What a busy twelve months it’s been for costume design. Really though, this art, or craft, or business (Deborah Nadoolman Landis insists it is definitely a business) gets more talked about each year. 2013 was especially exciting however as it seemed every month something even more thrilling arrived to fawn over. In the last few weeks alone we have had The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Sleepy Hollow, and now American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street on the horizon. Dipping back further, it was Stoker that got us excited about subtext, The Great Gatsby that slammed the lid on that twenties revival once and for all, and Behind…

Catch up with the costume gossip you’ve missed. Godzilla “Contemporary in design with a multitude of uniforms”, says costume designer Sharen Davis. We remember chatting to Ms. Davis about her work on Godzilla during an interview for Django Unchained – she was so stoked to be working with director Gareth Edwards. X-Men: Days of Future Past Q&A with ace Louise Mingenbach which we haven’t read because we haven’t seen the movie yet. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom For the film’s 30th birthday an enticing look back at Anthony Powell’s costume design by Tim Pelan for Cinetropolis. Game of Thrones More secrets in the costumes, unless you want to…

Teaser trailer for Alpha Papa aka Alan Partridge the movie arrives. He may dress hideously but costume design is vital for the character. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Alan Partridge Movie Trailer Hits: He’s Wearing a Varsity 3 Mar ’11 21 Aug ’13 27 Feb ’12 It’s grim by the coast. A trailer for 1960s set Brighton Rock has arrived online. Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment 9 Dec ’14 27 May ’11 30 Jun ’09

Teaser trailer for Alpha Papa aka Alan Partridge the movie arrives. He may dress hideously but costume design is vital for the character.

Goldmember (2002, directed by Jay Roach), the final film (so far) in the Austin Powers series again shifts its timeline. However, rather than a negligible, though comparatively significant, jump from late to very late 1960s, here we dive into that most raucous of decades – the 1970s. And then back to 2002 (do keep up). For costume designer Deena Appel (pictured above, bottom left with Jay Roach) it was a wildly ambitious undertaking. Not to mention the film also features a well-known music and movie star, just about to launch into the stratosphere: Beyoncé. Speaking exclusively to Clothes on Film and closing out our epic in-depth look at the Austin……

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…

Angelina Jolie is being courted by Ridley Scott to star in ‘Gucci’; a film charting internal power struggles to control the fashion empire. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Angelina Jolie set for Gucci the Movie 3 Sep ’10 28 Jan ’13 2 May ’13

Piper Perabo chats to Clothes on Film about costume design for her role in Looper. Lord Christopher Laverty 4 Comments 23 Sep ’11 30 Nov ’13 24 Jun ’13 Costume Designer Sharen Davis talks us through her retro-vision for Looper. Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment 31 Jul ’10 9 Mar ’13 5 Mar ’12

NO SPOILERS Real and mythological, figurative and literal; monsters of all kinds abound in Sky Atlantic’s new period horror series Penny Dreadful. We might expect a skulking figure in a top hat and frock coat to be scary, though who would have thought a bustle and redingote could be so terrifying? Well, step forward Eva Green as enigmatic Vanessa Ives. Not hero nor villain, but a dead eyed clairvoyant who definitely shouldn’t be invited to dinner parties. Penny Dreadful is set in 1891, although is more a literary parallel universe than true reflection of the era. Some of the characters featured are written for the show (Vanessa), some existed in…

Public Enemies demonstrates how costume can actually drive a story narrative. Lord Christopher Laverty 4 Comments 18 Mar ’11 27 Sep ’12 4 Jul ’14