When Clothes on Film visited The Muppets Most Wanted set back in March of 2013, we were given a tour of the bustling ‘wardrobe’ (their words) department, as overseen by costume designer Rahel Afiley. You can read more about that HERE, but after chasing Ms. Afiley around the room while she was trying to work, we managed to get a bit more out of her about using designer fashion, i.e. Vivienne Westwood, in the film. As always we are pushing the same old costume/fashion debate, though in this instance hearing from a costume designer on the front line is rather enlightening. Focusing specifically on Miss Piggy, for she is the…

With so many movie streaming options now cropping up, we thought it would be worth drawing your attention to one of the best: Curzon on Demand. Our main reason for the love being that Curzon focus predominately on often neglected art-house cinema, plus their films are available to stream from the moment they are released at the cinema. The In Cinemas – On Curzon catalogue is pleasingly diverse, particularly from a costume point of view. Incorporating period features such as Wuthering Heights (2011), The Young Victoria (2009) and Peter Greenaway’s classic The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982), to the subtextual delights of We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and Melancholia (2011).…

Costume designer for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Michael Kaplan, talks us through his choices and intentions for clothing in the film. Prepare to be disappointed if you want Tom Cruise’s blue silk suit worn in Dubai; it was custom made by Mr. Kaplan himself. At least Cruise’s Persol sunglasses are available to buy, however. Michael Kaplan is a powerhouse force in costume design. He is guaranteed to have worked on at least one Hollywood movie you fondly remember from the last twenty years or so. If in doubt consider he designed Samuel L. Jackson’s pimp ensembles for The Long Kiss Good Night (1996) and Randy Quaid’s bad taste brilliance…

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…

With the release of Disney/Pixar’s latest adventure Brave (directed by Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews); featuring colourful tartan cloaks and the Tudor-esque dresses of its heroine Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald), it is worth considering exactly what role costume plays in animated film. Does this craft even exist for animation? Clothes on Film talk exclusively to simulation supervisor for Brave, Claudia Chung, about this process and whether or not costume truly has a viable, practical function outside of live action cinema: Educated at University of California-Berkeley, Claudia Chung joined Pixar in 2002 after interning for summer in 2001. Her first role was as rendering technical director on Finding Nemo (2003),…

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…

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…

The Coen brothers’ story of a drug deal gone wrong and the chaotic game of cat and mouse that follows is an exploration of masculinity in all its guises. Through divergence of clothing, costume designer Mary Zophres shows many variations of character and motivation and pinpoints the story within a time and place – rural West Texas, 1980. The first shots of No Country for Old Men (2007) welcome us into the Texan landscape, the sky awash with muted blues and oranges before the scorching sun rises to reveal a landscape of pale brown sand. Not only does this evoke the wilderness and subsequent loneliness of the setting, but it…

La Dolce Vita (directed by Federico Fellini) was released in 1960. It has been described as a groundbreaking film, capturing a time of reconstruction and economic growth in Italy, linked to the end of Fascism and the destruction caused by the Second World War. Despite the availability of colour stock, La Dolce Vita was shot in black and white. The use of monochrome appears to emphasise the diametric oppositions between the old rural way of life and the new modernising Italy. La Dolce Vita looked firmly forward to the future, introducing an international audience not only to sleek and sophisticated Italian fashions but also a profession of which we are…

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…