The (somewhat) recently debuted trailer for director Paul W.S. Anderson’s adaptation of The Three Musketeers affords just the briefest, intensely edited peek at those 17th century costumes in motion. It’s a lace and linen fest. Alexandre Dumas père’s original story of The Three Musketeers takes place in France before the opulent reign of Louis XIV. This is important because in costume terms the overall style was considerably more sober than in both Henry VIII’s Tudor reign and the French sartorial dominance of the world that was to follow. During the 17th century, fashion was ever changing and evolving, though judging by this trailer costume designer Pierre-Yves Gayraud (The Bourne Identity)…

Basic Instinct is a movie that even its director Paul Verhoeven has described as “nonsense”, yet one cannot argue with the impact of the white dress Sharon Stone wears for the interrogation scene. Plus there is far more going on here than an absence of underwear. When this erotic thriller was released in 1992 it was notorious long before projectors whirred to life. Picketed on set by gay and lesbian groups in San Francisco for what they considered to be a stereotypical and offensive view of homosexuality, the film was lucky to have gotten made at all. Of course this was before the furore over that close up, not to…

Near silent and shot entirely in black and white, The Artist is a captivating and irresistibly romantic vision of old Hollywood. With international and hopefully Oscar success on the horizon, we talk exclusively to the film’s supremely talented costume designer, Mark Bridges. Seemingly specialising, though perhaps not intentionally, in bringing to life period stories that are culturally defined by their era (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood), Bridges has again expertly recreated another, almost mythical bygone world. Here he explains to Clothes on Film his thought process behind costume design in The Artist, his passion for the silent era and how he managed to get every outfit ready to shoot…

His Girl Friday (1940) is an old fashioned comedy with old fashioned dialogue. It thunders along like a washing machine on spin cycle, much like its central protagonist, Rosalind Russell as ace reporter Hildy Johnson (not first choice for casting by director Howard Hawks, but she earned her stripes so to speak). Russell is a hoot as she bounds back and forth between her boss and ex-husband Walter Burns (Cary Grant), soon to be new husband Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy) and key to her big scoop, patsy murderer Earl Williams (John Qualen). Hildy is tenacious and classy, although – and quite charmingly so – she is not graceful. Robert Kalloch…

His Girl Friday (1940) is an old fashioned comedy with old fashioned dialogue. It thunders along like a washing machine on spin cycle, much like its central protagonist, Rosalind Russell as ace reporter Hildy Johnson (not first choice for casting by director Howard Hawks, but she earned her stripes so to speak). Russell is a hoot as she bounds back and forth between her boss and ex-husband Walter Burns (Cary Grant), soon to be new husband Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy) and key to her big scoop, patsy murderer Earl Williams (John Qualen). Hildy is tenacious and classy, although – and quite charmingly so – she is not graceful. Robert Kalloch…

As the 1960s dawned, Audrey Hepburn entered her thirtieth year. Following the success of such films as Funny Face (1957) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) she was a huge star, and thanks to her enduring relationship with couturier Hubert de Givenchy (she was his muse) a style icon to boot. Yet as the decade grooved to immortality with ‘youthquake’ spreading across the globe like wild fire, Audrey suddenly found herself part of the old guard. Teenagers were wearing shorter and shorter minis in myriad colours, and while Audrey always remained chic in her LBD or Givenchy sack, she was not really appealing to a young audience anymore. She wasn’t hip.…

Where to start with Penny Rose? Pirates of the Caribbean? Evita? King Arthur? Most recently of course 47 Ronin (directed by Carl Rinsch). You do not hire Penny Rose for something small. This is not to say she won’t work on independent and low budget projects, just that her CV is becoming increasingly packed with huge scale period and/or fantasy studio movies – basically the kind of pictures that would make most costume designers weep. Multiples, armour, uniforms, plus Ms. Rose practically always builds from scratch. Not a fan of ‘shopping’ or even slightly interested in fashion, Penny Rose is old-school hands on, no-nonsense and no fear. Nonetheless, there is…