The Eternal cliche of impossible love, the pathosthe farmhouses, an impeccable wedding dress. Based on the novel of the same name by that romantic Nicholas Sparks, the film The Notebook (The pages of our life) by Nick Cassavetes remains without a doubt one of the most famous and heartbreaking cinematic love stories of this millennium. A full 20 years after its release in theaters, in addition to boasting an almost incalculable number of tears shed, costume designer Karyn Wagner has revealed some curious details about that exquisitely back. And in particular on the wedding dress of Allie (Rachel McAdams) for her failed wedding.
A candid put played on shiny silk and delicate lace overlays. Worn by the young heiress during a fitting in preparation for her wedding to the scion Lon Hammond Jr. (James Marsden). Without ever reaching the altar, however, because she is still hopelessly in love with Noah (Ryan Gosling), aka that charismatic carpenter she met on Seabrook Island during the summer of 1940.
Although the historical period of reference of the film is the decade surrounding the Second World War, the inspiration for this fashion-reverie is a specific wedding dress that appeared only later. And to be precise, on April 18, 1956. We are talking about none other than the white dress worn by Princess Grace Kelly on the occasion of her wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Characterized by that delicious Brussels lace bodice and which has become one of the cult most loved and imitated ever for the big day.
The reason for the reference? «The alliance with the public» declares Wagner to Peoplebecause “there are certain shapes that everyone recognizes. You see that shape and you immediately know where your character is. Grace Kelly is one of those, even if you don’t really know who she is, you’ve certainly seen her wedding photographs. They are some of the most iconic images ever.”
So, a symbol of royalty, as well as a device in the aesthetic rhetoric that underlies the extremely wealthy social position of Allie’s family, as opposed to Noah’s. As, on the other hand, is visually codified in all the rest of the costumes. And to underline it further is the majestic veil that completes the wedding outfit. “Going back to the sumptuary laws during the Second World War, you couldn’t have a veil that big unless it was your great-grandmother’s in the Victorian era or you were rich enough to have it shipped from France and say, ‘I don’t care how much it costs, my daughter is going to get married and have an eight-foot veil,’ “explains the costume designer.
But from her statements the curiosities do not end there: the aforementioned wedding dress was even sewn on the character’s doubts about marriage, as it was specifically designed to be uncomfortable. “I wanted the dress to make her understand that she was not happy,” says Wagner. Reflecting, therefore, her discomfort.
In short, if Grace’s wedding dress was the seal of a royal love story dreamlike, Allie’s is more comparable to an epiphany, an invitation to do about-face from her betrothed and return to her forbidden love. Dressed in a chic sugar paper sheath dress “inspired by the paintings of William Turner”. Under the pouring rain and the four-beat heartbeat.
Source: Vanity Fair
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