© 2010, Clothes on Film 31 Aug ’10 Of all the mismatched, gaudily patterned and coloured attire Jeff Bridges as ‘The Dude’ wears in The Big Lebowski (1998, directed by the Coen Brothers), the ubiquitous Cowichan-type Pendleton cardigan sums up his character best of all. Threadbare, scruffy and in need of a good wash, the pair sure do go well together. Without indulging too detailed a history lesson, Cowichan is a style of knitting developed in the mid-nineteenth century by native Coast Salish women of the Cowichan tribe in British Columbia, Canada. Superficially it is similar in design to Fair Isle knitwear in Scotland. Although, amongst other differences, such as…

© 2010, Clothes on Film 31 Aug ’10 Of all the mismatched, gaudily patterned and coloured attire Jeff Bridges as ‘The Dude’ wears in The Big Lebowski (1998, directed by the Coen Brothers), the ubiquitous Cowichan-type Pendleton cardigan sums up his character best of all. Threadbare, scruffy and in need of a good wash, the pair sure do go well together. Without indulging too detailed a history lesson, Cowichan is a style of knitting developed in the mid-nineteenth century by native Coast Salish women of the Cowichan tribe in British Columbia, Canada. Superficially it is similar in design to Fair Isle knitwear in Scotland. Although, amongst other differences, such as…

© 2010, Clothes on Film 31 Aug ’10 Of all the mismatched, gaudily patterned and coloured attire Jeff Bridges as ‘The Dude’ wears in The Big Lebowski (1998, directed by the Coen Brothers), the ubiquitous Cowichan-type Pendleton cardigan sums up his character best of all. Threadbare, scruffy and in need of a good wash, the pair sure do go well together. Without indulging too detailed a history lesson, Cowichan is a style of knitting developed in the mid-nineteenth century by native Coast Salish women of the Cowichan tribe in British Columbia, Canada. Superficially it is similar in design to Fair Isle knitwear in Scotland. Although, amongst other differences, such as…

© 2010, Clothes on Film 19 Oct ’10 So much has been written about H.R. Giger’s justly-renowned xenomorph design that the human costume design in the Alien movies goes largely unnoticed, argues film critic Simon Kinnear. In the first of a two-part special, we revisit the saga on Blu-ray to look at just how important these costumes are in contextualising primal terror. Traditionally, costume designers in science-fiction movies depicted the future as being utilitarian, uniform and very clinical: think of Forbidden Planet (1956) or 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) for good examples of the space-faring look. The early 1970s saw a slight sea-change when Dark Star (1974), the John Carpenter…

© 2010, Clothes on Film 19 Oct ’10 So much has been written about H.R. Giger’s justly-renowned xenomorph design that the human costume design in the Alien movies goes largely unnoticed, argues film critic Simon Kinnear. In the first of a two-part special, we revisit the saga on Blu-ray to look at just how important these costumes are in contextualising primal terror. Traditionally, costume designers in science-fiction movies depicted the future as being utilitarian, uniform and very clinical: think of Forbidden Planet (1956) or 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) for good examples of the space-faring look. The early 1970s saw a slight sea-change when Dark Star (1974), the John Carpenter…

© 2010 Chris Laverty. All rights reserved. 16 Sep ’10 The first trailer for The Tourist starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp has finally debuted. Regardless of your sexual orientation, there is something for you here. Yet, although it may look gorgeous there is a slight concern that The Tourist is attempting that most troublesome of genres – the comedy thriller. Clearly the premise is a sixties throwback, with Johnny Depp as the unaware tourist of the title entranced by a ‘ravenous’ (watch the trailer) femme fatale played by Angelina Jolie. Thankfully, however, their clothes are not heavy-handedly retro, with costume designer Coleen Atwood instead choosing chic modern couture that…

Having created some of the most recognisable contemporary costume design of the 20th century for Wall Street in 1987, Ellen Mirojnick returns to dress belated sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. But how has time altered the broker’s look and what sartorial influences does the current economic climate bring to the new world of finance? Talking exclusively to Clothes on Film, costume designer Ellen Mirojnick tells us exactly what to expect when director Oliver Stone’s much anticipated follow up hits cinema screens next month. All the principals’ shirts in the film were made by Anto of Beverly Hills. Clothes on Film, Chris: How has Wall Street trader attire evolved since…

Having created some of the most recognisable contemporary costume design of the 20th century for Wall Street in 1987, Ellen Mirojnick returns to dress belated sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. But how has time altered the broker’s look and what sartorial influences does the current economic climate bring to the new world of finance? Talking exclusively to Clothes on Film, costume designer Ellen Mirojnick tells us exactly what to expect when director Oliver Stone’s much anticipated follow up hits cinema screens next month. All the principals’ shirts in the film were made by Anto of Beverly Hills. Clothes on Film, Chris: How has Wall Street trader attire evolved since…

Having created some of the most recognisable contemporary costume design of the 20th century for Wall Street in 1987, Ellen Mirojnick returns to dress belated sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. But how has time altered the broker’s look and what sartorial influences does the current economic climate bring to the new world of finance? Talking exclusively to Clothes on Film, costume designer Ellen Mirojnick tells us exactly what to expect when director Oliver Stone’s much anticipated follow up hits cinema screens next month. All the principals’ shirts in the film were made by Anto of Beverly Hills. Clothes on Film, Chris: How has Wall Street trader attire evolved since…

Having created some of the most recognisable contemporary costume design of the 20th century for Wall Street in 1987, Ellen Mirojnick returns to dress belated sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. But how has time altered the broker’s look and what sartorial influences does the current economic climate bring to the new world of finance? Talking exclusively to Clothes on Film, costume designer Ellen Mirojnick tells us exactly what to expect when director Oliver Stone’s much anticipated follow up hits cinema screens next month. All the principals’ shirts in the film were made by Anto of Beverly Hills. Clothes on Film, Chris: How has Wall Street trader attire evolved since…