Tron Legacy arrives in UK cinemas on 17th December, but you can see it over two weeks early! We have TWO PAIRS of tickets to give away to a screening in London’s West End on Thursday 2nd December at 6.00 pm. If that is not an early Christmas present then we don’t know what is. As you are doubtlessly aware, Tron Legacy is the story of 27 year old Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) searching for his missing father Kevin (Jeff Bridges), once the world’s leading video game designer, in a high-tech cyber universe – the ‘Grid’ – where he has been trapped for twenty years. Help comes in the form…

The green suit worn by Tippi Hedren as Melanie Daniels in The Birds (1963) has become increasingly symbolic in recent years as we delve ever deeper into the semiotics of film. In this case it is hardly surprising as Hedren only wears three costumes in total; the suit is so visible we cannot fail to draw meaning from its presence. But what was director Alfred Hitchcock trying to say with it, and more importantly, why? If you visited the V&A’s Hollywood Costume exhibition (now closed in London but moved to Australia and the U.S.), seeing The Birds’ suit would likely have stuck in your mind. It was given prominent placing…

The scruffy gumshoe style of Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart (1987). With very special trousers. On the surface the Babadook is just another bogeyman: prickly, sinewy, all arched limbs and spiky digits. And this is the point: he is just another bogeyman; it is what he represents that really matters. Without spoiling too much, The Babadook is larger than life because he is the exaggerated physical manifestation of our demons. In this respect he could look like anyone – wherever our fears lead. Nonetheless for the purposes of dressing up as the Babadook for this Halloween, and having anyone actually guess who you are, the following is required: top hat,…

James Bond is back and he has never scrubbed up better. Tom Ford now exists to make Daniel Craig suits. The votes have been counted, the prizes dished out… Harry subverts his identity to get lost in the crowd during this blistering new trailer for New Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. If you like Potter, you are going to like this. Cannot say fairer than that.

The Costume Designers Guild Award nominations right some wrongs and ignore quite a few others. Oscar announces their Costume Design nominees and at least make up for one BAFTA shortfall. BAFTA Costume design nominations announced. Worthy, but no surprises. Les Misérables is drenched in costume symbolism, specifically revolutionary red, white and blue. Subtle was never its intention.

The latest MCU smash-hit, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), features one of the strangest villains in the wallcrawler’s rogues’ gallery. When it comes to movies based on comic books, the outfit a character like Mysterio wears is not supposed to work on-screen. On the printed pages of comics, the outfits can be impractical and outlandish, and nothing is more of those things than the villain’s fishbowl helmet, lavender cape fastened with giant eyes, and green, scaly tights. Still, costume designer for the film, Anna B. Sheppard, met the challenge of making a fantastic look for Jake Gyllenhaal’s villain. Instead of running away from the crazy roots of the character, she……

Forgive the self-promotion as we draw your attention to Clothes on Film’s inclusion in book ‘Hollywood Costume’ edited by Deborah Nadoolman Landis. Hollywood costume comes to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum in the most exciting exhibition of its type ever announced. If you live near the Getty Center, there really is no excuse not to attend their Dressing the Part: Historical Costume on Film event. An exhibition of British costume design from films such as The King’s Speech and Pirates of the Caribbean opens at the Fashion Museum in July. Want another look at Janty Yates’ costume design for Robin Hood? Thought you might. The V&A in London is hosting…

Two weeks of catch up for you. Phillip Boutte Jr. This is something special. Tyranny of Style interview costume illustrator Phillip Boutte Jr. featuring some of his fabulous digital renderings from X-Men: Days of Future Past. Wonder Woman Apparently ‘exclusive’ costume details for the Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie, which is due April 2016. Wonder Woman will look ‘badass’. The Best Movie Sunglasses of ALL TIME So says Vogue. Penny Dreadful Brilliant look at the show’s costume design with insight from Gabriella Pescucci. Love the French impressionists inspiration. Clueless This is kinda cool – clothes retailer Metail have introduced a Cher style style wardrobe selector. We have the……

Costume’s big week. Every dress worn by Best Actress Academy Award Winners We featured this lovely infographic by Mediarun on our Facebook page. Roll on Sunday! Funny Face Good article on the classic film by Pamela Hutchinson, including a telling quote summing up just how little Audrey Hepburn really understood about costume design: “His (Givenchy) are the only clothes on which I am myself.” Bobi Garland Bobi Garland is Director of the Research Library and Costume Archive at Western Costume. You are about to find out why she is indispensible to the industry. Costume Designers Guild Awards Ladies and gentlemen, the winners. Toy Story An enthralling theory on the true……

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……