© 2011, Clothes on Film 5 Apr ’11 This is the most conspicuous outfit Grace Kelly as Frances Stevens wears in To Catch a Thief (1954), principally because there is little narrative justification for it being so elaborate. Her 18th century lamé gown, for example, is deliberately ostentatious. It is costume designer Edith Head’s show stopping finale, intended to throw all attention onto Frances as part of her and John Robie’s (Cary Grant) elaborate ruse. This exotic beach wear, however, is jarringly visible for no other reason than because Frances enjoys attention; far from ingratiating her to Robie, or us, she is presented as self-admiring and rather childish. Note how…

© 2011, Clothes on Film 5 Apr ’11 This is the most conspicuous outfit Grace Kelly as Frances Stevens wears in To Catch a Thief (1954), principally because there is little narrative justification for it being so elaborate. Her 18th century lamé gown, for example, is deliberately ostentatious. It is costume designer Edith Head’s show stopping finale, intended to throw all attention onto Frances as part of her and John Robie’s (Cary Grant) elaborate ruse. This exotic beach wear, however, is jarringly visible for no other reason than because Frances enjoys attention; far from ingratiating her to Robie, or us, she is presented as self-admiring and rather childish. Note how…

Public Enemies (2009, directed by Michael Mann) is chock full of accurately recreated and as such eminently covetable, early 1930s era garments, as designed by multi Oscar winner Colleen Atwood. Perhaps most enticing of all, however, is how one particular garment, a plain wool overcoat, actually powers the narrative of the film. It is the coat that killed John Dillinger. When we meet John Dillinger (played by Johnny Depp), his criminal career, primarily as a bank robber, is in full swing. He is wearing that conspicuous badge of honour for all those in his ‘gentlemen’s’ fraternity – expensive clothes. They were the ‘bling’ of their day and tended to be…

© 2009, Clothes on Film 23 Jun ’09 This emerald green dress from Atonement (2007) could be the most famous item of clothing on film in the last decade. In fact, rather surprisingly, it was recently voted ‘Best Costume of All Time‘ by Sky Movies and readers of In Style; surprising because, despite its multifaceted beauty, there are many other magnificent costumes out there more deserving of the title. Nonetheless this long, slinky evening gown from a mini-epic set predominately during the mid-1930s to early 40s is an extraordinary achievement. It is not only a work of art to look at; it also precisely informs the narrative. Costume designer Jacqueline…

© 2010 Chris Laverty. All rights reserved. 23 Oct ’10 As Clothes on Film has it on good authority that Black Swan is ‘spectacular’ and because we have an interview with director Darren Aronofsky upcoming closer to the UK release date, here are some striking images to get you in ‘that place’. Black Swan tells the story of two ballerinas (played by Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis) on a New York production of Swan Lake. As rehearsals for the show intensify, their apparently transparent personalities diverge with both an intense rivalry and unusual friendship developing. Amy Westcott is costume designer for Black Swan, while the overall costume look of the…

© 2010 Chris Laverty. All rights reserved. 23 Oct ’10 As Clothes on Film has it on good authority that Black Swan is ‘spectacular’ and because we have an interview with director Darren Aronofsky upcoming closer to the UK release date, here are some striking images to get you in ‘that place’. Black Swan tells the story of two ballerinas (played by Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis) on a New York production of Swan Lake. As rehearsals for the show intensify, their apparently transparent personalities diverge with both an intense rivalry and unusual friendship developing. Amy Westcott is costume designer for Black Swan, while the overall costume look of the…

© 2010 Chris Laverty. All rights reserved. 23 Oct ’10 As Clothes on Film has it on good authority that Black Swan is ‘spectacular’ and because we have an interview with director Darren Aronofsky upcoming closer to the UK release date, here are some striking images to get you in ‘that place’. Black Swan tells the story of two ballerinas (played by Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis) on a New York production of Swan Lake. As rehearsals for the show intensify, their apparently transparent personalities diverge with both an intense rivalry and unusual friendship developing. Amy Westcott is costume designer for Black Swan, while the overall costume look of the…

© 2010 Chris Laverty. All rights reserved. 23 Oct ’10 As Clothes on Film has it on good authority that Black Swan is ‘spectacular’ and because we have an interview with director Darren Aronofsky upcoming closer to the UK release date, here are some striking images to get you in ‘that place’. Black Swan tells the story of two ballerinas (played by Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis) on a New York production of Swan Lake. As rehearsals for the show intensify, their apparently transparent personalities diverge with both an intense rivalry and unusual friendship developing. Amy Westcott is costume designer for Black Swan, while the overall costume look of the…

© 2010 Chris Laverty. All rights reserved. 23 Oct ’10 As Clothes on Film has it on good authority that Black Swan is ‘spectacular’ and because we have an interview with director Darren Aronofsky upcoming closer to the UK release date, here are some striking images to get you in ‘that place’. Black Swan tells the story of two ballerinas (played by Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis) on a New York production of Swan Lake. As rehearsals for the show intensify, their apparently transparent personalities diverge with both an intense rivalry and unusual friendship developing. Amy Westcott is costume designer for Black Swan, while the overall costume look of the…

© 2009, Clothes on Film 23 Jun ’09 This emerald green dress from Atonement (2007) could be the most famous item of clothing on film in the last decade. In fact, rather surprisingly, it was recently voted ‘Best Costume of All Time‘ by Sky Movies and readers of In Style; surprising because, despite its multifaceted beauty, there are many other magnificent costumes out there more deserving of the title. Nonetheless this long, slinky evening gown from a mini-epic set predominately during the mid-1930s to early 40s is an extraordinary achievement. It is not only a work of art to look at; it also precisely informs the narrative. Costume designer Jacqueline…