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LONDON — In matters of fashion, smoking is the only vice that has completely disappeared – and there is still a burning desire.
For the fashion crowd, many see a lit cigarette, rather than a vape, as a sign of chic. Tobacco, like the color black, has managed to remain in vogue despite its health risks and dangers.
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Celine sells lighter cases made of sterling silver and lizard leather for $870, and the smell of Nightclubs has been bottled by smoking. The brand describes it as a “perfume … with nicotine accents … somewhere between the scent of the crimson velvet seat and the sensuality of the nape of the neck, scented with vanilla.”
On the runways, smoking still has a strong allure. At the fall 2024 shows, Christian Cowan and LaQuan Smith sent models down the runway with cigarettes in hand — and some were even smoking.
David Koma worked with jeweler Emily Frances Barrett for fall 2023 to create earrings and a cigarette necklace, while 80-year-old Yohji Yamamoto fills any room he’s in with a cloud of smoke.
The examples don’t end there, and over the years there have been cigars on the Chanel holiday 2017 runway in Havana, Cuba; Kate Moss closing the Louis Vuitton Fall 2011 show holding a cigarette while wearing black gloves, and Lady Gaga walking the Mugler Fall 2011 show smoking a cigarette.
It seems that the rising fitness industry is not even able to beat the glamor and power that a cigarette could radiate in some circles.
“Every once in a while, when the occasion comes up, it’s fun to misbehave and be a little in the way with an after-dinner cigarette. And when you’re hosting within your own four walls, the rules can be a bit flexible,” said fine jewelry designer Jessica McCormack, who hosted a private dinner during Frieze week in London, where guests took occasional cigarette breaks in the small garden.
At dinner there were wooden boxes filled with cigarettes and a menu with McCormack’s whimsical illustrations of a barefoot, Lady of Bath character riding a donkey — and smoking a cigarette. The tables were spread with game books with the same interpretation.
Fellow jeweler Solange Azagury-Partridge has a penchant for smoking, and cigarette merchandise. She recently collaborated with New York-based brand Edie Parker, a design brand that defines smoking accessories, on a silver Hotlips grill with a built-in lighter, priced at £840.
Of course, brands and designers have been playing with smoke for years – stretching back to when cigarettes were accepted in society, even in restaurants and on planes. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was often photographed with a cigarette in hand, and Yves Saint Laurent introduced the “Le Tobac” outfit in 1966.
That same year Helmut Newton photographed the designer alongside model Vibeke Knudsen, who was holding a cigarette in her hand. Since then, designers have not let the deaths of tobacco – or death warnings on cigarette packets – affect their images.
Smoking is clearly a habit that is difficult in some ways, for the new British government, and for the fashion crowd.
The former cannot resist the allure of the tobacco tax and vaping, while the latter have fallen back in love with the look, feel and aesthetics of smoking.
The previously mentioned Labor government quietly banned smoking in outdoor spaces such as pub gardens, restaurant terraces, university campuses and even on footpaths.
It is doubtful that the proposed tax increases will encourage anyone to change their mind about smoking.
When Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer took office, he was strongly anti-smoking, but he quickly changed his mind after pushback from the hospitality industry, and the promise of tax revenue from cigarette and vaping lovers alike.
In the government’s latest budget, announced on 30 October, the government increased the tax on tobacco by 2 per cent, and 10 per cent on hand-rolled tobacco. Meanwhile, every 10-ml. A dose of e-cigarette liquid will cost £2.20 more from October 2026.
“Psychologically, when governments severely restrict behavior, people often rebel to regain their lost independence. The act of smoking, which is already imbued with an aura of rebellion, can become even more attractive under prohibition, because it increases its reach with non-compliance and non-conformity,” said Carolyn Mair, chartered psychologist, business consultant fashion and author of “The Psychology of Fashion.”
Fashion is not the only creative industry that still benefits from cigarettes: the film industry also has a relationship with them. His hottest stars are smoking hot on and off screen: Drew Starkey in Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer”; Paul Mescal on the series “Gladiator II,” and the characters of Josh O’Connor and Mike Fist in “Challengers.”
The Instagram account @Cigfluencers is a shrine to the art of smoking with 58,000 followers. The page describes itself as “hot people keeping the art of smoking and being cool alive,” and celebrities have been smoking in paparazzi shots, magazine editorials, music videos and movie scenes.
“For those involved in fashion and entertainment, smoking often has a symbolic appeal, tied to the aesthetic values of glamour, edginess, and sophistication,” said Mair.
“Within the context of these industries, smoking can be a psychological escape from high-pressure environments and allow individuals to network and socialize in informal settings. In an industry where thinness is highly valued, cigarettes could be used as an appetite suppressant,” she says.
According to Smokefree Media, an organization that tracks smoking on the big screen, more than 30 films released this year involve smoking.
Notable features in the report include “The Bikeriders,” a film about a midwestern motorcycle club, in which 234 smoking incidents were recorded, and “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” an action film based on British Prime Minister Winston Churchill with 233 smoking incidents. to spend .
Amy Winehouse’s biopic “Back to Black” featured 94 smoking scenes and Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” featured 62 scenes.
Smokefree Media’s report does not include TV series. There are many cigarette smoking scenes in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” with Ryan Murphy and in HBO’s “Industry”.
According to another report from STOP, otherwise known as the Stop Smoking Organizations and Products, the Netflix documentary series “Drive to Survive” was estimated to have more than 1 billion minutes of tobacco-related footage.
Fashion and film remain even as Big Tobacco turns its attention to galvanizing, which it sees as a healthier – but still profitable – alternative.
“The global cigarette market has declined steadily in recent years. Here in the UK, that shows a sharp decline in smoking prevalence since 2011,” said a spokesman for Philip Morris International, the owner behind cigarette brands such as Marlboro and L&M.
“We are building our future on replacing cigarettes with smoke-free products that – although addictive and not risk-free – are a better alternative for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke,” a he said.
But vapes are noticeably absent, from the runways, fashion photos and parties. And there is a reason for that. They are a halfway house for smokers who want to quit, and vice versa. It’s unlikely that any designer will be calling “Le Vaping,” a futuristic design or trying to cool off by sipping one for a portrait.
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