Fitting Notes: Durga Chew-Bose
Author and Bonjour Tristesse director on Gena Rowlands' pink sunglasses, Luigi Ghirri's dusty blues, and a Harrington jacket in the strangest shade of yellow.
Welcome to Fitting Notes, a newsletter from Looks on Screen. As part of the ongoing exploration and archive research into the history of fashion brands in cinema, we bring you insights from the people shaping fashion and cinema today — questionnaire-style conversations about their work practices, personal style, and inspirations.
I’m so honored to start this series with Durga Chew-Bose. I’ve been following her work for years and first discovered her when she was SSENSE’s Editor-in-Chief. Last May, on a hot Sunday afternoon, I went to see her first feature film Bonjour Tristesse. Having read the book by Françoise Sagan and seen the 1958 film starring Jean Seberg, I already knew it would be one for Looks on Screen. To me, Durga embodies the intersection of fashion and film, having experienced both worlds professionally and creatively. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Name: Durga Chew-Bose
Profession: Director, Writer
Hometown: Montreal
Known For: Too Much and Not the Mood (2017), Bonjour Tristesse (2024)
The film costume I think about most is…
Juliette Binoche’s yellow track jacket in Les Amants du Pont-Neuf. Midge Wood’s (Barbara Bel Geddes) glasses and button cardigans in Vertigo. Gena Rowlands’ pink sunglasses at the end of Minnie and Moskowitz. The jewelry in Charulata. Cybill Shepherd’s football jerseys in Elaine May’s The Heartbreak Kid. Julia Roberts in The Pelican Brief. Every single costume in Kathleen Collins’ Losing Ground. Gene Hackman’s layers in Scarecrow. The sensibly dressed women in Kelly Reichart’s Certain Women. Alain Delon in Once a Thief. Martha Plimpton’s red and turquoise ensemble for the birthday party scene in Running on Empty. The shirt collars in Edward Yang’s Taipei Story. The necklines in Visconti’s Death in Venice. The necklines on Sandrine Bonnaire in A Nos Amours. The hats in Funny Face. Monica Bellucci in La Riffa. Ozu sweaters.
The most stylish film character to me is…
Maggie Cheung as Mrs. Chan in In the Mood for Love. Al Pacino in The Panic in Needle Park. Monica Vitti in Red Desert. Too many Isabelle Huppert roles to name just one.
The designer or costume designer who changed how I see clothes is…
Miyako Bellizzi. She is deeply curious and extraordinarily kind. The combination translates not just to an understanding of costumes and their purpose, but how one wears them on the body, moves with them on the body. She is committed to her characters but also understands technically (in concert with other departments) how the clothes will be photographed (waist up, while sitting, while running, in a pink room, in a blue room, at night, and so on...) She’s never satisfied and yet, she’s profoundly chill. I learned so much from just watching her work and how she cares for her team. I also love how intuitive she is...there must remain, always, some mystery, some magic, the unexplained. I love her so much.
My cinema-going ritual is…
Finding someone to watch my kids.
My comfort movie watch is…
Arnaud Desplechin’s A Christmas Tale, Olivier Assayas’ Summer Hours, Moneyball.
The artist, photographer, or filmmaker whose work I’d collect (or wish I could) is…
Luigi Ghirri. His blues, I think, are what move me the most. A whole palette of dusty blues. His topographical approach to everyday objects. I think I would keep his work beside a window. They function in tandem, his work and windows.
A detail or texture that always finds its way into my work is…
Hands. Toys. Light.
Something I’ve learned from directing is…
Bring everything to zero. Your enthusiasm, Your self-loathing. Your joy, your fears, your confidence, your certainty. Find zero, listen for zero. Trust you aren’t there until you know what zero feels like.
My everyday uniform is…
Thin jacket as a layering piece. Vintage sweatshirt that’s short on the wrists. Gold and silver.
The last fashion or costume piece I bought and loved was…
A harrington jacket in the strangest shade of yellow that I found on Etsy or eBay, I can’t remember now. I love Harrington jackets. My collection is growing. I usually wear it with a vintage tshirt and jeans. Sometimes it’s nice to throw a sweater over my jacket shoulders, but sometimes that feels too preppy.
The object in my wardrobe I could never part with is…
My father’s sweaters. T-shirts of mine I’d like to gift my sons when they are teenagers.
My idea of indulgence is…
Drinking tea in bone china. Local chocolate on a 48h work trip. Jewelry just because.
A place that means a lot to me is…
Our flat in Kolkata. Our back balcony in Montreal, especially the morning after a rainstorm.
Thank you so much, Durga
First first like
So great to read...specific and precise