The man who dressed Raging Bull, Goodfellas and the Color of Money, costume designer Richard Bruno, has died aged 87. Bruno’s career spanned thirty years and he worked on fifty feature films. His early work as a wardrobe supervisor provided a prestige backdrop to his later collaborations with director Martin Scorsese, which would eventually lead to a BAFTA win for Goodfellas (1990); movies such as Westworld (1973), Chinatown (1975) and as a wardrobe consultant for Robert De Niro on The Untouchables (1987). Richard Bruno also provided De Niro’s memorable look, the red clip-on bow tie and geometric print jacket as Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy (1983). Robert De…

Despite being set in the present day, the world of Brigsby Bear (2017, directed by Dave McCary) is a cosy 1980s nostalgia affair. Most of what we see either comes from or belongs to another time. It is a very deliberate look that extends right across the production design and costumes. Separate from the overall costume design of Brigsby Bear (by Sarah Mae Burton), Stoopid Buddy Stoodios worked on the creation and execution of the actual Brigsby Bear suit. We chatted to David Brooks and Ben Bayouth from the studio to discover exactly how they arrived upon the distinctive finished article. Clothes on Film: What led Stoopid Buddy Stoodios to…

Forgive the self-promotion as we draw your attention to Clothes on Film’s essay in the book Hollywood Costume edited by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, published to accompany her exhibition at the V&A. Even without the involvement of Clothes on Film editor Chris Laverty, we would still be recommending this publication wholeheartedly. Firstly, it is absolutely beautiful; the kind of text that university students will actually want to pore over for their coursework. That is not to say it is purely educational, but emphasis is strongly on the nitty-gritty use and conservation of costume. What gives the book a novel twist is Landis recruiting actual Hollywood costume designers to discuss their work,…

Man of Steel recently hit cinema screens amidst a blaze of controversy, with many questioning director Zach Snyder’s dark and humourless take on the Superman legend. Conversely some have praised his approach as the breath of fresh air the character needed. If the film itself has been splitting audiences so too has the costume design. Principally this stems from Superman’s overhauled hero suit. Depending on who you ask it is either bravely innovative or missing a pair of red underpants. We speculated that this revamped suit is actually underwear, a foundation garment worn by all Krypton men beneath their armour or robes. However, even though this was our interpretation, it…

The votes have been counted, prizes dished out and winners’ speeches read. Now the Big Three honours have all been awarded it is time to list the lucky recipients and give them the hearty round of applause they deserve. First to be announced on 12th February was the BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) award for Best Costume Design, which the BBC typically and shamefully edited from their main broadcast, sandwiching it with Cinematography, Editing and other worthy categories ninety seconds before the end credits. Nominees and winner below: The Artist – Mark Bridges WINNER Hugo – Sandy Powell Jane Eyre – Michael O’Connor My Week with Marilyn…

We are just under a week away from the Orange BAFTA Film Awards so now seems an appropriate time to consider who might win the prize for Best Costume Design (it will be a period drama) and why (because all the nominations are). We should again clarify that Clothes on Film enjoy period and fantasy costume just as much as contemporary, BUT we do consider it a shame that the latter category is often overlooked by simple virtue of being too good to be seen. If you have been taking advantage of Orange Wednesdays (and who doesn’t?), i.e. texting FILM to 241 from any Orange mobile to get two-for-one cinema tickets, you…

Rosemary’s Baby (1968) is the perfect mid-sixties set fashion movie. As Rosemary, Mia Farrow wears racks of cute outfits throughout. These are mainly shift dresses with Peter Pan collars, though she also dons a sumptuous plaid skirt at one point for a curled up read on the sofa. Her co-star John Cassavetes sports some stylish threads of his own, including colourful turtlenecks, sports jackets and even a cool blue Penguin polo shirt. Yet, unsurprisingly, all the best outfits belong to Mia – and the chiffon trouser suit in stunning red is one of her best. Costumer Anthea Sylbert designed Mia’s wardrobe herself – assumedly easier than finding three year old…

Beach pyjamas, or sailor pants, of the 1920s owe their popularity to Coco Chanel and her appropriation of the wide-legged trousers as a functional addition to the female wardrobe. Chanel hit upon the idea of pants for women while visiting Venice during the early part of the decade; she felt they were the only practical way to properly climb in and out of a Gondola. In The Cats Meow (2001), a rather humdrum murder drama set in twenties Hollywood, Kirsten Dunst plays bright young thing Marion Davies. It’s appropriate that the first time we see her character she is aboard the yacht where ninety percent of the movie occurs (and…

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro Directed by: Michael Bay Here is something you might never have thought possible with a Michael Bay movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is very, very boring. With so much impenetrable (often inaudible) dialogue between bouts of sporadic, confusing action, about the only thing left to keep your attention is a healthy dose of humour. Yet most of this is bizarre at best. There are two bickering Autobots, Mudlfap and Skids (both voiced by Tom Kenny), who exchange insults in a spectacularly dated ‘hip speak’ manner that would be racist if it wasn’t so ignorant. This is an uncomfortable watch, particularly as Revenge…

See the website HERE Warner Bros’ official website for The Box starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden has gone live. This is creepy 1970s. Creepy as hell. The Box is director Richard Kelly’s reinterpreting of a 1970 Richard Matheson short story called ‘Button, Button’ (filmed as a Twilight Zone episode in 1986). Kelly’s expanded version sees a cash strapped couple (Diaz and Marsden) left an apparently innocuous box one evening with a solitary button on top. They next day a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) informs them that by pushing the button they will receive $1,000,000 dollars, but that somebody, somewhere will die. And that’s it. From this point on only…