Locke (2013, costume design by Nigel Egerton) is a film unique in its restrictions – it takes place in real time, has only one character and only one setting. Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is driving somewhere important, and over the course of the film’s 85 minute running time, his life gradually begins to crumble around him as he desperately tries to salvage it. The controlled environment – the inside of his car – and the fact that the only character we actually see is Ivan himself means that interest in him is the only way of maintaining an audience’s attention with such limited visual stimulation. Ivan is the only character…

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) is costume symbolic of its era; the entire film is filtered through a composite mix of tan and beige. Director Robert Benton opted for a permanent autumn in New York City, artistically maintained through its year long storyline. Autumn is interpretable as a transitional season, reflecting the three act journey of the three central characters. Costume designer Ruth Morley dresses Meryl Streep’s absentee mother Joanna head-to-toe in various shades of brown. Joanna’s appearance is regimented by control and routine, and nearly always finished by that epitome of late 1970s chic and impending yuppiedom, a three quarter length Burberry trench coat. Confirmation of the Burberry trench functioning…

Matt Spaiser analyses the suits of George Lazenby’s James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and draws an interesting comparison with Daniel Craig in Skyfall. James Bond fans know George Lazenby as the man who played Bond in one of the best films of the series, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Before Bond, Lazenby was a car salesman, a mechanic and a model. Except for in a few commercials, he was not an actor. Despite his limited acting experience, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was still an excellent film due to its great story, capable director and talented cast. From his modelling days, Lazenby knew how to wear clothes…

Quentin Tarantino has directed films that feature some of the most iconic costumes of the last twenty years, e.g. Reservoir Dogs’ black suits (Betsy Heimann), Mia Wallace’s trouser suit (Heimann), the Kill Bill tracksuit (Kumiko Ogawa, Catherine Marie Thomas). Yet no Tarantino movie has ever won or even been nominated for a Costume Design Oscar; a travesty that may boil down to his stories often being contemporary, not period. World War II set Inglourious Basterds (Anna B. Sheppard) was an exception, but again, amazingly, not even a nomination. Django Unchained, costumed by Sharen Davis, might just buck this trend. It is period so immediately stands in good stead. Secondly, judging…

Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem Directed By: Sam Mendes SPOILER FREE James Bond thunders back to our screens in what feels like a reboot of the 50 year old franchise with the same actor. This is not the 007 who calmly waits for a man to bleed to death before stealing his Harrington; the brutal cold bastard of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace has mellowed considerably and can even manage a quip or two. Whether this development will delight or disappoint is a matter of personal taste. One thing is certain however; Bond has never scrubbed up better. Tom Ford now exists to make Daniel Craig suits.…

In Blake Edwards’ Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961, costume supervisor Edith Head), based on the novella by Truman Capote, we get to know Holly Golightly, a mysterious woman-child with a troubled past who refuses to belong to anyone or anywhere. The film reveals much about Holly’s character through its allusions via costume, attests Lisa Magnuson. Holly is presented as young, frightened and damaged; someone who, like a cat, lashes out when others get too close. Holly’s iconic Givenchy dress seen in the opening scene with its thick, cumbersome necklace and yoked back, arguably the most famous costume in film history, represents Holly’s current status as a call girl. The dress consumes…