MINOR SPOILERS First Man (2018) is not a movie overly preoccupied with fashion, And why would it be? The focus of the story is astronaut Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and his journey to become the first person to ever walk on the surface of the moon. Armstrong wears a lot of button down shirts, short sleeve checks, neutral slacks, the odd dark single breasted suit for formal occasions – largely dour attire for a dour man. He also wears a space suit, several of them. However, outside of Emilio Pucci’s involvement in designing the logo for the Apollo 15 flight in 1971, fashion rarely intersects with the requirements of surviving…

Clothes on Film has been featured in publications all over the world, on TV, radio and newspapers, plus has a strong social media presence. Check out my Twitter feed, Facebook page and Instagram. There’s also a Pinterest page but honestly it’s not updated much anymore. Two big stories that I was proud Clothes on Film ‘broke’ was the revelation that despite what they had been telling the press, Rodarte were not the costume designers of Black Swan. It took a frank interview with the actual costume designer of the film, Amy Westcott, to clarify that. This story was picked up everywhere from The Guardian to The New York Times. I’m…

In this abridged version of a feature originally published in Moviescope magazine in December 2010, Clothes on Film take an overview look at how to ‘read’ costume design. Costume design remains one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated filmmaking arts. Far in excess of merely ‘dressing’ an actor for their role, costume design is discourse. A film can be read via costume; sometimes overtly, sometimes subtextually. Not just conspicuous sci-fi or period, but contemporary stories set within a familiar world in familiar attire. On screen even the most rudimentary item of clothing can take on meaning. 2010 was a boundary crossing year for costume. Beyond the typical crop of historical…

Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan Directed By: Steven Spielberg War Horse is desperately pretty, sentimental and heartfelt to the point of exhaustion. In other words the return of late 1980s, very early 90’s schmaltzy Spielberg. Whether this is something to celebrate or lament we shall leave up to you. Steven Spielberg shoots through the eyes of a talented illustrator. Filthy trenches, plumes of poison gas, a disastrous Calvary charge; all as beautiful as they are horrific. Add in the continuous swell of John Williams’ score and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski‘s yolky sunsets (no cgi) and War Horse is every frame a Spielberg movie. Not subtle, the final act or…

Kathleen Kennedy is one of the most successful movie producers in the world. Her films have earned over $5 billion in gross and the majority are household names: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Back to the Future (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), The Sixth Sense (1999), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), the list runs on and on. Chatting exclusively to Clothes on Film, Ms Kennedy explains how her role as producer impacts that of costume designer, specifically in regards her latest project War Horse (directed by Steven Spielberg). When we meet Kathleen Kennedy she is friendly, enthusiastic and keen to commend the work of War Horse’s costume designer, Joanna Johnston – “You…

For a big budget movie about a lone astronaut who gets stranded on Mars, the spacesuits in The Martian are surprisingly sober in terms of design. There is an attempt here to make everything seem as plausible as possible, costume design especially. Director Ridley Scott’s regular costumer Janty Yates has created possibly the sexiest spacesuits ever seen on screen, and what’s more they are functional. To paraphrase a line in the film, she had to “science the shit out of them”. Yates collaborated with NASA looking specifically at their Z1 and Z2 prototypes to create an EVA (‘Extravehicular Activity’ – any time the crew must go outside) suit and surface…

Clothes on Film were fortunate enough to be invited to a display of costumes from the latest adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express (2017), plus interview its costume designer Alexandra Byrne. An Oscar winner for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2008), and well known for her period design work, since 2011 Byrne has become connected to the world of Marvel, her most recent project being Doctor Strange in 2016. Here she chats candidly about recreating the (mainly) glamorous side of the early 1930s and the challenges that faced her and her team. Alexandra Byrne on shooting in 70 mm: “Director Ken (Branagh) and I did Hamlet (1996) together which was…

The Girl Most Likely To (1973) is a little seen made-for-TV film for all those who have been laughed at, dumped on or felt in any way degraded because of their looks. Originally shown as the ABC Movie of the Week, this revengeful black comedy penned by Joan Rivers has rightfully garnered somewhat of a cult following due to its subject matter to which so many can relate. Stockard Channing plays Miriam Knight, “a beautiful person who had been kidnapped by an ugly body”. Even before physical features are taken into account, her clothes say it all. The whole concoction for her first day at her new university is like…

Artily shot in black and white with occasional bursts of colour, stylised to within an inch of its life and meandering dreamily through a story of brotherly love and hero worship, Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish barely made a splash at the 1983 box office, maintains Neil Alcock. For Coppola, Rumble Fish was, and still is, a deeply personal movie. Dedicated to his brother August, the film embodies its director’s admiration and respect for his older sibling. It’s the story of Rusty-James (Matt Dillon), a feckless, reckless gang member living in the shadow of his big brother, The Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), while simultaneously refusing to face up to impending…

Directed By: Christopher Nolan Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT Typical of director Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises has the initial hit of satisfaction followed by the faintest of doubts that something was missing. Exciting, audacious, thematically rich, and yet somehow lacking that extra layer of greatness. Of course with further consideration, even a re-watch (Nolan is a studio’s dream), such concerns prove unfounded. Nolan is a master magician; look closer, it is all there. The Dark Knight may rise but for his alter-ego redemption must come at the ultimate price. His faithful butler and surrogate parent Alfred knew it, his lost love Rachel Dawes…