Disney has just released an international trailer for their latest, Scotland set Pixar offering, Brave (directed by Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews). Delightful, it is. Brave takes place in fairytale ‘ancient times’, telling the story of Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald), a flame haired, headstrong tomboy keen to break convention and change her destiny in a male dominated land. Nothing new there, but this does look sumptuous. Plus the level of detail on the costumes is immense. Just look at Queen Elinor’s (Emma Thompson) Tudor style green dress as it realistically shimmies and sways around her. If you are still not convinced that costume design has any place in animation,…

As Contessa Teresa ‘Tracy’ Di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Diana Rigg embodied a complex and charming, if sadly terminal ‘Bond girl’. Decked in glamorous, era-specific trends by Marjory Cornelius, Rigg’s costumes were subtly symbolic of her tomboyish nature, culminating in a memorably daring wedding ensemble. Glamour and symbolism were director Peter Hunt’s idea; he intended a return to the more distinguished Bondian elements of dress and production design as established in Goldfinger (1964). Acknowledged for his dapper style on set, Hunt even sent new 007 George Lazenby to his own tailor. Lazenby’s Bond is one of the sharpest attired in the series, principally because he reflects…

MILD SPOILERS Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) is far and away the most ‘A New Hope-like’ film in the series yet. In terms of tone, sure, but particularly costume. What costume designers Glyn Dillon and David Crossman have so expertly achieved with Solo is making a contemporary looking movie set during the late 1960s. Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 which puts Solo’s timeline around a decade before, or likely just over. But hang on, isn’t this a science fiction movie? What does when it’s made have to do with the space opera world being brought to life on screen? Well the seventies in particular was…

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…

In Tron Legacy, the light suit exemplifies two key facets of the mythology: light, as in energy, and ‘disc’ – lifeblood of the wearer. This suit is a meticulously designed ‘second skin’ that integrates seamlessly into director Joseph Kosinski’s vision of the Tron story universe. Here we examine the design of the new light suit including background to its creation, construction, symbolism and application in Tron Legacy. ‘The Grid’ is such a heavily computer generated world that the light suit was considered a practical means of bringing this environment to life for actors. Moreover, to physically illuminate each suit in post-production would have been too expensive. Costume designers Michael Wilkinson,…

Directed By: Joe Johnston Starring: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving Old school, Saturday matinee fun, Captain America: The First Avenger is director Joe Johnston’s best since The Rocketeer (1991) and features some of the finest superhero genre costume design ever committed to film. The assured skill of designer Anna B. Sheppard brings The First Avenger alive, blending potentially high camp ensembles into a believable story environment; one that is essentially a fantasy parallel of our own. It is childish and fun, but with a serious dramatic core at its heart. The 1940s backdrop is rich with costume and production design motifs; muted sepia with flashes of patriotic colour. Captain…

Costume designer for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Michael Kaplan, talks us through his choices and intentions for clothing in the film. Prepare to be disappointed if you want Tom Cruise’s blue silk suit worn in Dubai; it was custom made by Mr. Kaplan himself. At least Cruise’s Persol sunglasses are available to buy, however. Michael Kaplan is a powerhouse force in costume design. He is guaranteed to have worked on at least one Hollywood movie you fondly remember from the last twenty years or so. If in doubt consider he designed Samuel L. Jackson’s pimp ensembles for The Long Kiss Good Night (1996) and Randy Quaid’s bad taste brilliance…

In Blake Edwards’ Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961, costume supervisor Edith Head), based on the novella by Truman Capote, we get to know Holly Golightly, a mysterious woman-child with a troubled past who refuses to belong to anyone or anywhere. The film reveals much about Holly’s character through its allusions via costume, attests Lisa Magnuson. Holly is presented as young, frightened and damaged; someone who, like a cat, lashes out when others get too close. Holly’s iconic Givenchy dress seen in the opening scene with its thick, cumbersome necklace and yoked back, arguably the most famous costume in film history, represents Holly’s current status as a call girl. The dress consumes…

Filmmaker Nic Fforde discusses how he come to realise the importance of costume design in his projects. Stories in films are all familiar to us in some way, no matter how remote the setting. The hell that unfolds aboard the Nostromo in Alien, LA’s icy criminal underworld in Heat or Rope’s Ivy League dinner party – a good story well told will whisk you away to its own self–contained world. All the tools of filmmaking are there to help create these worlds. What part does costume play in all this? My day job is to make films for advertising. We work on low budgets with small documentary crews. Whatever our…

Joanna Johnston is a multi-award nominated costume designer with an excitingly eclectic filmography. From Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989) and The Sixth Sense (1999) to About a Boy (2002) and Valkyrie (2008). Including most famously Saving Private Ryan (1998), she is now carving a niche in military dress and uniform. Although, considering the subtlety of all Ms. Johnston’s costume design – the cleverly unchanging ensemble worn by Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense for example – this is only a small part of her work. Clothes on Film called up Joanna Johnston for a chat about her most recently released project, War Horse…