Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard Directed By: James Mangold Knight and Day has no real characters, no plot, no-sense of urgency, no point to speak of. Yet, somehow, polished up like Tom Cruise’s bright white teeth reflected in his Persol Havana sunglasses, it very nearly works. Director James Mangold envelops this shiny affair in a retro air, specifically the comedy/action genre so prevalent during the 1970s. In fact, were this film made back then it would likely have co-starred Goldie Hawn in the shrieking Cameron Diaz role and Burt Reynolds as Cruise’s, top off at least three times and seemingly impervious to bullets lead. As loud Julie Havens,…

Catch up with costume links and stories you might have missed this week. Gangster Squad Mary Zophres on creating Emma Stone’s 1950s moll. Much Ado about Nothing Nathalie Atkinson analyses Shawna Trpcic’s costume choices for Much Ado about Nothing. The Internship Leesa Evans’ office style tips. Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day The 1930s gentlemen of Miss Pettigrew dissected by DTSFT. Django Unchained Sharen Davis chats to HELLO! about blood and Beyonce. Our interview was much better. Costume vs. Actor Terrifyingly accurate video about costume fitting. Superman Tyranny of Style have exhaustively traced Superman’s costume evolution on stage and screen. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 James Daugherty…

For this month’s Fabric of Cinema column in pan-India publication Arts Illustrated, Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty discussed the game changing costume design work of Trish Summerville. This makes that terrible title pun you’ve just read almost acceptable. The theme of the issue was women, specifically women approaching their role in society with a powerful, fresh perspective. This is sex rather than gender based, as none of the women featured conform to pre-established definitions of masculine or feminine. They are creatives achieving wonderful things not because of their sex, or in spite of it, but because of raw, unabashed talent. Costume designer Trish Summerville is this month’s Arts Illustrated……

Finally we have a trailer for Tom Hardy’s Capone and it looks jim-jam tastic. Attesting that upbeat and silly often go hand in hand, Beetle Juice stands as one of director Tim Burton’s most cheerfully insane projects.

Jacqueline Durran is celebrated for her costumes having been three times nominated for the Best Costume Design Academy Award; first in 2005 for Pride and Prejudice, again in 2007 for Atonement, and now 2013 for Anna Karenina in which she is both Oscar and BAFTA nominated. Starring Keira Knightley, who wore Durran’s emerald green 30’s-style dress to widespread acclaim in Atonement, Durran’s face-framing furs, extravagantly veiled hats and watered silk gowns beautifully accentuate Knightley’s tragic Anna. Clothes on Film contributor Karin E. Baker spoke to Durran about gathering the many details that went into creating the opulent look for this latest interpretation of Tolstoy’s novel. The $2 million worth of…

American Psycho (2000, costume designer Isis Mussenden) is a late 1980s set film that highlights the importance placed on external appearance and the disparity that can lie between this and the true nature of a person. The ‘Psycho’ of the title, Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) is outwardly flawless. He has an extreme and involved personal beauty regime, consisting of special shampoos, body washes, face masks and scrubs, complemented by a strict diet and exercise plan that he completes daily and without fail. He believes in looking after himself – or at least his external self. Beneath this perfectly glossy exterior is emptiness – a lack of humanity, of…

A new VLOG looking back over the still stunning costume design on of Inception. We revisit sci-fi classic Inception a decade after its release with MVP, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland. A new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet has dropped and it’s undoubtedly going to be the best film EVER. Amongst staggering aural and visual assault, perhaps one of the quietest aspects of Dunkirk (2017, directed by Christopher Nolan) are its costumes – and this is to its credit. Dunkirk is the type of film that requires you to engage quickly with everything you see on screen. Jeffrey Kurland’s costume design is masterful in this regard. A sea of subtly differentiated…

Really though, there were no big surprises in the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Apart from The Hurt Locker winning Best Picture, that was huge. As this is a movie costume website, however, we shall start with that. It was BAFTA/CDG all over again as Sandy Powell won Best Costume Design for The Young Victoria. Well, we did say there were no big surprises. Cannot fault Sandy Powell and her team for their incredibly detailed work on a movie that, frankly, demanded it, but when will the Academy reward costume design that isn’t period? Do casual moviegoers even realise that ‘costume’ is whatever a character wears, and that does not have…

Costume designer Jacqueline West talks exclusively to Clothes on Film about her period recreation work on Ben Affleck’s Oscar favourite Argo. Lord Christopher Laverty 8 Comments 5 Oct ’11 10 Oct ’09 1 Jun ’10 The best darn movie of the seventies you’ve never seen. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Film Review: Freebie and the Bean 1 Jun ’10 5 Oct ’11 26 Jun ’10

Twenty-five years ago, costume designer Margot Wilson was a student living in Paris when she picked up a roll of red, moire silk fabric during a shopping trip to Milan. She didn’t know why, or what for; she wasn’t even a costume designer then, just a talented young fashion grad from East Sydney Tech on a six-month scholarship to France. When it was time to go home, she took the beautiful roll of fabric back down under with her. Fast forward three decades and a couple of dozen films later (including Lantana, Bran Nue Dae and Lawless), and Wilson has finally found a screen role for her magnificent weave –…