Costume designer Mark Bridges described There Will Be Blood (2007) as his most challenging film, referring to the difficulties he faced in transporting costumes to the remote location in West Texas, after director Paul Thomas Anderson called for a new concept three days before a re-shoot. However these challenges seem to channel the themes of the film itself: hardship, isolation, and the determination to overcome any obstacle to fulfil a goal. Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a turn-of-the-century prospector, who receives a tip about a giant oil deposit under a family farm in California. The family includes Eli Sunday, a zealous preacher and faith healer who wants the money from…

In honour of the The Wolverine and his black on black Yakuza uniform, a round up of posts featuring memorable black costumes at Clothes on Film. Deborah Nadoolman Landis discusses her Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V&A. A rundown of why Hollywood Costume at the V&A is the best event you will see all year. Armour and indecisiveness: Audrey Hepburn is more than a little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. We have five copies of Liz Gregory’s movie dressmaking book Sew Iconic to give away. That’s right, five. Anna May Wong fused East and West against an ill-equipped backdrop of Hollywood cinema.

Some essential style lessons learnt from Hot Tub Time Machine. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Awesome Lack of Taste: Style Lessons from Hot Tub Time Machine 19 Jun ’13 14 Aug ’17 4 May ’13

We revisit sci-fi classic Inception a decade after its release with MVP, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland. Join Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty for a special Oscars Red Carpet Livestream. You better believe he’s wearing a custom made crown. We chat to costume designer Caroline Eselin-Schaefer about her work on terrific new Amazon comedy, Troop Zero. Examining the shirt collars of all the gentleman in 1941 noir classic, The Maltese Falcon. A brief video dip into the costume design of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. MINOR SPOILERS Movies that feature contemporary fashion, particularly high-end and particularly for women, are a tricky sell costume wise. While men’s semi-formal to formal…

From Chris Laverty’s regular column ‘Fabric of Cinema’ for Arts Illustrated magazine, here is an abridged version of the most recently published essay ‘A Migration of Talent’. The current issue of Arts Illustrated focuses on those that have moved across geographical boundaries to expand the scope of their work. It has long been the norm for costume designers from the UK to relocate, not necessarily permanently, to Hollywood. Their careers have been forged by the demands of the business they compete in. But what would have happened if, say, Sandy Powell (Shakespeare in Love), or Joanna Johnston (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) had never worked beyond these shores? How would their…

This is a personal post about designing my custom made James Bond shirt. It is not an advertorial and wasn’t paid for. All photographs are of the final finished shirt(s) and taken by David Wade of Vogue Shot photography. There are now ample custom shirt makers online, but as a pre-existing customer of Deo Veritas what made this company stand out for me was a steadfast, almost stubborn desire to get everything ‘just so’. Seemingly no query or request is too much trouble. Bearing this in mind I tasked Deo Veritas with recreating a shirt I have always sought yet been unable to find off the peg or in my…

SPOILERS If you’ve heard anything about Phantom Thread (2017, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson), you are bound to uncover a multitude of thoughts on the astounding Academy Award winning costume work of Mark Bridges or the retirement role of Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock, 1950s fashion house couturier. But one of the key components to Reynolds is missing from the discussion: Autism. Phantom Thread opens with Reynolds (Day-Lewis) getting dressed to formalities of the era. Polished shoes, ironed trousers, a fresh button-down shirt, with the addition of long magenta socks to introduce the notion of creativity, or perhaps particularities to the character. The scene moves to breakfast, which quietly adds……

In honour of the The Wolverine and his black on black Yakuza uniform, a round up of posts featuring memorable black costumes at Clothes on Film. Deborah Nadoolman Landis discusses her Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V&A. A look at the costumes you can expect to see and enjoy at Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style.

A new web documentary analysing the look of James Bond. Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment 10 Jul ’13 29 Jun ’13 15 Jul ’13

Deborah Nadoolman Landis discusses her Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V&A. Lord Christopher Laverty 5 Comments 14 Jul ’11 22 Apr ’14 17 Nov ’11 Editor Chris Laverty explains how to ‘read’ costume on film. From an article originally published in Moviescope magazine. Lord Christopher Laverty 8 Comments 28 Sep ’12 14 Sep ’12 20 Jun ’13