Diane Keaton by Norman Seeff

From the slew of Givenchy-esque little black dresses sold off the back of Audrey Hepburn’s performance in Breakfast at Tiffany’s to the international stampede from cinema to hairdressers at the sight of Uma Thurman’s scene stealing ebony bob in Pulp Fiction, film style has always pervaded the wardrobes of the fashion cognoscenti. Screen sirens of the fifties made a virtue of unattainable glamour, with exquisitely set hair, jewels glittering at throats and ears, transcendent in silks, velvets and furs. Yet come the seventies, costume design became more about originality and street style, as represented by the poster girl of the age, and the subject of this week’s Most Loved Post, Diane Keaton, seen here in a quartet of shots by Norman Seeff, taken in 1975, chosen by Naomi Morello.

"Dressing herself for the role of Annie Hall, Keaton credits the 'street-chic women livening up SoHo in the mid-seventies' as her inspiration..."

Keaton is the stuff of sartorial legend for her turn in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, showcasing oversized shirts, waistcoats, fedoras, tortoiseshell round framed glasses and wide legged trousers. Dressing herself for the role, she credits the “street-chic women livening up SoHo in the mid-seventies” as her inspiration, calling them the “real costume designers of Annie Hall.” And this is so true of key film looks across the ages – the ones that resonate are those truthful to their times. With Keaton as the doyenne of the seventies, in the eighties the crown passed to Molly Ringwald, queen of the so-called Brat Pack, whose mastery of clashing floral layers, 50 shades of pink, rompers, brogues and piled on bangles, was a revolt against the sea of spandex that otherwise characterized the decade. Teetering joyously along the border of bad taste, her influence, for good or ill, can be seen in carefully hidden yearbook photos everywhere. And so to the nineties, where our heroine took the unlikely form of an updated Jane Austen character: the socialite schoolgirl Cher in Clueless. Her virtual closet, with computer technology to ensure no faux pas, was alone the stuff of fantasy, and her gregarious combinations of tartan on tartan mini suits, feather boas, berets, knee socks and white slip dresses were ubiquitous then, and still make their appearances at fancy dress parties to this day.

Taking a breath from this consideration of our wardrobes as partly the creations of “screen characters I have envied”, here we speak to Morello about her favourite Keaton character, who she'd play in a Woody Allen film and a recent personal transformation.

Why did you choose to Love these shots of Diane Keaton?
I've always been a fan of her movies and her style, and I really like how spontaneous this picture is. That's a thing I love about Norman Seeff, his ability to capture people in a fun and unforced way.

If you owned a print, where would you put it?
Well, I don't have a room of my own right now, but if I did I would probably hang it next to my bed or on top of my desk.

What is your favourite role of hers?
I think her role as Luna in Sleeper is my favourite. Her "I have a PhD in oral sex" line always makes me laugh.

If you could be in a Woody Allen film, who would you be and why?
I'd probably be Tracey in Manhattan just to be chased by him at the end of the movie. I kind of have a crush on Woody.

Mia Farrow or Mariel Hemingway?
Mia for the awesome hair, Mariel for the awesome eyebrows.

In the wake of Thanksgiving, what is your favourite American icon/food/movie?
I don't really know that much about Thanksgiving. The first things that come to my mind are Joey eating a whole turkey by himself on Friends and the new Marc Jacobs Fall '12 pilgrim shoes. Food? I don't want to sound cheesy, but eating a Thanksgiving turkey is on my dream list.

What are you looking forward to about Christmas?
The premiere of Django Unchained from Quentin Tarantino. I'm going to book my ticket soon.

What is the last thing you bought?
Directions hair dye in Alpine Green. I love it so much I think I'll have green hair forever.

Text by Tish Wrigley