We can't go to the movies right now, but the Capitol Theatre is putting on a whole weekend for film lovers to enjoy at home.
The event centres on Peter Strickland's consumerist 2018 satire In Fabric; a live conversation between Strickland and film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; and fascinating conversation between In Fabric costume designer Jo Thompson and RMIT associate dean of fashion and textiles design Dr Ricarda Bigolin about fashion victims, desire, bodies and consumption.
The film itself centres on a haunted dress found in a bewitched London department store, which brings a terrible curse on anyone who wears it. Time Out gave the film five stars, saying it was a "mesmeric film, one that eventually scrapes the far edge of a nightmare, you won’t leave laughing".
“As both high fashion thriller and bizarre fairytale, In Fabric cuts a very funny, and very vivid satire of sartorial desire," says the Capitol’s creative producer, Ghita Loebenstein. "I’m thrilled to welcome the Capitol’s audiences to our ‘online stage’ for this spectacularly unhinged film event. The film invites us into a particularly lurid sensory experience, and for those of us who are at home right now, it offers an antidote to the click-and-collect transactions of our lives. I can’t wait to unpack it all with Peter, Jo, Alexandra and Ricarda.”
The film will be available to stream between 7pm on Friday, September 11 and 7pm on Saturday, September 12, and the conversation between Strickland and Heller-Nicholas kicks off at 7pm on September 12.
Then the masterclass between Bigolin and Thompson will take place at 5.30pm on Monday, September 14. It's an entire weekend devoted to haunted, murderous clothing, and we honestly can't really think of anything more appropriate for the times we live in.
The film and the discussions will all be available at the Capitol's website. Tickets are $14 for the whole shebang, and $1 from every sale goes to the Social Studio, a fashion studio that supports young people from migrant or refugee backgrounds.