Under the relentless rain in San Sebastian, the cast and crew of Couture walked the red carpet with elegance and pride. Despite the weather’s defiance, the night glowed with anticipation. Alice Winocour, the celebrated French director known for her emotional storytelling, arrived with her team to unveil her latest work — a film that dives deep beneath the shimmering surface of the fashion industry to expose something raw, human, and deeply moving.

Video: Couture Trailer 2025

Alice Winocour has long been recognized as one of France’s most visionary filmmakers. Her work captures the complexities of emotion and the strength found in vulnerability. From her César Award-winning screenplay Mustang to the poignant Proxima and Paris Memories, Winocour’s voice has always been one of authenticity and soul. In Couture, she brings that same honesty into a world of glitter and chaos, blending art, identity, and resilience into a seamless narrative that stays with you long after the screen fades to black.

At the heart of Couture is Angelina Jolie, who delivers one of the most intimate performances of her career. She portrays Maxine, an acclaimed American film director invited to create a short piece for Paris Fashion Week. Immersed in a whirlwind of beauty, color, and pressure, Maxine’s glamorous world begins to unravel when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. What follows is not simply a story about illness, but one of rediscovery and the quiet strength that comes from confronting fear head-on.

Video: Angelina Jolie on compassion, appreciating life and the fashion of ‘Couture’

Jolie’s portrayal of Maxine captures both fragility and defiance. Through her struggle, she exposes the impossible standards women face — not only in fashion but in life. Beneath the polished perfection, there’s pain, courage, and truth. Winocour turns the camera into a mirror that reflects every woman’s battle between self-image and self-worth. The result is haunting, empowering, and profoundly human.

While Couture unfolds against the glamorous backdrop of Paris Fashion Week, its true subject isn’t fashion at all. The catwalks and couture gowns serve only as symbols — illusions of control in a world obsessed with appearances. Beneath every glittering surface lies a deeper narrative about identity, mortality, and resilience. The film reveals how beauty often exists in the moments we hide, in the cracks where light quietly enters.

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One of the film’s most powerful themes is sisterhood. As Maxine faces her illness, she finds unexpected solidarity among the women around her — models, designers, assistants, and creatives who share in her journey. These relationships, fragile yet profound, become her greatest source of strength. Winocour captures this connection with a tenderness that transcends words. Through shared laughter, glances, and silence, she shows how women can heal together, even in a world built on competition.

Visually, Couture is breathtaking. Winocour’s direction combines elegance with emotional depth, using every frame to express something beyond dialogue. The lighting, the textures, even the rhythm of movement create an atmosphere that feels almost tactile. Each detail is deliberate, echoing Maxine’s transformation as she learns to find meaning beyond beauty.

By the film’s conclusion, what began as a story set in the glittering world of fashion becomes something far greater — a reflection on survival, purpose, and the art of starting again. Maxine’s journey becomes a metaphor for every woman who has ever been forced to rebuild herself from the inside out.

Alice Winocour’s Couture is more than cinema; it’s a statement about the strength of the human spirit. Through Jolie’s graceful performance and Winocour’s poetic storytelling, the film reminds us that resilience doesn’t mean being unbreakable — it means finding the courage to rise, again and again, no matter how hard the storm falls.