Colleen Goes Contemporary: First Official Pic from The Tourist

Not much call to comment on a solitary official image from espionage thriller The Tourist starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. Only to say that after Public Enemies and Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood is now tackling contemporary couture costuming instead.

For our money this is potentially an even more interesting area for Atwood. Obviously her stage/period/ fantasy outfits on the likes of Sweeney Todd, Nine and Memoirs of a Geisha, cannot be ignored. They’re terrific. She’s terrific. However following her early work on The Silence of the Lambs and The Mexican, contemporary costume perhaps offers Atwood an even greater challenge. Rather than recreate, the contemporary costumer often has to instigate. Consider Betsy Heimann’s black SB suit and splayed white shirt worn by Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. Fashion imitates art, not vice-versa.

This shot shows Angelina Jolie wearing what appears to be a slash neck shift dress and wrap with long mocha gloves. Very Audrey Hepburn, 1950s inspired. Johnny Depp is continental chic in a lightweight wool grey overcoat, complete with open neck brown shirt, waistcoat and shaggy hair. Although his look does seems to derive more from a decade back. Smart casual is the order.

Awards ceremonies rarely reward contemporary costume design, yet with styles as luxurious as The Tourist promises to offer, Colleen Atwood does stand to be ripped off left and right by high fashion hoping to recreate that ‘Angelina chic’. Though lest they forget in their enthusiasm that Angelina is playing a character and that is who Atwood is dressing, not the actor.

UPDATE: Empire have another nice image from the film HERE. We’ll run some more at Clothes on Film when Columbia Pictures release a proper spread.

The Tourist is due for release on February 16, 2011.