Degrees, Cashmere Mafia, Kath & Kim, Sex and the City and Ugly Betty. Her film credits include Miami Rhapsody, The Substitute, Dear Diary, The Girls' Guide to Hunting & Fishing (though she remains uncredited here, due to the fact that she left the project just before it wrapped up), The Devil Wears Prada, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and the two Sex and the City movies.

Of her work in costume designing, her style treatment is this: actress, character, wardrobe. She gets to know the actors and actresses who are to play these characters. Their manner of dressing is extremely important in conveying the required roles, and can even go as far as a make it or break it deal. “A script is a much more dimensional experience than dressing a model – where you are confined to static details like 5ft 10 and slim. In film it's more complex, creative and real”, Field says (from an interview with handbag.com).

Sex and the City: The Fashion Phenomenon

Patricia Field is still best known for styling the most fashionable show in television history: Sex and the City. Even though she is mostly recognized for her outrageous style in clothes, her sophisticated depiction and much-stylized characters on the show were clothed in fashion that was endlessly raved about and copied. As far as fashion critics were concerned, the wardrobe was the biggest star of the show.

Sex and the City, an HBO series, was responsible for a total fashion movement all over the world, and has achieved status as a cultural phenomenon. It is often credited for having brought Manolo Blahnik to the masses—everyday women yearned and wore designer shoes like its fashionable lead, Carrie Bradshaw. Vintage and kitschy finds were often mixed with high end labels as per the character’s taste and unique aesthetic. Sarah Jessica Parker, who played Carrie, has forever etched herself into a major style icon of this generation, no small thanks to the imagination of Patricia Field and the show that launched a thousand wardrobe changes.

Three other characters make the fictional, formidable foursome who live and breathe New York as single, successful, career women. Field created distinct styles for each of them, appropriate to the personality meshed from the actresses and their roles. Kristin Davis plays Charlotte York, who is dark-haired, conservative, somewhat traditional, and has a sweet sometimes preppy aesthetic with love for the classic and timeless styles. Kim Catrall is Samantha Jones, an independent, liberated and powerful PR woman whose boldness and sexual aggression translates to her daring clothes. Cynthia Nixon dons the stylishly functional, sometimes androgynous, powerful female get-up of the cynical and workaholic lawyer Miranda Hobbes.

For her work in Sex and the City, Field was nominated for five Emmy Awards, winning one of them, and nominated six times for Costume Designers Guild Awards while winning four. She also worked with then partner Rebecca Weinberg, whom she met in the set of Spin City.

The show ended in 2004, but Patricia Field’s work on its set was far from done. She styled the movies that came after it. The first movie, continuing the TV series’ storyline which ended in 2004, came out four years later in 2008. The second installment came this summer of 2010, and with the success of its predecessors, had an even bigger budget than the previous one for its wardrobe needs. By then, it was pretty much established that Sex and the City was celebrated for its fashion, and surely, Field did not disappoint. There were literally thousands of items for the wardrobe—shoes had their own room, and so did the bags. Jewelry used in the set had two rooms for storage, and all the clothes seemed to be in what Field would call a “gymnasium”.

The Devil Wears Prada: Skirting Around Vogue and Anna Wintour

In 2006, Field became involved in another trend-setting movie project, The Devil Wears Prada. Based on the same-titled novel by Lauren Weisberger, expectations for its costume design were at an all-time high since its setting was primarily in a fashion magazine office. However, it wasn’t just any fashion magazine, nor was it just any story about the fashion world. The novel is widely regarded to be a thinly-veiled account of the author’s own experiences as assistant to real-life editor-in-chief of US Vogue, Anna Wintour—especially since the story’s antagonist, the tyrannical boss Miranda Priestly, shared many qualities with her, even having a similar-looking office (Anna Wintour reportedly redecorated her office after seeing the film). When the novel started picking up in popularity, it was said that Anna Wintour disliked it so much that Vogue and many other major women’s magazines never mentioned a breath, much less any review of it.

From left to right: Emily Blunt as Emily Chalton, Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs and Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly discussing wardrobe on set with Patricia Field.

As Patricia Field began working on the costumes, she found that many designers declined invitations for cameos appearing as themselves, fearing Anna Wintour’s wrath. Wintour’s spokesperson denied the claim that the Vogue EIC warned said designers that appearing on the film was tantamount to being banned on the pages of her magazine. They were, however, happy to lend clothes for the film, making The Devil Wears Prada one of the most expensively costumed movies of all time. Only one designer appeared as himself in the movie, and that was Valentino Garavani. Urged by producer Wendy Fineman as a dare to Field, the latter personally invited the designer for a cameo. Much to her surprise, Valentino actually agreed.

Meryl Streep, who played the fictitious editor-in-chief of Runway magazine, worked closely with Patricia Field to solidify her character. Knowing that it would draw many comparisons to the assumed real-life counterpart, Anna Wintour, they collaborated on Miranda Priestly’s signature style. Always impeccably dressed and with a huge heaping of Prada, Streep also portrayed Priestly with her signature platinum head of hair and a styled forelock. Patricia Field created the look for the dragon lady character—rich and elegant clothes that looked it, but not as easy to recognize and break down per label. The result was a smashing success—not only did it deviate from preconceived notions of being a Wintour clone, but Streep’s portrayal of the quietly unnerving boss was so unique that it was a memorable character on its own. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Wintour said, “Anything that makes fashion entertaining and glamorous and interesting is wonderful for our industry. So I was 100 percent behind it.” She lauded Streep’s portrayal of the character and even showed up to the premiere dressed head to toe in Prada.

Emily Blunt as Emily Chalton, the haughty first assistant stole many of the scenes she was in, thanks to her witty lines and edgy sense of fashion. Field, in fact, wanted her character’s style to be “so on the edge she's almost falling off”, and ended up dressing her in Vivienne Westwood and Rick Owens to reflect a more adventurous and underground fashion sense. However, after the film’s release, many of these risky looks took off and became popular, amusing the filmmakers and proving Field’s prowess as a trendsetter—even if it were unintentional.

In contrast to this was the studied style of Andy Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway. Chanel offered to dress her character, so most of her clothes were from the brand, but Field also threw in a good measure of Calvin Klein among other labels. Since Andy Sachs was clueless in the fashion world from the start, her style eventually adjusted with her learning curve upon staying in Runway. Thus, her looks are more textbook fashion, giving off the notion that Andy learned fashion by observation, rather than establishing her own personal style.

For her work in The Devil Wears Prada, Patricia Field was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. She also won a Satellite Award.

Other collaborations

Not only is Patricia Field a noted stylist and costume designer, she also has a label in her own right and has had many collaborations with other big names in the industry. She designed a limited collection of shoes and accessories for Candie’s, a collection for Rocawear and Pro-Keds, and two collections for Payless shoes. She also designed a line of clothes and accessories inspired by Barbie for Mattel. In 2008, she also created a line called Destination Style to be sold on Home Shopping Network in the US, Marks & Spencer in Europe, and Myer Department Store in Australia.

In the same year, she was commissioned by Coca-Cola to design a limited series of Diet Coke bottles. In 2009, she again collaborated with the brand for another special edition of Diet Coke bottles inspired by the outfits she created for America Ferrera in Ugly Betty.

Photo from Tongue in Chic.

In 2009, Field worked with Sex and the City actress Kim Catrall to promote Bailey’s Irish Cream Red Bow bottle by creating a glamorous red dress with a huge bow. Recently, she has also collaborated with Keith Haring Foundation to create a Patricia Field line for Keith Haring accessories and RTW collection.

Patricia Field is also known for the now infamous crystal studded flesh-colored ensemble that Britney Spears wore to the Video Music Awards 2000.

Photo from Fashion Comments Blog.

Even Japan can’t get enough of Patricia Field

From 2004 to 2006, Patricia Field was Creative Director for the Japanese brand Smacky Glam. She also collaborated with another Japanese brand called Ash & Diamonds to design a line of watches for Seiko Japan.

In 2008, she also headed the styling for Japan’s Queen of Pop Namie Amuro’s Vidal Sassoon Campaign and a major fashion and music event of American Express Japan. She also developed a Patricia Field web boutique for Coffers Japan.

Photos from Molins’ Style and One Inch Punch.

In 2009, she also created a line of accessories for Crystal Ball, Japan.

As of this writing, Patricia Field is 68 years old, still wildly stylish and a trail blazer of fashion for the screen, celebrities and the masses. She is a true visionary in every sense of the word, and sets trends that continue to move and inspire the rest of the world. She is truly one of the most important style icons and pioneers of this generation.