There are things that you know are going to be important to a film from the outset. If you know what you're doing, if your familiar with the script, you know that that a character's reaction is really important at a certain point, or that the way a scene unfolds depends greatly on the geography of a location being just right. And once you feel like you have those crucial things under control, that's when you can start adding the sort of additional details that add flesh to what you're developing.
One of the little details about playing the character of Julia that was really important to me was that whatever she wore, it should look just a little offbeat, a little different than what you might see on the forms of mannequins in department stores (even high end ones). The character is not supposed to be wealthy or showy, but needs to look a little different from the normal "Friday night out" gang.
Personally, I'm a big fan of a number of Canadian designers, so I'm very happy to have the opportunity to flaunt some of their wares on screen throughout the film. In fact, everything I wear playing the character of Julia is Canadian-designed and unavailable at mass retail. I'm not what you'd call jingoistic, but I'm pretty proud of that.
The outfit that I'm wearing through most of the film is from a company called Kollontai. (They haven't entered the web age yet, but their stuff is phenomenal and can be purchased here and at some other select boutiques). I'm also found traipsing around the scenery wearing items from Tension Clothing, Studio Gang, Slak and Pam Chorley. Every shoe on my feet (including those nice open toe ones that are great for elongating the legs and not so great for running around alleys) comes from John Fluevog and all the handbags (including not only mine but one that has a very special "cameo" in the film) are from Morris B. There are other indie designer appearances in the film as well from the likes of Biomechanical Candy and Romy Noel. (Even the make-up I'm wearing is from a Canadian company.)
I'm saying this not because of some sponsorship deal- all the items were either purchased or borrowed and returned. Certainly, I like to give some props to designers who I like, especially when they're home grown. But the reason why this detail was important is because I think that it dovetails so well with both the character and with the spirit of the film. After all, what's more encouraging to someone working independently than the sight of someone who's become successful (if often under-appreciated) doing the same thing. In fact, the one thing that links those designers is that they have made a career offering something that's just that little bit different, that little bit more distinctive, than what you can pick up just anywhere. The devil, as they say, is in the details.
