© 2010 Chris Laverty. All rights reserved. 23 Apr ’10 Want to know exactly what a costume designer does? Let Ellen Mirojnick, BAFTA nominated costume designer on films such as Wall Street, Chaplin, and Cloverfield explain it to you. Here she talks exclusively to Clothes on Film. Clothes on Film, Chris: Can you tell us, as simply as possible, what the role of a movie costume designer is? Ellen Mirojnick: The costume designer is responsible for creating each character’s look that will be the visual translation of the directors’ vision of the film. COF: Do all costume designers make costumes themselves? EM: I don’t sew or stitch myself. I am…

© 2012, Columbia Pictures 17 Jan ’13 Finally the CDG nominations have been announced, and while they right some of the wrongs made by Oscar and chiefly BAFTA, ample opportunity to reward some really creative and effective costume design has once again been overlooked. We have indicated at length our views on the Academy and BAFTA’s nominations (HERE and HERE) so in the interests of not sounding like a broken record we shall stick to the facts. Well, perhaps just the odd observation… Nominations below: Excellence in Contemporary Film Beasts of the Southern Wild – Stephani Lewis The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – Louise Stjernsward Silver Linings Playbook – Mark…

The Phantom of the Opera (2004, directed by Joel Schumacher) is a lavish depiction of its world, examining the nature of facade – the un-reality of the stage, the masked Phantom of the title, and the duality of “costume” within costume (the majority of clothes on screen are designed as costumes for use in performances in the narrative). Costume designer Alexandra Byrne makes use of symbolic colour palettes and silhouettes to bring this heightened world to life. We are first taken into the world of the Opera Populaire, 1870, with the dress rehearsal of “Hannibal”. It is interesting to note that not all are wearing full “costume” – corsets and…

The Phantom of the Opera (2004, directed by Joel Schumacher) is a lavish depiction of its world, examining the nature of facade – the un-reality of the stage, the masked Phantom of the title, and the duality of “costume” within costume (the majority of clothes on screen are designed as costumes for use in performances in the narrative). Costume designer Alexandra Byrne makes use of symbolic colour palettes and silhouettes to bring this heightened world to life. We are first taken into the world of the Opera Populaire, 1870, with the dress rehearsal of “Hannibal”. It is interesting to note that not all are wearing full “costume” – corsets and…

The Phantom of the Opera (2004, directed by Joel Schumacher) is a lavish depiction of its world, examining the nature of facade – the un-reality of the stage, the masked Phantom of the title, and the duality of “costume” within costume (the majority of clothes on screen are designed as costumes for use in performances in the narrative). Costume designer Alexandra Byrne makes use of symbolic colour palettes and silhouettes to bring this heightened world to life. We are first taken into the world of the Opera Populaire, 1870, with the dress rehearsal of “Hannibal”. It is interesting to note that not all are wearing full “costume” – corsets and…

The Phantom of the Opera (2004, directed by Joel Schumacher) is a lavish depiction of its world, examining the nature of facade – the un-reality of the stage, the masked Phantom of the title, and the duality of “costume” within costume (the majority of clothes on screen are designed as costumes for use in performances in the narrative). Costume designer Alexandra Byrne makes use of symbolic colour palettes and silhouettes to bring this heightened world to life. We are first taken into the world of the Opera Populaire, 1870, with the dress rehearsal of “Hannibal”. It is interesting to note that not all are wearing full “costume” – corsets and…

© 2012, V&A 26 Nov ’12 The following is an abridged interview with Deborah Nadoolman Landis by Clothes on Film editor Chris Laverty for Moviescope magazine. Read the full version in issue 31 available now. “It’s like we’ve been in rehearsals and now we’re going to open on Broadway. Wait till you see it – you’re gonna flip out!” Prof. Deborah Nadoolman Landis is the closest costume design has to living royalty. She has costumed countless films including Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Blues Brothers and Coming to America (for which she was Academy Award nominated), stood as two-term president for The Costume Designers Guild, is a senior lecturer…

© 2012, V&A 26 Nov ’12 The following is an abridged interview with Deborah Nadoolman Landis by Clothes on Film editor Chris Laverty for Moviescope magazine. Read the full version in issue 31 available now. “It’s like we’ve been in rehearsals and now we’re going to open on Broadway. Wait till you see it – you’re gonna flip out!” Prof. Deborah Nadoolman Landis is the closest costume design has to living royalty. She has costumed countless films including Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Blues Brothers and Coming to America (for which she was Academy Award nominated), stood as two-term president for The Costume Designers Guild, is a senior lecturer…

Despite being twice Oscar nominated, for Ray in 2004 and then Dreamgirls and 2006, costume designer Sharen Davis has yet to win the big one. She ticks a lot of the Academy’s boxes too: period clothes, stage wear, real life people. However, Ms. Davis is not just about history and glamour, her work is thoughtful, detailed and appropriate to tone. Django Unchained is the first time Sharen Davis has worked with Quentin Tarantino, as generally he favours using different costume designers depending on the project. Yet on this evidence the director is likely to employ her services again. The date may be 1859, the location America’s deep south, but this…

© 2010, Clothes on Film 9 Sep ’10 Shocking news that seasoned costume designer and costume supervisor Michael Dennison has died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. He was 58 years old. Dennison has contributed to films as diverse as Almost Famous (2000), Mona Lisa Smile (2003) and W (2008). Recently he had completed work on chic Julia Roberts starrer Eat Pray Love. At the time of his death he was costume designer on One for the Money featuring Katherine Heigl and John Leguizamo. Heigl had this to say upon hearing the news: It was an honour and a privilege to work with Michael. I am heartbroken by his sudden passing…