At first, I was very surprised. I had just finished filming Trenque Lauquen, a four-and-a-half-hour movie that took almost six years to make, where there were no costume changes—everyone wore the same uniform throughout. So, this was the first time costumes became a focal point in my storytelling, and it was a revelation to realize that costumes could serve as characters. However, I didn’t want to create a film where fashion was merely cosmetic. In El Affaire Miu Miu, the clothes function as forensic evidence, like clues guiding the narrative to its conclusion, while also serving as fantastical elements of a different universe. The movie is a detective story, but it’s more than that. As the policewomen search for the missing model, they discover her clothes left behind, scattered across the fields of the pampa or hanging from trees. They become fascinated, almost obsessed with the garments and their intricate details, as if encountering alien creatures from another world. Gradually, they begin to wear them, slowly becoming ‘Miu Miu-ed’ themselves. In a way, this also happened to me. In my daily life, fashion doesn’t play a significant role. In Argentina, we don’t have fashion brands, and I’m not connected with any, so meeting Miu Miu was quite fun and spontaneous. It was incredible—when the clothes arrived from Italy on set, everyone was like, ‘Wow!’ The fiction somehow mirrored our genuine sense of wonder at the clothes, as if they had come from another planet. They looked almost alien to me. When I first saw images of the Miu Miu collection before starting the movie, I found them rather mysterious—the details, the colors, the shapes.
It’s clear that your connection to the fashion world is not typical, and you approach it from a perspective that differs from the usual viewpoint. Could you discuss how this distinct relationship with fashion influences your work and creative process, if at all?
I would love to have more time and money to invest in that relationship and to deepen my knowledge of fashion, but sometimes you have to prioritize. Even though I’m not connected with the fashion world, like every woman, I spend time thinking about how I look and what I’ll wear. Fashion is so ingrained in our lives that we sometimes overlook its presence. But, you know, I’m a director, a producer, a mother, a wife, and a teacher—so many roles. I make countless decisions every day, and I’m tired from making them! But, of course, choosing what to wear is a decision you face daily. This movie has sparked a new curiosity about fashion in me.
