The new season of American Crime Story has just premiered, and this time the case revolves around the murder of Gianni Versace, an iconic designer in fashion history. In the plot, the character is found dead in front of his house in Miami. The production has a heavyweight cast, plenty of visual appeal, and dives headfirst into 90s aesthetics. All signs point to it having a great chance of bringing back references from that decade, influencing the fashion market and the music world. And the most interesting part: it will put the Versace brand in the spotlight.
The romance between audiovisual media and famous brands is nothing new. Film language is art, education, and especially communication. A screen literally open to the masses. Advertising rides along with these enchantments and has already given us beautiful, moving campaigns that make us think (and consume, of course).
The opposite also happens. Some series and movies hop on board with a brand or product, in the best “you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours” fashion.
“The Social Network,” from 2010, is one of the examples that quickly comes to mind when we talk about movies about brands. The narrative addresses the emergence of Facebook, and it was even heavily criticized by its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who pointed out a certain romanticizing of his very hard work. Its less-than-friendly reception generated buzz, curiosity, and interest in what has been establishing itself as one of the biggest social networks on the web.
Regarding American Crime Story, the Versace family also took a harsh view, indicating that the work should be seen only as a work of fiction. It's tricky to expose a controversial story behind a major company. It's a risk, it takes courage, and at the same time, it's quite clever. Donatella Versace, Gianni's sister, who took over the empire after the tragedy and remains at its helm to this day, was portrayed by Penélope Cruz. She didn't give her blessing, but she also didn't censor it, and even sent flowers to the actress who played her. It's like that saying: talk bad about me, but talk about me. Nothing more fashion-forward and strategic than that.
By João Ricardo Campos.
