More than any other artist of her generation, Billie Holiday represents the complexity of Blackness in America. She was noted for her one-of-a-kind voice being demonized once she began using it to protest racism. Her beats are still relevant more than six decades after her death at 44 in 1959, but Holiday’s legacy is about more than jazz.
An innovative artist who refused to live unrealistically attracted the attention of government officials, and at times the African American community, she oversaw the Civil Rights movement. Symbolic songs such as ‘Strange Fruit,’ based on epilepsy in South America in the early twentieth century, introduced racism to the popular music of the time at a time when Hollywood was popular. to his stars without offense. While her peers Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne were noted for their spotless femininity and fame, Holiday’s struggle with alcohol and additives was a fodder for shameful headaches. Public scandal was one thing, but Lady Day ‘s cases were used against her by powerful forces that wanted to mimic her message. Targeted by the New York Commissioner for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics after the success of ‘Strange Fruit’ she was arrested for possession of narcotics in 1947 and sentenced to Alderson West Virginia Federal Prison Camp after her lawyer refused to production during a test. The conviction meant she lost her Caberet Card, which was then a requirement for all New York City players in nightclubs, a blow that prevented her from performing in a position the nightclub she enjoyed. Eventually the stress and lack of work on holidays led to a decline in heroin use and depression.
That battle is the subject of director Lee Daniels’ latest film, United States vs. Billie Holiday. A moving picture of the last years of Holiday’s life, it shows how the controversy over ‘Strange Fruit’ would eventually ruin her career and personal life. From the beginning, Daniels wanted to go beyond the usual biopic. When Daniels saw the first attempt at Hollywood to tell the Holiday story, the drama was nominated for an Oscar Lady Lady sings the Blues, had a major influence on the then-13-year-old director. “It’s part of why I’m doing what I’m doing now,” he said by phone from California. “I have never seen two beautiful black people on screen like that, presented with grace and style. My favorite thing though [the characters] they were poor, you would never be able to tell because they were infamously decorated and Harlem was designed with such beauty. ”
When he started working on it United States vs. Billie Holiday, Daniels wanted to preserve that sense of grandeur while offering a true account of Holiday’s life. “The fact is that the government brought down this woman,” he says. “She was a civil rights leader, a fashion figure, a gay woman, and a great singer. Like most African Americans at the time, she became ill and had a complex history. She did what she could to lift it, but she was a hero. ”
Daniels knew that the images of the film had to be as strong as the story itself, especially when it came to the costumes. While his longtime colleague, Paolo Nieddu, would be a costume designer, Daniels wanted talent from the world of the runway to be involved in the process and create a few key scenes. The perfect suggestion came Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. “I had a couple of designers around, but then Anna took me to Miuccia,” says Daniels. “She knew I couldn’t go wrong with Prada. I was going to throw myself at Miuccia’s feet because she’s a genius, but I didn’t have to; she really liked my work, and I love it so much, so we were excited. ”
The nine outfits created by the team at Prada capture the elegance of Holiday style. With the appearance of a marigold satin performance and dramatic outfits for times outside of stairs, the pieces show that she was always Lady Day, no matter the situation. For Nieddu, maintaining the quality of these stars was paramount. Closely involved in the day-to-day aspects of the collaboration, he had fun visiting Prada’s archive and finding runway examples to share with the brand’s team. “I went through every gathering Run Vogue then I started old e-Baying magazines because I wanted to move through a magazine rather than print an image, ”he says. “We were inspired by a dress from Fall 2017 and then covered the shoulders from the 2011 tourism gathering [for another look.] Then we had hundreds of reference photos of Billie to choose from as well. “
Pouring over a wealth of images informed the design of Nieddu, who makes up the bulk of the on-screen wardrobe. Within his creations, he tried to avoid over-relying on the image associated with Holiday style. “We used the flower twice, but not every time,” he says, referring to the white gardenias the star began to adorn her hair with after curling iron. singing her curls while back on stage at New York jazz club Kelly’s Stables. To keep things interesting, Nieddu gets access to antiques such as a charm bracelet found in a Montreal workshop and cat-eye-catching sunglasses for the sights set in the 1950s, creating an eclectic pastiche that he hopes will appeal to an audience. “With all its glamor, the film has the magic of an old Hollywood picture,” he says. “I would like to see a new generation fall in love with Billie and find her music, to see her in a different way than just as an image of a woman with a gardenia. ”
The meticulous effort put into the costumes, set design, and direction would all be taken without the right person making a picture of a holiday. Finding an actress who could embody such a mythical image required a thorough investigation. “That was the most important thing, and I had heard a lot of great actors for the role,” said Daniels, who limited the selection pool to established people. With her good looks and powerful power-ups, Andra Day was praised for Daniels many times, but at first he was worried about her lack of acting experience. “People had been telling me to look at Andra, but I don’t like being told what to do!” he says. “I had been against it, but I finally made a cave, and I met her at SoHo House in West Hollywood, and I was instantly beaten.”
A force in the music industry since the release of her debut album, Cheers to the Fall in 2015, Day had never worked professionally before and felt a level of frustration at the start of such a high career. However, thanks to her supportive team, Day felt comfortable in front of the camera. “When you have a team of people out there who want to win, you get things done,” said Day. “That was them, the team and the whole team, Lee, Tasha [Smith] my acting coach and Tom [Jones] which helped me with dialect. ”As well as running lines and learning how you can turn limited emotions into actions that feel realistic, Day took the time to read about Holiday history. “I studied, I read all the autobiographies, I listened to her old interviews, I watched every documentary, I studied as much as I could,” she says say. “To gain a better understanding of her performances, I spoke to people who have been involved in heroin and learned about it. [experience] really similar. I not only wanted Billie’s main life events; I had to find out what moved her. “
Teetotaler who doesn’t smoke or party much, Day’s personality is far from a free vacation, and getting into a character was eye-opening. “For two years before we even started filming, I tried to live in her world as much as I could,” she says. Even before she was cast, Day was a lifelong holiday fan, and she cites the singer as a lasting influence on her wardrobe and music. ‘It was my main motivation,’ said Day. “When I was 11, my musical theater director instilled this deep love for her. ‘Sugar’ and ‘Strange Fruit’ were the first songs I heard about her, and her tone struck me. That wasn’t the usual way of powerhouse singers, but she had ownership of her voice. That moved and the way she used her music to say something meaningful. Her impact on my record has also had an impact, and the music is a little more emotional than feeling and as a result. ”
Holiday style was just as influential. “Through high school, I put my hair the way it did: parted and in a ponytail,” says Day. “It was so innovative.” Indeed, the impact of Holiday on the fashion industry is a testament to his reputation. “Billie was a global superstitious all her life and made moves,” Day explains. “In the film, we are in [clothes] that’s right for the time being, and it feels modern because she was so well ahead of her time. In the forties, she wore the popular cowl neck jumpers in the 1960s, designers made clothes specifically for her, and magazines all over the world covered all her clothes. she would. ”
Getting out in a retro suit and Prada routines is nice, but for Day the film’s sartorial message is related to Holiday’s action. Her clothes were not just beautiful; they were a political statement. “It’s important when we talk about her fashion that we remember how radical it was for a Black woman to be in her job at that time,” she said. “Mainstream society had a hard time seeing black women in the context of success. In those days, “uppity” was still part of the oral tradition. People said, ‘how she wears diamonds, how she wears fur,’ but she dressed like a woman in her image. She represented herself as she wanted and that in itself was revolutionary. ”