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    Review: Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel | Clothes on Film

    Directors: Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, Frédéric Tcheng “Without it (style), you’re nobody”. The Eye Has to Travel is full of these; little morsels of, depending how you look at them, perceptive genius or narcissistic fluff. Every line worth remembering comes from the mouth of Diana Vreeland herself. Vreeland died in 1989 so these are taken from archive footage or transcription for her autobiography (her accent sounds like a cross between Audrey and Katherine Hepburn). These quotes may read as boorish, but such is the zest and charm of Vreeland, in context they sum up a woman who dedicated herself to the eradication of banality. The most influential fashion editor…

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    X-Men: First Class Trailer | Clothes on Film

    After some not especially revealing, though still rather tantalising costume wise, X-Men: First Class images released three weeks ago, comes a far more revealing trailer. It is unexpectedly classy too. X-Men: First Class is helmed by Kick Ass (2010) and Stardust (2007) director Mathew Vaughn and co-scripted by both of those films’ screenwriter Jane Goldman. This is worth mentioning because she clearly has a knack for adapting comic books/graphic novels, unless First Class is an exception, which we hope not. Anyway, check out the trailer below. Costumes by Sammy Sheldon – also a Vaughn regular: It is now apparent that both Vaughn and Sheldon have toned down the ‘sixtiesness’ of…

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    Costume Stories: This Week, Mad Men and Revenge | Clothes on Film

    This week’s world of costume design reduced to links and soundbites. Kristin M. Burke Costume designer Kristin M. Burke talks about her career. Love this interview and love Kristin. Brave Merida gets a rather shocking makeover by Disney. The Great Gatsby It’s out now so we can all judge for ourselves. In the meantime here is Catherine Martin talking about how she made the costumes ‘feel modern’. Sophie de Rakoff Legally Blonde and This Mean’s War costume designer Sophie de Rakoff discusses the misunderstood job of creating contemporary looks on-screen. X-Men: Days of Future Past Bryan Singer tweeting more pics of Louise Migenbach’s 1973 era costumes. Mad Men Catch up…

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    Brian de Palma’s Passion: Costume as Contemporary Hitchcock | Clothes on Film

    Director Brian De Palma has made movies heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock before, but Passion (2012) is the first one whose characters look like they stepped out of one of Hitchcock’s classic films. Karen Muller-Serreau’s bold and colourful costumes communicate the characters’ hidden desires and make watching Passion a sensory experience. This melodrama centres on two ad executives, Isabelle (Noomi Rapace) and her boss Christine (Rachel McAdams), who have a deadline to come up with an ad campaign for a new smartphone. In her sleep, Isabelle thinks of a great idea. Dirk (Paul Anderson) in typical pinstriped suit with Isabelle (Noomi Rapace) in even more typical black. The two other…

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    Costume Stories, This Week: Yves Saint Laurent and Mad Men | Clothes on Film

    This week’s costume design news. Mad Men “She buys her clothes two sizes too small, more 50’s than 60’s.” – Janie Bryant knows her Joan. Yves Saint Laurent Costume designer Madeline Fontaine’s predictably difficult job costuming the immaculate biopic. …and sticking with Yves, HERE‘s Kate Muir’s article inspired by the film for The Times featuring Clothes on Film ed Christopher Laverty. Sunday in New York Another stunning analysis by Kay Noske, this time focusing on Jane Fonda’s enviable wardrobe as ’the only 22 year old virgin left in the world’. Hannibal Part 2 of Hello Tailor’s in-depth analysis. Even if you can’t be bothered to read the article (though you…

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    Saving Mr. Banks: Costume Design Featurette | Clothes on Film

    A slight but worth watching video about the costume and production design for frothy Walt Disney biography Saving Mr. Banks. If you have not seen the film it won’t spoil anything, and will probably get you wanting to dress in sixties suits and dresses again, like Mad Men did in the early days. Costume designer for Saving Mr Banks, Daniel Orlandi (Down With Love, Frost/Nixon), chats a little about his approach, which is how you might expect for a period movie where clothes are weaved into the narrative rather than absolutely intrinsic to it, i.e. show but do not ‘show off’ the era. Orlandi wanted the female cast to be…

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    A Comfortable Future: The Costume Design of Her | Clothes on Film

    The near future romance Her, written and directed by Spike Jonze, whose widely diverse resume ranges from the world of music videos to MTV’s Jackass to major motion pictures, brought together a creative team that costume designer Casey Storm refers to as “friends first, and co-workers second.” Storm and production designer K.K. Barrett create a soft, comfortable world of tomorrow. Shot on location around Los Angeles and Shanghai, Barrett avoided familiar locations to create a world that is accessible but not overtly recognisable. Our first introduction to the world feels very familiar. Seated in an office in a simple button up, Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Theodore Twombly, dictates a letter to…