Life in Looks with Cate Blanchett

Vogue

Director: Gabrielle Reich Director of Photography: Josh Herzog Editor: Michael Suyeda Producer: Michelle Bruno Associate Producer: Lea Donenberg Assistant Camera/ Camera Operator: Cindy Chen Gaffer: Julia Gowesky Audio: Nicole Maupin Production Assistants: Molly Klein, Megan Miller Production Coordinator: Ava Kashar Production Manager: Natasha Soto-Albors Senior Director, Production Management: Jessica Schier Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds Post Coordinator: Holly Frew Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Director, Post Production: Nicholas Ascanio Associate Director, Video Talent: Meredith Judkins Director, Content Production: Rahel Gebreyes Senior Director, Digital Video: Romy van den Broeke Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri Filmed on Location: Hotel (The Mercer) Florist: ByEstee

Transcript

00:00Hello Vogue, I'm Cate Blanchett and this is my life in looks.

00:07I'm a little nervous but je ne regrette rien, right? Oh my giddy aunt. I think I'm wearing my

00:14mother's sweater and it looks like my school shirt. I'm probably also wearing the underpants

00:20that my mother made me. Until about 10 years ago, I still had the underpants that my mother sewed.

00:26Clearly not wearing any makeup. God bless me. I look like I'm 12. But this was at the Sydney

00:31Theatre Critics Awards and I won Best Newcomer. I was in a production of Olliana and then I loved

00:39it so much I ran the company. I think I might have come straight from rehearsals. Clearly,

00:44I didn't realise I was going to be photographed. Or win. Next. Oh look, this is the very first time

00:52I went to the Academy Awards. I had done a shoot in Australia and I'd fallen in love with this

00:57dress that John Galliano had designed. It was knitted, white knitted and it was embellished

01:01with all this amazing embroidery. And I met him in London and he said that he would design

01:06something for me. And he said let's change the colour. And he sat down, it was like being on

01:11the couch and he asked about my family and my marriage. And then he embellished, I think you

01:17can just see it at the bottom there, there's a little hummingbird. And there's two hummingbirds

01:21on the dress and one was me and one was my husband Andrew. So there's kind of a real

01:25beautiful story. I gave it to Amphar. So now someone else is wearing it, sadly. But anyway,

01:31I love that dress so much. Oh, an A for effort. This is me at the BAFTAs. I played Queen Elizabeth

01:41I. When we made the film, we actually thought we'll have to take the first off there because

01:46maybe an audience would think there was a sequel coming, that it was Elizabeth part one. But it was

01:51Elizabeth I. And I'm glad I'm wearing a slip. I mean, you just take the slip off, I guess you

01:55could wear that today, right? Am I an early adopter of that? Or am I holding something? I've got my

02:02glasses on. Oh, this was a dress that Jean-Paul Gaultier designed. My father-in-law, who's no

02:09longer with us, called it an exit dress. He said, you know, people don't think much when you come

02:14into the room, but when you leave, they go, wow. There was obviously a lot of jewellery Jean-Paul

02:18Gaultier had put on the dress. But Cynthia Bach then provided all of the amazing pieces. I was

02:24playing a psychic in Savannah in a small film called The Gift with Sam Raimi. And I had never

02:30been to a psychic. And I got her to do a reading for me. And she made some predictions, wild

02:34predictions. I'd play a writer who had short hair, who died for what she believed in, Guavin, Guevin.

02:39I played Veronica Guerin. And she said that I would wear a dress that was going to change my career.

02:44And then I wore that. I don't know if it's changed my career, but I'm very pleased I wore it.

02:50Oh, bless. Now, that is my own hair. And that's just me on a Sunday morning in the pond.

02:55Next. In a little-known film called Lord of the Rings, playing Galadriel. I did have someone I

03:02deeply respect say to me, look, they're making this weird film in New Zealand, and they want

03:06you to play an elf for three weeks. You don't want to do that, do you? Yeah, I did. After the film was

03:12over, my husband, he's fallen out of the habit. He sort of does it to the children now. But he used

03:17to drag me around by my ears. It was playful. And so I told the guys at Weta, who did all of

03:22the prosthetics, this. And they gave me, it was kind of creepy, a chocolate box full of ear tips

03:29that they'd made to look like chocolates. And then they bronzed my ears so I could give them to my

03:33husband. That is me on the set of The Aviator, which Martin Scorsese directed. I think it's

03:42between takes, us playing Catherine Hepburn, one of the more daunting things I've ever done.

03:47But when Scorsese asks you to do anything, I'd be a tree for him. That was the first time I worked

03:51with the great Sandy Powell on the costumes. And my relationship with costume designers,

03:57I've realised over time, is really pivotal to creating a character. And obviously, even before

04:02you utter a word, an audience is going to start reading your character by what they wear and how

04:07they wear. And something that Marty did, he liberated me from having to do sort of any

04:12imitation of Hepburn. He played a lot of those early screwball comedies she did. And Bringing

04:18Up Baby was one of them. So I watched that. Catherine Hepburn is so raked in. And then,

04:24you know, you don't plan for these things. And then the film got nominated. And I did. And so

04:28I had to do a lot of red carpets pregnant. And Donna Karan made me this amazing, stretchy dress

04:34that really celebrated the fact I was, I was pregnant. Oh, this is back in 2006 for Vogue.

04:42It's a very memorable shoot. Tony Goodman styled it and Stephen Klein shot it. The clothes were

04:50insane. I mean, this one was another Galliano. The pose was really difficult to hold. And I

04:57learned so much about making a picture, working with Stephen Klein and Tony on this shoot. Next.

05:05Oh, this was the first time I went to the Met Ball. And I went with Nicolas Gasquier when he

05:10was at Balenciaga. So we just shot with Irving Penn that day. And Nicolas had done his take on

05:16an Elizabethan garment. And then we went straight from there, we had to do a quick

05:22360 and then show up to the Met Ball. The theme was Poiret, king of fashion. I mean, I just went

05:28to the exhibition and could have stayed there. It's always so great. I mean, the room is really

05:32vibrant, of course, but it's always important to remember the exhibition and the reason why you're

05:36there. Okay, next one. There we go. Here's the photograph that Irving Penn took. And this was in

05:43Penn's studio. The taking of the picture was incredibly quick. But the sitting and preparing,

05:50it's like I've had the great fortune of being photographed by Penn and by Avedon. It's all

05:55about their regard and knowing when to press the shutter. And so to be beheld by him was just

06:04unforgettable. This was the second time I played Queen Elizabeth in Elizabeth the Golden Age.

06:09The costumes were designed by Alexandra Byrne. I mean, she referenced a lot of haute couture,

06:15and there were a lot of Balenciaga references. And she made one dress that was so enormous,

06:21I couldn't fit through the doorway of the cathedral that we were shooting in.

06:27Hello, Bob! I've worked with the great Todd Haynes a couple of times, and I hope I get to do it a

06:33couple of times more. He's so fantastic to work with. I had literally walked off the set of

06:39playing Queen Elizabeth in Queen Elizabeth the Golden Age on a Friday, wrapped, and then had to

06:45be on set as playing Bob Dylan in Montreal on Monday. Todd had divided Bob's persona, Bob like

06:52I know him, Dylan's persona, into many different characters. And the late, great Heath Ledger was

06:59one of them, and Christian Bale. And I played this electric silhouette. I think he wanted a woman

07:05inside this period of Dylan's musical career. It meant that there was a separation between

07:15how iconic this period and this look of Dylan's was and the character playing. Because you know

07:21there's a woman inside that. But it was so liberating. You know, I had fantastic eyebrows

07:27and sideburns. Is there any time my husband hasn't wanted to kiss me? Oh, this is from Carol,

07:33a Todd Haynes film. I played alongside the wonderful Rooney Mara. And that coat was a

07:40nightmare. Sandy Powell did the costumes again. And once again, I mean, she can do an enormous,

07:45like we worked together on Cinderella, with unbelievable costumes with a much bigger budget.

07:50And then we had $2.50 to pull this one together. And she had two coats. And one was great and

07:57stable. And this one was like a little fragile creature that kept falling apart. And I said,

08:03I'm really sorry, Sandy. I think it's that one. And she goes, I know. I knew you were going to

08:07say that. So Sandy, the great Sandy Powell, was literally behind the car in between every take

08:13because we had to get out and it was really windy. The coat would come apart. And so she was there,

08:17but in between takes sewing it up. I felt a responsibility for this, for sure. Because

08:24films like this, up to this point, weren't really made and certainly not made in the mainstream.

08:31And really, I mean, this is a, if anyone comes up to me in the supermarket,

08:37this is the film that they talk about. And so it was really, really important to a lot of people.

08:42Oh, this is Sarah Burton when she was at McQueen. And it was the most exquisite piece of embroidery.

08:49The bottom, you can't really see there, but it was all feathers. So I love that dress so much

08:54that then during COVID, I presided over the jury in Venice and there was no time. All the

09:01ateliers were closed. So I said, could I borrow that piece of embroidery again? And then I had

09:07a pair of pants and wore it because I thought when you have something so beautiful like that,

09:12I mean, it's a crime to wear at once. It's even more beautiful in person.

09:18At the year I was nominated for Blue Jasmine at the Golden Globes, Mr. Armani had designed

09:24this beautiful privé dress. It was an impossible gown. And you didn't really see the back because

09:30it goes right down to this plunging piece. The back is bare and this beautiful lace,

09:36which has become quite signature. I was on the jury in Cannes and I wore it to the opening night.

09:43And I remember people saying to my publicist, okay, Kate's wearing it. She's worn that dress

09:50before. As if I didn't know. Oh, really? And I was so pleased to wear it again because I'd loved it so much.

09:58Sarah Burton, there she is in Cannes. Sarah made this beautiful, it was like a tuxedo,

10:03but it was a dress and had this massive bow on the back. And it was actually shown on the runway

10:09as a jacket. And she said, why am I trying to turn it into a dress? And so I loved that. And I wore

10:14that again to Sarah's final show for McQueen. Here we are back at the Venice Film Festival.

10:20And this is a Schiaparelli Flummery, which I'd seen on the runway and absolutely loved and managed

10:27not to poke myself in the eye with it. This was an example on tar of the character coming to life,

10:34really. The script by Todd Field was just, he didn't change a syllable. It was so exquisitely

10:39wrought and written. It was like a, how do you make a female conductor look, you know, someone

10:45who is incredibly powerful, you know, very, very aware of her presence. And so we went for this,

10:51I guess what has been termed quiet luxury look, really great tailoring. I've had a couple of

10:57experiences in my life where I've just been so in sync with a director and a script. And,

11:05you know, you're lucky if you have one of those experiences in your life, but I've had a handful

11:09of them and I'm so grateful. And tar was definitely one of them. Music has come back into my life in a

11:16really major way. And that's because of this experience. Here we are. This is Armani Privé.

11:21This is a dress that just keeps on giving. That was from the current Privé collection. And I said,

11:26look, there's, I know there's this leftover lace from the dress that I'd worn to the Globes all

11:30those years before, and they found an off cut. And so they made the internal corset out of that

11:35off cut. It's felt great. And I've since worn it again with the actual piece that goes underneath

11:40it. And I wanted to, I wanted to wear it with a t-shirt, but Mr. Armani wouldn't let me.

11:46You got to respect the maestro, right? Oh, hey, well, this is an oldie, but a goodie. With my

11:53first paycheck as an actor, I bought an Armani suit and this is it. And I wear it wherever I

12:00can. And I think we were there in Milan for a Privé show. Okay. Oh, well, this is at Cannes,

12:08and this is the incomparable Nicolas Gasquier. It's a particular type of beading. So the dress

12:14is incredibly heavy, but such is his mastery that he makes it look so light. And the shoulders are

12:20really big, you know, in the hands of someone else could look really solid, but then he's got

12:24that beautiful drape. But yeah, I can't wait to wear this one again. It's beautiful. This is

12:29Brandon Maxwell. I'm going to Good Morning America. Looking so good. Did my own hair and makeup,

12:35right? That time in the morning. I love a Canadian tuxedo, double denim, triple denim. And this

12:40wasn't actually denim. It was more like a velvet. So it was really comfy and cozy. Oh, once again,

12:47this is also for Borderlands. And I'm obsessed with this Swedish designer. She's taken sustainable

12:52dressing like to a whole new level. And seen this piece that was a dress all done in spoons.

12:59Underneath this is a kind of a cotton netting into which you put the spoons on when you get

13:04dressed and it's backless. And then she put some spoons onto a sort of a suit that I wore for the

13:11disclaimer premiere in Toronto for the festival. I mean, it was a crazy bonkers COVID film that I

13:19made. I really love the films of Khodorovsky. And there was one film of his where they were all in

13:24the desert and the character has these incredible fingerless gloves. I thought it'd be good to have

13:28something on your hand in a close up. Oh, this is the 2024 Rumours premiere at the New York Film

13:34Festival. And I'd seen this and I just thought it was hilarious. It's Fiorucci, I think. I wear

13:40those leather pants like every Wednesday. My favourite pair of leather pants. Yeah, it's a bit

13:44my cousin it. Look, not breathable and don't go near me with a naked flame. This is the thing,

13:51you know, when you think about re-wearing something, you think how could I wear it? It would kind of be

13:54cool as a skirt. Black bag. Working again with Steven Soderbergh, one of the most stylish

14:01filmmakers around. And Ellen Miroshnick, who is one of the greatest costume designers. And I play

14:07a spy. And the only thing Steven said to me is,

14:12I want big hair. It's a great film and really fantastic cast.

14:16Thanks, Vogue. That wasn't so painful after all.

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