Fashion Crimes

 

"Make the shoulder pads larger."

On her way home from a photo shoot, fashion model Gloria (Theresa Leopardi) gets stranded and runs to a nearby villa for help. Inside the house she witnesses a man killing a woman with a fireplace poker as opera music blares from a nearby radio. Terrified, she dashes back to the street and collapses. When Commissioner Rizzo (Anthony Franciosa) investigates her story, he finds the long-abandoned house of Greta Stiller, a deceased fashion designer, whose estate is in contention. With no evidence of murder, the police's hands are tied, but when the killer returns to stalk Gloria and murders her friends and acquaintances, they take notice. Could the killer be Gloria's photographer, Georgio (Giancarlo Prete) or her psychiatrist, Gianmarco (Miles O'Keefe), both of whom have a connection to the Stiller home? Commissioner Rizzo will have to work fast to sew up this case!

Fashion Crimes (not to be confused with Crimes) carries on the tradition started by Blood and Black Lace, of a gritty giallo set in the refined world of high fashion. This one is well-shot, nicely acted and steadily paced, even if it is light on kills and explains away its plot inconsistencies by introducing a paranormal element at the last minute. If you're looking for a late 80's thriller with some fabulous art direction, definitely watch A Blade in the Dark. But if that's not available, give this one a spin. 

• The original Italian title La Morte E'di Moda translates as "Death is in Fashion," which I love for its clever double meaning.

• Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax fans may recognize Miles O'Keefe from his role as pumped-up action hero Ator, "the Fighting Eagle" in a trilogy of early 80's fantasy films.

• You'll also remember Anthony Franciosa from Dario Argento's Tenebre and his long career on American TV throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's.

What the Hell am I Watching?

In one scene, we see someone flipping through the pages of an old fashion magazine to find an article about Greta Stiller. It looks like the props department got a real vintage magazine and pasted text and photos onto one of the pages, because the edges are clearly visible.

Fashion designer Sebastiano (Giusseppe Pambieri) insists that Gloria model "the gem" of his new collection, and calls it "a stupendous gown I've been working on for months." And when we finally get to see it as the grand finale of his fashion show it's... a simple black sheath with spaghetti straps.

Fashion Moment:

The clothes are very of-the-moment and rather chic for the late 80's but surprisingly, fashion isn't the focus in Fashion Crimes. I was a lot more impressed by the production design and the director's choice to showcase his sets, letting the the camera luxuriate in these long wide-angle shots.