Certainly the most memorable costume Diane Kruger wears in National Treasure (2004) is a luscious silk evening dress; particularly in regards to what her character puts it through. For this fun Disney adventure, Kruger plays National Archives curator turned fortune finder Dr. Abigail Chase. From blow drying the Declaration of Independence to searching an ancient cavern for Freemason gold, she gets more to do than merely follow Nicolas Cage’s ‘treasure protector’ Ben Gates around and scream whenever the bad guys pull their guns out. Abigail swinging from the back of a moving vehicle in an unashamedly flouncy gown is one of the more memorable images from the film. Moreover this…

Join Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty for a special Oscars Red Carpet Livestream. You better believe he’s wearing a custom made crown. So what’s been happening this week then? Blue Jasmine ‘In costuming the past we lose the present.’ Wonder Woman Michael Wilkinson has basically said nothing about Wonder Woman’s outfit, yet we’re still hanging on his every word. Mad Men Jessica Paré chats about the show’s costumes and her own ‘French with a rock edge’ style. Dallas Costume designer Rachel Sage talks about her work on the TNT reboot. The Oscars Catherine Martin wins and wins BIG. Kudos. Red carpet fashion Tyranny of Style casts his educated gaze…

The subtle differentiation of character through costume design in Moon. Contributor 2 Comments 26 Sep ’11 10 Mar ’13 30 Apr ’10

Jeffrey Kurland has once again spoken exclusively to Clothes on Film about his inspiring costume design for Inception. Lord Christopher Laverty 15 Comments 19 Dec ’11 19 May ’11 5 Mar ’12

Award winners from the CDG are in for a celebratory weekend. Monique Prudhomme’s sensational costumes for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus won in the ‘Excellence in Fantasy Film’ category, once again leaving fellow nominee, and all round big hitter, Avatar, out in the cold. Other recipients at the 12th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards included Doug Hall for Crazy Heart in the ‘Contemporary’ section, eclipsing our prediction Marina Draghici for Precious, which is unfortunately off the Academy’s list on March 7th as well. In television, Janie Bryant took the prize for her continually exciting work on Mad Men in ‘Period/Fantasy’. While ‘Mini-series’ saw Catherine Marie Thomas get the nod for…

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…

There is no doubting that Joker (here played by Joaquin Phoenix) is unlike any movie featuring the character that has EVER been on screen. As costume designer, Mark Bridges embraced the film’s dismal, crime ridden, nihilistic 1981 setting and created a sartorial palate almost entirely devoid of warmth. Mr. Bridges is a two-time Oscar winning costume legend. This is what might be deemed one of his ‘smaller’ projects (it’s a comic book movie in name only – this is no tentpole picture). He threw himself into it, however, as he does with every movie he makes, to build a believable world of poverty running up against the 1%. Plus, an…

Black Swan costume designer, Amy Westcott, BAFTA and CDG nominated for her work on the film, puts the record straight on controversy surrounding herself and Rodarte’s contribution, exactly what her role comprises, and how she feels about that Academy Award snub. Amy Westcott worked with Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky previously on The Wrestler in 2008, plus has been costume designer on over twenty features and seventy episodes of TV series Entourage. Here she talks exclusively to Clothes on Film: Clothes on Film, Chris: Are you aware of the controversy surrounding yourself and fashion house Rodarte (the Mulleavy sisters) in the press; that they should be credited alongside you as…

Who could ever suggest James Bond never puts a foot wrong sartorially? While it tends to be Roger Moore’s seventies incarnation receiving most disdain, this baby blue towelling playsuit worn by Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964, directed by Guy Hamilton) is commonly remembered as the actor’s one costume disaster. Yet, seen in period context and motion, plus modelled by one of the most handsome gentlemen who ever graced the screen, it might be worthy of reconsideration. Worn for the film’s first post-credits scene, whereby Bond is introduced, informally, to megalomaniac villain Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe), this diminutive, crotch wrangling ‘beach wear’ is not especially typical for the time. Here featuring…

Contributor Birdie McAra explores the fantabulously non-male gazey world of Birds of Prey. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Just About Everyone) 17 Feb ’11 9 Jan ’14 4 Feb ’14