How Three-time Oscar Winner Jenny Beavan Turned Mid-Century Dior Into 'Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris'

"Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" is the fourth screen adaptation of Paul Gallico's 1958 novel "Flowers for Mrs. Harris", which launched a series of bestselling books about a charming English housekeeper and his unlikely international adventures. Although the tale has been filmed three times before (mostly as a 1992 TV movie starring Angela Lansbury), director Anthony Fabian's new adaptation seems destined to become the definitive version thanks to its exquisite evocation of Eastern Europe. after the war and the delicacy with which she tells her simple but heartfelt story.

In the film, the main character played by Lesley Manville is inspired to turn her life around when she lays eyes on her employer's Christian Dior dress; the British housekeeper is so dazzled that she scrapes together all the money she can and heads to Paris to get her own Dior dress straight from the source. This simple premise belies the complex challenges faced by the film's costume designer, who had to create a dress so stunning that it would elicit a character's transformation and be a convincing imitation of the work of the film. one of the greatest fashion designers. of all times.

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Fortunately, Jenny Beavan was up to the task. A three-time Oscar winner of wildly diverse talents (she designed costumes for many of James Ivory's distinguished pictures as well as George Miller's harrowing "Mad Max: Fury Road"), Beavan was already a fan of Christian Dior and used her work as a point of reference for the character of Emma Thompson in "Cruella". For "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris," she used Dior's historical archives, which contained the designer's original sketchbooks, notebooks and patterns, to recreate the dozens of dresses needed to bring the fashion house to life. Some were vintage pieces borrowed from the house of Dior, others were replicas, and others, like this initial dress that sparks Ms. Harris's imagination, were pure Beavan inventions designed in the Dior tradition.

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Beavan was able to draw on not only the Dior archives, but also hours of YouTube footage of classic Dior shows and interviews with her models, which helped her in her quest for precision. However, when it came to designing the essential dress that Ms. Harris first discovered in her boss's closet, verisimilitude was only one of the requirements Beavan had to meet. "There were a lot of storytelling factors that had to be considered," Beavan told IndieWire. "It's got to be something that completely captures Ms Harris' imagination, so there's a lot of pressure." This pressure was exacerbated by the fact that, as Beavan noted, a dress usually comes to life when someone puts it on and brings their body language and shape to it - something that wouldn't happen in the case of this dress.

Because Mrs. Harris loves flowers, Beavan opted for a floral pattern that looks even more vibrant when juxtaposed with the floral apron and dress the housekeeper wears while she cleans. When she holds the dress, the audience is invited to share her vision of what it would be like to wear it, which leads to another unique challenge of this costume - it had to be designed for two people who would never be seen wearing it. . in the movie. "It was hugely important that this dress be something Anna Chancellor's character [Mrs. Harris' boss, Lady Dant] would choose, and you have to believe she would look great in it," Beavan said.

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