Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate,who was a style icon before her untimely death in 1969.
I spent most of last weekend reading about murder.
After seeing Quentin Tarantino's new film,Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,I had a lot of questions. And,because I don't wish to give too much away,I will only say that I spent the following day consuming podcasts and articles about Charles Manson and the studio system,a world Tarantino recreates in the film starring Brad Pitt,Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie,who plays the ill-fated actress Sharon Tate.
So what does any of this have to do with fashion?
The film's release,50 years to the month after Tate's murder at the hands of the Manson"Family",is one of the catalysts for a fresh interest in'60s fashion.
CR Fashion Bookcalled the film a"love letter"to Tate,with Robbie wearing pieces of jewellery from Tate's estate lent by her sister,who acted as a consultant on the film. (Tarantino also agreed to delay the film's premiere to a week after the anniversary at the family's request.)
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And yet it's controversial because,as some commentators have pointed out,it implies the gruesome murder of a woman and her unborn child (Tate was pregnant at the time) is something to be exploited for fashion's gain.
As Siobhan Duckwrote for this newspaper recently:"Apparently,we were meant to ponder the heartless killing of Sharon Tate and her unborn child,then race to fill our wardrobes with miniskirts and platform shoes."
Let's be clear:murder,or any violence against women,is never acceptable.