The final trailer for The Rhythm Section features more costume changes than a Lady Gaga concert. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on The Rhythm Section Trailer: An Assassin’s Lookbook 23 Feb ’10 10 Jun ’11 1 Aug ’12

strong>Part one of a new Dual Analysis costume film review. Costume designer Anthea Sylbert was prolific following Rosemary’s Baby. Roman Polanski’s atmospheric horror was essentially her big break and apparently one of her toughest challenges too. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) tells the story of young newlyweds Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse (Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes) who move into an apartment building that turns out to be a haven of witches lead by old timers Minnie and Roman Castevet (Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer). On the promise of a big career, Guy allows the witches to impregnate Rosemary with the seed of the devil. Rosemary is trapped and alone, surrounded by an…

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…

To celebrate the release of Oz the Great and Powerful this week, here is a round-up of the best fantasy costume related posts at Clothes on Film. Some stretch a few years back but are still worth a read. Also do not forget to check out our review of Oz HERE. Click the image to take you to the article. Her name is Effie and she dresses in McQueen. We speak to simulation supervisor Claudia Chung about designing costumes for Oscar winning animation Brave. With Catching Fire on the way this November, revisit our review of The Hunger Games. Costume designer Trish Summerville replaces Judianna Makovsky for the new one.…

Starring: Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Chloe Moretz Directed By: Matthew Vaughn Smartly structured to sell the same old superhero story in a fresh way, Kick-Ass (2010) is more your Unbreakable or Watchmen style comic book adaptation as opposed to Spiderman or even Chris Nolan’s Batman. It’s a satire with severed limbs. And the C-bomb. From an eleven year old girl. About an ordinary high schooler who one day decides to become a superhero for no real reason at all, Kick-Ass is a smooth as blend of cartoon violence and very real consequences. From wannabe hero Dave Lizewski’s (Aaron Johnson) first attempt at vigilantism resulting in his stabbed, battered body being…

An American Werewolf in London A screening at the Billy Wilder theater in Los Angeles on the 26th, with Deborah Nadoolman Landis in attendance to sign copies of her book ‘Hollywood Costume’ (we’re in that!). Shawna Trpcic It’s question time with Shawna Trpcic. What a fun idea! Halloween FrockTalk’s guide to looking suitably fab and/or disgusting. Thor: The Dark World Costume designer Wendy Partridge (another new set of hands for Thor) chats briefly about her work on the upcoming film. Rush Inspired by her friend Ellen Crawshaw working as a costume assistant on Rush, fashion historian and all round sartorial resource Amber Butchart analyses cars and Formula 1 style in…

Featuring exclusive insight from Sherlock Holmes costume designer Jenny Beavan, we commence our sartorial analysis of Guy Ritchie’s Victorian-set mystery adventure, and with not a deerstalker in sight. “Wear a jacket” barks Dr. Watson. “You wear a jacket!” retorts Sherlock Holmes. And he does. Watson sits down to dinner with Holmes and bride-to-be Mary Morstan wearing arguably the most unusual and interesting jacket in the entire film. It is dark blue with a stand collar and pleats across the chest. But more on that later. Sherlock Holmes (2009) is Guy Ritchie’s re-imagining, re-boot, re-whatever of Arthur Conan Doyle’s renowned fictional detective. It’s greater fun than any of us dared hope…

The second installment (part one HERE) of our extensive interview with Austin Powers trilogy costume designer Deena Appel, this time focusing on The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999, again directed by Jay Roach). Things change up in The Spy Who Shagged Me, for in addition to costuming the modern and swinging sixties world of Austin Powers, his character also travels to 1969, i.e. the ‘hippie era’. The first film was a tremendous success and Appel’s contribution solidified her as the only person who could return to costume this fabulous, vibrant landscape. Speaking exclusively to Clothes on Film, and providing never before seen or published costume sketches from the movie, Deena…

SPOILERS Despite all the hoo-ha over films such as Blue Jasmine and Stoker contemporary is still pretty much overlooked as a form of costume design. If it’s invisible, well, nobody notices it, and if it’s designer it becomes all about ‘the fashion’ (OMG TOTES WANT THOSE SHOES). We are currently in an age when costume design means period and sci-fi. It comes to the extent that if a costumer wants to tell a story through contemporary attire, he/she needs either a director with a key grasp of semiotics, or one that doesn’t care less about semiotics and offers a degree of autonomy. Watching About Time we presume that Richard Curtis…

Win a pair of tickets to see Madonna’s already controversial costume fest W.E. showing on 23rd October courtesy of lovely Jameson, ‘Official Spirit of the BFI London Film Festival’. W.E. (directed and co-scripted by Madonna) tells a parallel story of two women, Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) and Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough) separated by sixty years of history. Wally is obsessed by the idea of Wallis’ perfect relationship with Edward (James D’Arcy). Subsequent to Edward’s abdication of the British throne, Wally considers this the greatest sacrifice for love in history. However, as Wally delves deeper into the past she discovers that their life together was not the fairytale romance she thought.…