The title Joker: Folie à Deux for the upcoming 2019 movie sequel with Joaquin Phoenix as the protagonist in the relentless origin story of the Joker A.Dalways seemed inappropriate. Perhaps a better option would have been to title the film: The Ballad of Creative Consultants in Crisis. Indeed, while filming in New York, Phoenix and his co-star Lady Gagathe latest actress to play the wild Harley Quinn, girlfriend of the Joker, were inadvertently cast in a second all-too-familiar role: the couple at the 4am fashion party.
If the character of Arthur Fleck has updated its style by becoming the king of the Williamsburg thrift market, Phoenix And Gaga put together they are a real strength. The smudged clown makeup suggests a perfect callback to the collections Margiela of the past. Not going unnoticed is her bleached blonde shag cut that probably just two days before her was pond teal. In a world of vapes, he clings to the toxic romance of a Marlboro Red and during a stubbornly gloomy and overcast Paris fashion week, he insists on wearing sunglasses. In an age of buzzing digital moments the lifespan of a firefly chasing romance, the two seem like a meme of a couple granted a fleeting appearance at a ridiculously excessive post-runway event, two ghosts walking through a corridor in a curtain of fog made of cigarette smoke and faint wafts of the low alcohol found in low-calorie cocktails amidst hushed chatter about what Phoebe Philo is really up to next.
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In any case, the latest versions of the Joker and Harley Quinn (2.0? 3.0? 2.5? Reboots are now a real chronological lottery) are really beautiful. At least as far as the bad guys are concerned. Not all villains wear capes. Lycra does not inspire the desperate masses to mount the barricades. Conversely, people want boxy 70s-style dresses that have a second life, they want the blank looks of party girls who are oddly comfortable in clown suits, they love weird characters. Given the ever-growing appetite for outside-the-box menswear, so is fashion. The style evoked by the couple recalls vaguely Gucci, Balmain And Saint Laurentbut with the addition of an elusive grotesque and glamorous atmosphere.
This may not suit your taste. Tradition tends to win over disorder and any strangeness. However, know that while Batman can take you to the safest places in Gotham City, the Joker and Harley Quinn are the ones who can open the doors to all the best parties around.
Article originally published in GQ UK