Clothes from 1970s | Clothes on Film – Part 2

In the very opening scene of Rocky (1976, costume designer Robert Cambel), we see the title character in the ring, bare chested, hands encased in boxing gloves, the picture of sporting violence and masculinity. But this is no more than a surface assumption. Not two minutes later, we see Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) shrug on his faded brown towelling dressing gown, with “The Italian Stallion” embroidered on the back, and things start to shift. This is not a macho film concerned with the fight alone, but an exploration of masculinity in all its guises – the assumptions, the pretence and the reality. Clothes play an important part in this, both…

The near future romance Her, written and directed by Spike Jonze, whose widely diverse resume ranges from the world of music videos to MTV’s Jackass to major motion pictures, brought together a creative team that costume designer Casey Storm refers to as “friends first, and co-workers second.” Storm and production designer K.K. Barrett create a soft, comfortable world of tomorrow. Shot on location around Los Angeles and Shanghai, Barrett avoided familiar locations to create a world that is accessible but not overtly recognisable. Our first introduction to the world feels very familiar. Seated in an office in a simple button up, Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Theodore Twombly, dictates a letter to…

MILD SPOILERS Costume designer Michael Wilkinson’s main accomplishment with American Hustle has largely been overlooked in favour of praising him as some kind of vintage stylist with an eye for provocative gowns and desirable heels. The truth is he has carefully brought to life a world, not of parties and glamour, but cheap sex and dirty desperation. The costumes in American Hustle do tell a story, particularly through their ever darkening colour palette, yet Wilkinson’s deftest skill is reflecting an era when fashion was as confused as the politics surrounding it. American Hustle is an unapologetic tale of low down dirty double-crossers whose clothes, like them, were a lie. A…

Fred Williamson as Tommy Gibbs adopts the gangster codes of 1930s cinema in blaxploitation classic Black Caesar.

Fabric of Cinema is Clothes on Film editor Chris Laverty’s regular column in design journal Arts Illustrated. Its second issue has recently gone to print covering the subject of activism in art (subtitled ‘Wake up, stand up’). Fitting neatly around this theme from a costume perspective is the movement known as Blaxploitation, the subject of Laverty’s latest column, analysing how young people in America, particularly males, assumed the dress codes of gangsters and outlaws on screen. Was this actually an artistically progressive movement in cinema or ultimately regressive? The following are extracts from the article in question, which can be read in full on pages 94-97 of Arts Illustrated volume…

As is often the way with costume designers, Stephanie Collie is something of an unsung hero. We will not reel off her entire back catalogue, but it does include South Riding (2011, TV), Telstar (2008) Peter’s Friends (1992) and perhaps most exciting of all, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Now, anyone old enough to remember when Lock, Stock arrived will remember just what an incredible influence its Mod inspired costumes had on the world of fashion. You could not pick up a men’s magazine of the time without seeing some guy in slim trousers and a jersey polo shirt. Stephanie Collie invented this look, thus providing one of…

How changing body shapes can affect the appearance of period costume.

UK Lovelace trailer is full of lovely 70’s dresses.

The first trailer for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues steps from the 70’s to the 80’s in vivid style.

Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick brings Liberace back to life on stage and off.

Director Bryan Singer has tweeted photographs of Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Jackman and James McAvoy in 1973 costume on set of X-Men: Days of Future Past.

The first trailer for mid-1970s set Rush is on-line and Olivia Wilde looks sensational.