Aline by Valérie Lemercier: the costumes of Celine Dion vs. those of the film!

One hundred and fifty. This is the number of costumes made for Valérie Lemercier in Aline. For her sixth feature film, the actress and director hits hard. She stages a fiction freely inspired by the fate of Céline Dion – renamed here Aline Dieu -, a singer that she incarnates from her 5 to her 50 years. On paper, such an idea is surprising, but on the screen, the magic operates. The success of the film depends, among other things, on the care taken in the creation of the outfits.

Behind this colossal work, we find the costume designer Catherine Leterrier. Her first meeting with Valérie Lemercier dates back to 1990, for Snowy in May by Louis Malle. Subsequently, the two women often worked together, especially on Visitors. Since Royal palace, Catherine Leterrier collaborates with the actress on all her directing projects.

“For Aline, there was a lot of work upstream, explains the costume designer in the press kit. [Valérie Lemercier] has read absolutely everything that has been written about Celine Dion. I think that with all these newspapers, these books, we could fill a truck!”During the shooting, a costume workshop, run by Didier Despin and his seamstresses, was set up.

Known for her attention to detail, Valérie Lemercier greatly participated in the development of these outfits. Catherine Leterrier specifies that the actress and director “knows suppliers known only to sharp costumers”. “We had to obey the style of Valérie who is eccentric and who also loves tradition. So, to look very far in the extravagance then eliminate, skim, then, to find the pure and essential line. I know her well enough not to be afraid to offer her ideas that she will reject! She’s a perfectionist, me too, that’s good, and it’s crazy how she sees everything!”