Perhaps hardly surprising but it turns out Gucci are not that fussed at Ridley Scott making a film out of the most tumultuous period in their history after all. It was recently revealed that Scott had designs on Angelina Jolie to play the part of Patrizia Reggiani in his long gestating Gucci exposé (read HERE). Reggiani was married to Maurizio Gucci, grandson of the fashion giant’s founder Guccio Gucci. Following a spate of vicious in-fighting during the late 1970s-80’s, Reggiani had Maurizio murdered outside his Milan apartment in 1995. Variety is reporting that Reggiani blames Scott’s wife Giannina Facio for misleading the Gucci family into thinking his film would be…

By no means intended as an exhaustive list, Clothes on Film ponder an overview of 2011 in costume. Concentrating on mainstream fare that those outside of big cities are likely to have seen, we consider which costumes delighted, surprised and best of all, enlightened us. Expect to spot Drive, Melancholia and Hugo on this list somewhere. Costume encompasses every item of clothing worn on film. By strict definition costume is not ‘wardrobe’; wardrobe is what Oprah Winfrey wore on her talk show. While at Clothes on Film we embrace all forms of costume, we do have a slight bias for contemporary, although only because it is often underrepresented in the…

A film that embraces a decade many believe style forgot, Potiche (directed by François Ozon) is an enthusiastically 1977 set comedy starring Catherine Deneuve as Suzanne Pujol, so-called ‘trophy wife’ of the title. Suzanne considers herself less important than the clothes she wears. These along with copious make-up and hairspray are what Suzanne feels she needs to face the world. As static as a decorative vase (a ‘potiche’), she is there for display only. Imagine Deneuve’s icy Séverine in Belle de Jour retired from Paris and living in the countryside. Costume designer Pascaline Chavanne used a combination of deadstock and vintage fabrics for Suzanne’s various ensembles. The red tracksuit employed…

With the trailer for After Earth revealing an intriguing ‘life suit’ worn by Jaden Smith, we round up the best space suit related posts from our archive. Clothes on Film have an exclusive chat with Academy Award winning costume designer Janty Yates about her work on Prometheus. The subtle differentiation of character through costume design in Moon. Part 2 of our examination into how the Alien films have used costume design to contextualise primal terror. In the first of a two-part special, we examine how important costumes from the Alien films are in contextualising primal terror.

The leggy lure of Bombshell. A new trailer for Daniel Radcliffe’s Guns Akimbo has arrived and it’s hilarious. The costume style evolution of Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone (1984). The scruffy gumshoe style of Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart (1987). With very special trousers. A brief glimpse at the costume world Mark Bridges created for Joker. 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. Actually that title is a tad misleading – it’s all the clothes worn by Lee Marvin as kick-ass-tough-guy-on-a-mission Walker in Point Blank. This…

The subtle differentiation of character through costume design in Moon. Contributor 2 Comments 17 Sep ’10 5 Feb ’10 28 Nov ’14 A satisfactory start to the summer blockbuster season. Lord Christopher Laverty 8 Comments 14 May ’14 22 Nov ’10 17 Nov ’11 Here are a few images from the film that you have probably seen already. Lord Christopher Laverty 21 Comments 8 Mar ’13 16 Apr ’15 29 May ’13

Oscar winning costume designer Janty Yates has kindly taken time out filming Ridley Scott’s latest Robin Hood to chat about her contribution to an earlier Scott picture, Hannibal (2001). Hannibal’s forbear, classic chiller The Silence of the Lambs (1990), was directed by Jonathan Demme and costumed by Colleen Atwood. It relies on a dank, washed-out atmosphere that informs the narrative by very lack of its presence. Hannibal on the other hand was always intended as a glossier more conspicuous affair. This marked something of a change of pace for Janty Yates whose earlier credits included the austere Victorian fashions of Jude (1996) and Scott’s own sword and sandal epic Gladiator…

Shocking, but not really considering all the legal wrangling going on with the franchise recently, James Bond 23 has been shelved “indefinitely”. Not good news for any of us who enjoy gawping at the man’s enviable wardrobe. Without getting lost in our dusty legal dictionary, it appears that the main problem lies with Bond’s financial backers MGM. Having put themselves up for sale late last year, the company’s shareholders are currently in the process of arguing to accept the best offer (i.e. take the money and run) or hold out in hopes of keeping the studio afloat. In other words, they’re in limbo. Bond’s producers EON, as headed by Barbara…

It’s been all go with award nomination announcements for costume design over the past two weeks. Here is our round-up of the big three: BAFTA, CDG and Oscar. First up the BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) Film Awards: The Artist – Mark Bridges Hugo – Sandy Powell Jane Eyre – Michael O’Connor My Week with Marilyn – Jill Taylor Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy – Jacqueline Durran Perhaps the most surprising nomination, even though it shouldn’t be, is Jacqueline Durran for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Overruling the costumers’ chapter vote for Anonymous (Lisy Christl), general voters chose Tinker, Tailor instead – and with good reason. Critic Guy Lodge…

Just over ten years ago, Inception arrived in cinemas (remember those?) like a well-dressed jigsaw puzzle and caused us all brain ache. As twisty, knotty, turny now as it ever was, director Christopher Nolan’s dazzling sci-fi adventure also remains one of the chicest attired movies of all time. In honour of Inception being a decade old, we caught up with its costume designer, Academy Award nominee, BAFTA and Costume Designer’s Guild winner, Jeffrey Kurland. Not so much an interview, more a reminiscing chat as Mr. Kurland recounts his approach to the film, costume clues and unmissable sock moments. Plus we even cover that apparent ‘shirt malfunction’ from one of his…