The latest book by fashion historian, and now TV presenter Amber Butchart (A Stitch in Time on BBC 4 – second season please), is a comprehensively researched stroll through the best dressed folk ever to[…] With Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), costume designer Deena Appel created one of the most iconic screen looks of all time. That is no overstatement; Austin Powers has been copied and homaged and[…] 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 attire is generally shaped around the fundamental guise of the lounge[…] MILD SPOILERS Solo: A Star…

For HBO Sessions part 2, Clothes on Film editor Chris Laverty was invited to discuss the costume design of Boardwalk Empire. By no means intended as an exhaustive list, Clothes on Film ponder an overview of 2011 in costume. There is a man on Boardwalk Empire with even more sartorial presence than Nucky Thompson; That man is Chalky White. On the eve of Boardwalk Empire: Season 2 commencing, we had a chat with the show’s costume designers John Dunn and Lisa Padovani. On Tuesday 13th September, Clothes on Film makes its television debut chatting about the amazing costume design of Boardwalk Empire. Costume designer Amy Westcott has finally been rewarded…

Clothes from films set during 1930s Clothes on Film talk exclusively to costume designer of The Artist, Mark Bridges. Clothes on Film editor, Chris Laverty discusses the costumes of Mildred Pierce for filmed HBO Sessions. Bonnie and Clyde is a great example of how the simple addition of a hat can say a lot about a character. Win a pair of tickets to see Madonna’s controversial costume fest W.E. at The London Film Festival on 23rd October. In Malèna, Monica Bellucci plays an impossible vision of beauty; a woman so striking she is immediately sexualised by all who lay eyes on her. A prevalent theme in the first episode of…

For contemporary set spy thriller The Tourist starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, Oscar winning costume designer Colleen Atwood took a break from historical and fantasy to create a modern yet playfully retro collection of gorgeous gowns and impeccable suits. We asked her a few questions about the film’s lavish look and how it evolves throughout. Playing classy mystery woman Elise Ward, Angelina Jolie dons twelve outfits in total, most created from the ground up by Colleen Atwood and inspired by current or vintage pieces. The soft, fitted grey dress she wears was actually a Charles James original. Her shoes, towering heels mostly, were all Salvatore Ferragamo. Floor length in…

Clothes from films set during 1970s In the very opening scene of Rocky (1976, costume designer Robert Cambel), we see the title character in the ring, bare chested, hands encased in boxing gloves, the picture of sporting violence and masculinity. But[…] MILD SPOILERS Costume designer Michael Wilkinson’s main accomplishment with American Hustle has largely been overlooked in favour of praising him as some kind of vintage stylist with an eye for provocative gowns and desirable heels.[…] He is the whitest of the white trash, the kind of man who dumps raw sewage in a storm drain and kidnaps your boss as a Christmas present. And the only man to ever…

No round up last week because we were a bit busy, so this week is MEGA JAMMED WITH COSTUME GOODNESS. Puttin’ on the Glitz We teamed up with Amber Jane Butchart and The British Library to talk jazz age fashion and dandy gangsters. Further coverage to follow… Costume Test Images 50 of them to be precise, from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to Star Wars, Batman, and beyond. Noah Mad good interview/article by Tyranny of Style with Noah’s Head Textile Artist Matt Reitsma. There is absolutely no way you can care about costume design and not read this. Business of Fashion Costume designers, fashion designers, studios, brands, and a business venture 100…

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[…] A fortnight ago to the day, Clothes on Film creator and editor Christopher Laverty joined fashion historian Amber Jane Butchart to give one of two talks and a Q&A chat at The British Library in[…] No round up last week because we were a bit busy, so this week is MEGA JAMMED WITH COSTUME GOODNESS. Puttin’ on the Glitz We teamed up with Amber Jane Butchart and The British Library[…] For this month’s Fabric of…

Boogie Nights (1997, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson) is packed with vintage clothing delights. Even though costume designer Mark Bridges generally eschewed more obvious 1970s/early 80s trends due to a recent retro fashion revival, the movie is still completely identifiable with both of these periods. Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) and Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) are two of the film’s most interesting characters in terms of costume, especially how their outfits seem at times to be simpatico, although, as we discover with exclusive insight from Mark Bridges himself, this was not intentional: “Fifteen years after designing the film you mention something to me I never noticed!” Of course there are other…

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…

Oscar nominated costume designer Anna B. Sheppard grants us exclusive insight into the unique period look of Inglourious Basterds (2009). It transpires that most of the film’s extraordinary costumes, including Diane Kruger’s brown suit and Julie Dreyfus’ ‘cat hat’, were constructed entirely from original designs by Anna Sheppard. Moreover all period jewellery was sourced from her own private collection, accumulated since working on Steven Spielberg’s holocaust drama Schindler’s List in 1993. Clothes on Film: Is it fair to say that the costumes in Inglourious Basterds are intended as ‘stylised’ as opposed to entirely historically accurate? Anna Sheppard: I wouldn’t call them stylised as such, simply they are maybe more flamboyant.…