Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is the quintessential evil queen, right up there with The Queen from Snow White and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Or is she..? Throughout Game of Thrones we have been given clues as to Cersei’s motivations and character, and by the end of Season 3 she has become, partially at least, a sympathetic character. While Cersei was not involved with the Walder-Frey-Marry-One-Of-My-Daughters plotline, which famously leads to the gruesome ‘Red Wedding’; that plot really drove home that point that in this world women are only worth how beautiful they are. Even Robb Stark, one of the so-called good guys, was horrified at the…

In 1935, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made cinema history with their most successful film partnership, Top Hat. However, it wasn’t Astaire’s headgear that got people talking; it was Rogers’ ostrich feather dress worn in the Oscar-nominated song ‘Cheek to Cheek’. The fact remains that this is quite possibly the most memorable, beautiful and romantic musical number ever captured on film, and Rogers’ dress contributes to this greatly. Whenever Astaire and Rogers dance, they are making love without undressing, without even kissing in the majority of their films; “they is angels” remarks unfairly condemned criminal Kofi as he fulfils his dying wish of watching the lovers perform ‘Cheek to Cheek’…

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Forrest Gump (1994), Death Becomes Her (1992), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Unbreakable (2000), Munich (2005), War Horse (2011) – with credits like these it is amazing to think that British born costume designer has never been nominated, let alone won an Academy Award. Finally, however, director Steven Spielberg’s latest Lincoln has rewarded her talent with a costume nomination in all three of the major award ceremonies (Oscar, BAFTA and CDG). Johnston has been working with Spielberg on-and-off for 29 years now, and this collaboration looks set to continue. Perhaps it’s an obvious level of trust that allows Lincoln to have such a cohesive look when…

Released mid-2010, Winter’s Bone was a deserved sleeper hit bolstered by extremely positive reviews and word of mouth. Set in the desolate, poverty stricken Ozark Mountains, USA, it tells the story of Ree (Jennifer Lawrence), a teenage girl searching for her ‘meth chef’ father after he jumps bail putting the family home at risk. Rebecca Hofherr was costume designer for Winter’s Bone. Her brief shaped by director Debra Granik’s commitment to believability and an extremely tight budget of $5,500; she created a realistic, memorable look of lived in denim, motif fleece sweaters and padded check shirts. Hats, too, were essential, both as functional items and as a way of life…

The following is an expanded article Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty wrote for men’s style resource MR PORTER analysing Michael Caine’s suits in The Italian Job. This post covers all the costumes he wore during the film. If The Italian Job (1969) needs any introduction at all it might be possible you’ve been in a coma for the past 40 years. It’s so well known and so well loved that were it not for the fact that no-one has really delved into the sartorial details of Michael Caine’s suits there would be nothing left to talk about. As it happens we have spent time studying and researching The Italian…

Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin bring us the twenties reloaded. Catherine Martin chats about The Great Gatsby costumes, design and a lack of nostalgia. We visited Brooks Brothers to check out their costume display from The Great Gatsby. We analyse exactly what Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin need to get right for their costume design in The Great Gatsby. The latest and probably last trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby before its début at Cannes. The press love Prada’s involvement with The Great Gatsby, but exactly how much does this help the film’s costume design? The best kept secret in costume design is finally out: Prada made…

In 1958 Paramount released Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock’s disturbing tale of death and obsession, love and loneliness. Receiving only average reviews on its release, Vertigo is now hailed as a cinematic masterpiece. Hitchcock’s direction, Bernard Hermann’s score and Robert Burks’ cinematography are particularly praised. Less often celebrated, argues art critic Iris Veysey, is Edith Head’s costume design. Head’s work, particularly in dressing Kim Novak, helped to ground characters and signpost the narrative in a complex and convoluted plot. Dressing Novak in the dual role of Madeleine/Judy, Head’s designs successfully define two distinct characters, one polished and sophisticated, the other brassy and cheap. Madeleine is introduced as a wealthy shipping heiress and…

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 from films set during 1960s Fascinating video about Hardy Amies costumes for 2001: A Space Odyssey. The evolving costumes worn by Sandra Dee in classic sixties gender comedy A Man Answers. George Lazenby’s fashionable Bond is sartorially similar to Daniel Craig in Skyfall. Armour and indecisiveness: Audrey Hepburn is more than a little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Wes Anderson’s most sartorially significant film yet. The first trailer for Skyfall hits with several suits, an overcoat, sportswear and a beanie. Well known and respected Hollywood costume designer, Theadora Van Runkle, has died. Clothes on Film talks exclusively to Tate Taylor about his use of costume in The Help.…

The London Film Museum has been running an exhibition featuring costumes from 20th Century Fox movies to celebrate the studio’s 75th anniversary. Lord Christopher Laverty 2 Comments 19 Feb ’10 16 Dec ’11 17 Mar ’17