Maitress (1975). Gaumont
Before Karl Lagerfeld took the reigns at Chanel, the German designer costumed one of the most outrageous S&M movies of the ’70s — ensembles that make Yves Saint Laurent’s designs in Belle du Jour (1967) look tame. Maîtress (1975) is the story of a Paris girl with a sex dungeon in the basement. Latex, leather, lashings of eyeliner, and an electric staircase descending from the floor of her closet are all the only things separating her private life in Paris and her dungeon job.
The director Barbet Schroeder, who also made Single White Female (1991), cast his wife, Bulle Ogier as the sadistic mistress, Ariane. Underneath all of the bondage gear, however, is a romantic comedy illustrating the changing dynamics between men and women after the sexual revolution. Ariane meets her love interest, Oliver, played by Gérard Depardieu, while he is unwittingly trying to rob her. Oliver heard that the downstairs tenant was away, but to his surprise he finds that no one lives in that apartment – it’s Ariane’s sex dungeon. Upon discovering the muscular yet obtuse intruder, Ariane decides to have fun with him by putting him to work in the dungeon, but the two quickly fall for each other. At first, Oliver tries to keep an open mind about the whole thing, but like in too many love stories, he ultimately tries to make her choose between him and her career, which he does not understand.
Maitress (1975). Gaumont
The costumes are impeccable: classic fetish gear such as ballet boots, gas masks, leather gloves and intricate corset belts, as well as lavish Lagerfeld flourishes such as a luxurious royal purple cape slung over a sleek black leather corset. Meanwhile, the daywear offerings are much more Chanel appropriate, featuring aspirational Parisian style with peter pan collars, pinstripes, loose slacks and breezy pastel-coloured outfits for angelic off-duty looks. Not only are the costumes flawlessly executed — this is Lagerfeld after all — but they also provide a powerful example of the transformational effect that styling has on the way we carry ourselves and how we delineate our lives. Ariane’s looks are not just absurdly sexy but they are also wildly radical at a time of changing social attitudes toward sex and gender roles.
Although the film is now a classic and part of the Criterion Collection, it had difficulty with distribution when it first came out owing to the sexual nature of the film — the dungeon clips were preformed by real masked members of the Paris S&M scene. Meanwhile, for its UK release, the film had to be shelved until 1981 and edited by almost five minutes to be deemed suitable for British audiences. Still, the sexual scenes are not meant to be erotic, so much as to show the intensity of the world Oliver is entering into.
Watch the trailer below: