So here we go, our first Dual Analysis with Maggie from The Costumer’s Guide. First up, Chris from Clothes on Film gives his thoughts on The Young Victoria: While it ticks all the boxes of what many deem to be a typical costume drama, e.g. upper class backdrop, domestic intrigue, suppressed lust, elaborate sets and, of course, costumes, The Young Victoria (2009) is a more valid commentary on the burden of extreme wealth and duty as barrier to happiness. The film is not always successful, as director Jean-Marc Vallée generally prioritises flair over feeling, though a committed and engaging central romance kept lively by screenwriter Julian Fellowes pulls the story…

This week’s world according to costume design. Man of Steel Superman’s cape was CGI for much of the movie. Makes sense when you think about it. Look of Love Stephanie Collie on recreating 1960s Soho. Fascinating for anyone who knows the time and/or setting. Behind the Candelabra Deirdre Clemente and Aisling O’Connor explain why Liberace’s costumes mattered, because they really did. Beyond Gatsby Typically engrossing DTSFT piece about interpreting the 1920s on film. Examples from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Chicago, Midnight in Paris… Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Costume design in the Indian film industry. Revenge ‘It felt like a natural extension’, Jill Ohannesson talks about her upcoming Revenge clothing line. Living…

Big names all round for this moody, glossy looking thriller: Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, directed by Ridley Scott and, best of all, costumes by Scott’s longtime collaborator Janty Yates. Ms. Yates is best known for her Academy Award winning designs on Gladiator, and more recently Prometheus. But she does far than period and sci-fi. For The Counsellor it’s sharp, sometimes deliberately loud contemporary costume that occasionally recalls her work on Hannibal and Miami-Vice. She used designer names for the principals, including Armani (Fassbender and Cruz), Versace (Bardem) and Thomas Wilde (Diaz). It’s all up there on screen. The film is based on the first…

Photographer Terry O’Neill has been snapping shots of James Bond behind the scenes since his arrival in 1962. This book, tied together with essays written by journalists, cultural historians and interviews with Bond girls is a collection of O’Neill’s finest and most revealing work. Though many of the images have not been widely published, O’Neill’s work is easily recognisable by his eavesdropping, yet highly artistic style. Surely you have seen that classic shot of Bond creator Ian Fleming close-up in dotted silk cravat smoking a cigarette? O’Neill took it. Despite some perfunctory text, All About Bond wisely focuses on O’Neill’s photographs. The best feature Sean Connery goofing about on set,…

Okay, so Jackie Earle Haley’s brave attempt at becoming Freddy Kruger in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010 did not come off as well as hoped. However, his immediately recognisable costume is still emblematic as ever – albeit now with some subtle differences. Costume designer for A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot Mari-An Ceo had a wealth of considerations to take into account when creating her version of ‘that sweater’, not least that the green and red striped colours are so dark along side each other they are barely perceptible to the human eye (indeed, many think Freddy’s sweater is actually red and black to this day). In this video…

The 1970s are a scary decade because everything appears the same on the surface, cars, clothes, technology, so we can relate to what we see, yet somehow it has an otherworldly atmosphere. At times the seventies can seem like a strange, beige parallel universe where cholesterol was for sissies and sideburns mandatory (less so for women). With its most recent trailer The Conjuring, set in 1971, embraces this idea wholeheartedly. Warner Bros. are pushing The Conjuring hard – and with good reason. It is directed by James Wan who made the original Saw (2004) and even more impressively Insidious, which was officially the most profitable movie of 2011. If this…

Stars of The Lovely Bones, Michael Imperioli, Susan Sarandon and Saoirse Ronan meet Prince Charles. No Clothes on Film wasn’t invited, but we have got some photos. On Tuesday 24th November 2009 the Royal Premiere performance for Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones took place at Odeon Leicester Square in London. Here is what some of the important people looked like: Puffball: In the film Saoirse Ronan plays a young girl watching over her family from heaven. Disco: Co-star Rose McIver Tux: The Lovely Bones director Peter Jackson Underwear: Little Boots. Not in the film Heavy silk: Co-star Carolyn Dando Overcoat: Andy Serkis minus mocap suit for once Sequinny: Susan Sarandon…

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…

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 London. The subjects under discussion were, respectively, the unexpectedly colourful clothing of Prohibition era gangsters as portrayed in the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire, and the influence of movies and movie star style on fashion during The Jazz Age. After Christopher and Amber finished their talks to a delighted audience (they clapped), everyone reconvened to the elegant backdrop of the main library grounds to swig cocktails and dance the night away to Alex Mendham &…

MINOR SPOILERS Okja (2017) is the second film that costume designer Catherine George has worked on with director Bong Joon-ho. Their first together, Snowpiercer (2013), despite being lauded by critics (and featuring Chris Evans), only received a limited theatrcial run in the U.S. and no release at all in the UK. Unlike Okja, Snowpiercer is an out and out sci-fi fantasy set when most of the world’s population have been wiped out and those who remain live on perpetually moving train. Okja is still a fantasy, it revolves around a little girl Mija (An Seo Hyun) trying to save her giant ‘super pig’ from being harvested as GM bacon, but…