No round up last week because we were a bit busy, so this week is MEGA JAMMED WITH COSTUME GOODNESS. Puttin’ on the Glitz We teamed up with Amber Jane Butchart and The British Library to talk jazz age fashion and dandy gangsters. Further coverage to follow… Costume Test Images 50 of them to be precise, from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to Star Wars, Batman, and beyond. Noah Mad good interview/article by Tyranny of Style with Noah’s Head Textile Artist Matt Reitsma. There is absolutely no way you can care about costume design and not read this. Business of Fashion Costume designers, fashion designers, studios, brands, and a business venture 100…

There is a man on Boardwalk Empire with even more sartorial presence than Steve Buscemi’s saffron silk gangster Nucky Thompson. Whereas Nucky may stop at red plaid suit and homburg, this man will brave a red topcoat with fur collar and leather buttons, red plaid suit and a bow-tie; he is the man to teach us all that colour and pattern are not only masculine, but the most masculine. He is Chalky White. Known to many for his career defining turn as Omar on The Wire, in Boardwalk Empire, Michael Kenneth Williams plays a gangster even shrewder and perhaps even more capable. Certainly he is better dressed. Williams’ prohibition era…

Win a pair of tickets to see Madonna’s already controversial costume fest W.E. showing on 23rd October courtesy of lovely Jameson, ‘Official Spirit of the BFI London Film Festival’. W.E. (directed and co-scripted by Madonna) tells a parallel story of two women, Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) and Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough) separated by sixty years of history. Wally is obsessed by the idea of Wallis’ perfect relationship with Edward (James D’Arcy). Subsequent to Edward’s abdication of the British throne, Wally considers this the greatest sacrifice for love in history. However, as Wally delves deeper into the past she discovers that their life together was not the fairytale romance she thought.…

Judging by this trailer for Amelia, Mira Nair’s dramatisation of female aviator Amelia Earhart’s extraordinary life starring Hilary Swank, vintage fashion fans are in for a serious treat. The costumes look accurate and, most important of all, not overdone. Amelia Earhart was known for her practical and modernistic sense of style throughout the 1920s – early 1930s. Yet she still retained femininity by reappropriating rather than flat out rejecting trends of the time. She was a radical, not a revolutionist. In addition to the ubiquitous leather flying jacket and fur-topped leather trench, expect (deep breath) dropped waist just-below-the-knee dresses with relaxed bodices, short hair, short pants, day slacks, jodhpurs, plain…

The week in movie costume design. Now You See Me Jenny Eagan discusses tear-away tuxedos and bodysuits. The Bling Ring “I did watch that show Pretty Wild” – costume designer Stacey Battat explains her choices for spoiled, burglarising LA teenagers. Lots of Juicy Couture, basically. Behind the Candelabra Lovely interview with Ellen Mirojnick explaining some of the movie’s most memorable costumes. The Parent Trap (1961) Fascinating analysis of one of the best ‘movie makeovers’ you’ll see. Napster Wedding Oscar winning costume designer Ngila Dickson made outfits for Napster founder Sean Parker and singer Alexandra Lenas’ wedding. Hey, if you’ve got the cash. Anchorman Anchorman exhibition featuring original costumes and props…

The week in costume design stories and links. Arrested Development Costume designer Katie Sparks on duplicates and 70’s shirts. On 26th May it all happens. Deep breath, deep breath… The Dirty Picture Niharika Bhasin Khan: “My job is to get into the director’s head and see how he sees the characters.” Pain and Gain How to create trash on screen. Oblivion Marlane Stewart’s simple, streamlined costumes for Tom Cruise and company. Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo Playtex designed the spacesuit. Yep. Star Wars Episode VII Just in case you missed it, Michael Kaplan landed the biggest job in the universe. Behind the Candelabra Sensational interview with costume designer Ellen Mirojnick by costume…

Today’s Academy Award nominations were not especially surprising in most of the headline categories. Well, maybe no Christopher Nolan for Best Director or Andrew Garfield for Best Supporting Actor, but in the Best Costume Design category there were a couple of major upsets. First of all, the actual nominees: Alice in Wonderland – Colleen Atwood I Am Love – Antonella Cannarozzi The King’s Speech – Jenny Beavan The Tempest – Sandy Powell True Grit – Mary Zophres Nothing wrong there, and with no desire to take anything away from the recipients, it is especially great to see Antonella Cannarozzi for I am Love (actually made in 2009). However, where is…

Costume design in comedy film is a delicate balancing act between straight and farcical. How far can an outfit go before a gag is too conspicuous? Floppy hats? Clown shoes? For Due Date, costume designer Louise Mingenbach worked closely with Zach Galifianakis to create his character’s look. Immature and unaware, yet still believable; Ethan Tremblay is the archetype of comic dress up. Speaking exclusively to Clothes on Film, Louise explains her costume choices for the movie, how to keep a joke from becoming tired and the process of designer/actor collaboration: Ethan’s costume is manifest in two stages, when he swaps out a plain grey t-shirt for a coral ‘Lilith Fair’…

Just a few words to inform you all of Vanity Fair’s interesting looking Fashion in Film festival upcoming this weekend at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. We would say lots more but are too grumpy that Clothes on Film cannot attend (3,500 miles to travel is a bit much). The event is essentially in honour of NY Fashion Week so all of the screenings are tied to that theme in some way or have inspired catwalk trends from the screen. However, the line-up is surprisingly diverse, featuring a few you may have seen, Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) and Qui Êtes-Vous,…

From what is a hopefully legit rendering published by ComicBookMovie, we have our first clear look at Chris Evans’ new costume for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Big changes are afoot for Steve Rogers, aka the Captain. First we had costume designer Anna B. Sheppard’s well received paratrooper style uniform for The First Avenger (2011). Then we had Alexandra Byrne’s slightly less well received, vivid red and blue streamlined version for Avengers Assemble (2012). And now we have this, Judianna Makovsky’s own interpretation for The Winter Solider: The Winter soldier costume by Judianna Makovsky. This new suit has more in common with The First Avenger than Avengers Assemble. Gone are…