© 2013 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. 20 Sep ’13 Fabric of Cinema is Clothes on Film editor Chris Laverty’s regular column in design journal Arts Illustrated. Its second issue has recently gone to print covering the subject of activism in art (subtitled ‘Wake up, stand up’). Fitting neatly around this theme from a costume perspective is the movement known as Blaxploitation, the subject of Laverty’s latest column, analysing how young people in America, particularly males, assumed the dress codes of gangsters and outlaws on screen. Was this actually an artistically progressive movement in cinema or ultimately regressive? The following are extracts from the article in question, which can…

© 2016 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from 1940s, Girls in Films, Guys in Films, Premium. Tagged 1940s, Aida Garifullina, Consolata Boyle, costume sketches, dinner suit, exclusive, Florence Foster Jenkins, Hugh Grant, Meryl Streep, New York, real life, Simon Helberg, socialite, Stephen Frears, The Iron Lady, The Queen, white tie. Bookmark the permalink. Friday 6th May sees the release of Florence Foster Jenkins, the 1944 set true story of a woman, Ms. Foster Jenkins herself (played by Meryl Streep) who heard nothing but sweet angels in her head, yet couldn’t actually sing for … Continue reading

© 2016 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi, Clothes from now, Guys on TV, Premium. Tagged Blaxploitation, Bobby Fish, Carhartt, Carl Lucas, Cheo Hodari Coker, Cottonmouth, Dapper Dan, Diamondback, Erik LaRay Harvey, Ghost Protocol, hooded sweater, hoodie, hoody, Luke Cage, Mahershala Ali, Mike Colter, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Ron Cephas Jones, Stephanie Maslanky, suit, the incredible hulk, Theo Rossi. Bookmark the permalink. MILD SPOILERS The hoodie has as much to say about it’s wearer as, say, the white t-shirt does. By which I mean that, depending on context, it can say anything. The white t-shirt can imply clean, erotic, the worker –…

© 2016 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi, Girls in Films, Guys in Films, Interviews. Tagged Adam Driver, armour, Burlesque, Captain Phasma, Costume Designers Guild, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Fight Club, Flashdance, Gwendoline Christie, interview, JJ Abrams, John Boyega, Kylo Ren, Michael Kaplan, Oscar Issac, Rey, sci-fi, Star Wars, stormtrooper, The Force Awakens, Theirry Mugler, woven cotton, wrapping. Bookmark the permalink. Surely we all know Michael Kaplan by now? Flashdance (1983), Fight Club (1999), Burlesque (2010), Star Trek (2009), and the biggest of the big, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Versatile is not a generous enough word for his talent;…

© 2014 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Costume Stories and Links. Tagged Colleen Monroe, Costume Cafe Podcast, Hannibal, Jane Fonda, Janie Bryant, Jenny Gering, Kate Muir, Kay Noske, Mad Men, Madeline Fontaine, Milena Canonero, Sunday in New York, The Americans, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Thor The Dark World, Yves Saint Laurent. Bookmark the permalink. This week’s costume design news. Mad Men “She buys her clothes two sizes too small, more 50’s than 60’s.” – Janie Bryant knows her Joan. Yves Saint Laurent Costume designer Madeline Fontaine’s predictably difficult job costuming the immaculate biopic. …and … Continue reading © 2014 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights…

© 2015 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from 1940s, Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi, Girls in Films, Guys in Films, Premium. Tagged 1940s, Al Pacino, art deco, Arts Illustrated, Christopher Laverty, colour, comic book, Dick Tracy, double breasted suit, fedora, gabardine, James Caan, Madonna, Milena Canonero, raincoat, Richard Sylbert, suit, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Warren Beatty. Bookmark the permalink. A preview of Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty’s article on the vibrant costume design of Dick Tracy for Arts Illustrated magazine. Truly unique, Dick Tracy is as close to a comic strip brought to life as any film before … Continue reading ©…

© 2011 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from 1837-1919, Girls in Films, Guys in Films, News. Tagged 1900s, Benedict Cumberbatch, Calvary, costume, David Thewlis, Dreamworks, Emily Watson, Jeremy Irvine, Joanna Johnston, Michael Morpurgo, military, period, Peter Mullan, Richard Curtis, Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg, trailer, Valkrie, War Horse, World War One, WW1. Bookmark the permalink. The first trailer for Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of War Horse gallops online and it looks sumptuous. Continue reading © 2011 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from 1960s, Girls in Films, Premium. Tagged 007, 1960s, BlogalongaBond, Bond girl, bra, chiffon, costume, Diana…

© 2010 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi, Clothes from now, Girls in Films, Guys in Films, Interviews, Premium. Tagged 3 pc suit, Anto, Christopher Nolan, Dennis Kim, Eames, Hargate Costumes, Inception, Inception Arthur, Inception raincoat, Jeffrey Kurland, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Leonardo diCaprio, Mary Ellen Fields, Premium Content, symbolic, Tom Hardy, Wally Pfister. Bookmark the permalink. Jeffrey Kurland explains his costume choices for Inception exclusively to Clothes on Film. Continue reading © 2010 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from 1837-1919, Dual Analysis, Girls in Films, Guys in Films, Premium. Tagged bodice, Costumers…

© 2012 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from 1960s, Film Reviews, Girls in Films, Guys in Films. Tagged 1960s, bonnet, Bruce Willis, Cape, colour, dress, identity, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Kasia Walicka Maimone, knee socks, Moonrise Kingdom, pink dress, scout uniform, The Darjeeling Limited, Tilda Swinton, trouser suit, uniform, Wes Anderson, yellow dress. Bookmark the permalink. Wes Anderson’s most sartorially significant film yet. Continue reading © 2012 Contributor. All rights reserved. By: ContributorFiled under Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi, Guys in Films, Premium. Tagged 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, boiler suit, clone, coverall, Dallas King, Duncan Jones, flight suit, Hawaiian shirt, insignia, Jane…

© 2013 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Costume Stories and Links. Tagged Catching Fire, Catherine Martin, Clueless, Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Do the Right Thing, Drive, FrockTalk, Jill M. Ohanneson, Prada, The Great Gatsby, The Hunger Games. Bookmark the permalink. The week’s big costume design stories and links. Continue reading © 2013 Lord Christopher Laverty. All rights reserved. By: Lord Christopher LavertyFiled under Clothes from 1970s. Tagged Chris Hemsworth, Clothes from 1970s, Daniel Brühl, fur coat, Julian Day, Niki Lauda, Olivia Wilde, ringer tee, Ron Howard, Rush, true life. Bookmark the permalink. The first trailer for mid-1970s set Rush is on-line and Olivia Wilde looks…