Okay, I'm going to own up to something. I actually watch Project Runway. I like to see the creations, and it's nice mindless entertainment. However, one thing has been driving me crazy ever since watching episode 8 (the Diane von Furstenberg challenge) from this season.
Repeatedly, the contestants, the judges, and Diane von Furstenberg referred to the inspiration for her fall line: the 1948 film A Foreign Affair. According to them (and several sites on the internet), this film starred Marlene Dietrich and was about an international spy journeying from Berlin to Shanghai.
Am I the only person in the world who has actually seen the 1948 film A Foreign Affair? I’m beginning to think so. First of all, Dietrich did not play a spy in the film. Second, the film took place in post-WWII Germany and Shanghai was never so much as mentioned. Third, Dietrich was not the lead character - Jean Arthur was. Fourth, spies didn't figure in the film at all - it was about a congresswoman investigating suspected moral corruption among American soldiers in occupied Berlin. Dietrich played the former mistress of a war criminal - and believe me, it was not her finest film. Did Diane von Furstenberg ever actually watch the film before modeling her line on it? I have doubts. I doubt she realizes that she based high fashion on a film set in a poverty-stricken, occupied country!
If you’re looking for a Dietrich film involving her going to Shanghai, try the 1932 film Shanghai Express. Honestly, you'd think a top designer would check her facts before opening her mouth! Every time they talked about the film on the episode of Project Runway, I burst out laughing.
Since I was feeling a bit bored, I decided to email Bravo TV about the error, just to see if they'll respond. I mean, it was a pretty big error to make!
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