No Time Like The Present

Examining the symbiotic relationship between watches and film.

- Lynette Kee

Historically, films have always influenced designers, whether through their cinematography, costuming or set design. On the flip side, there have been designers whose works have defined the look of a film or the style of a memorable film character. The relationship between actress Audrey Hepburn and designer Hubert de Givenchy in the movie “Sabrina” comes to mind. In the tangled universe of costume and character, watch wearing also often symbolises and reveals character traits — based on the principle of enclothed cognition, a technique employed in costuming to use items of clothing as external markers of personality and behaviour.

“Watches can be important on different levels,” says Agnès Servenière, a screenwriter and director based in Paris, in an interview with The New York Times. “Firstly, as part of the screenplay, but also as a way of outlining the personality or social standing of a character.” Though they are small accessories that flash by in scenes, watches rarely go unnoticed when they appear. In fact, these mechanical complications play on the strings of emotional complexity to reach the subconscious of both the character and the audience.