By the mid 1970s, denim had been accepted as day wear for everyone and yet still remained intrinsically associated with adolescent ‘drop out’ culture. Warren Beatty was 37 at the time of shooting The Parallax View (1974) so could hardly be described as young; he looks a touch too old for his sky-blue western Levi ‘Trucker’ denim jacket and brown twill hip-hugger pants. Nonetheless the casual denim jacket remains a potent symbol of seventies action hero. Mainstream acceptable yet scruffy, Beatty’s attire resists his character Joe Fredy’s profession as a serious, determined journalist, but not his wayward personality. A denim jacket seen in this era subliminally plants the seed of…

The leggy lure of Bombshell. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Bombshell: Below the Belt 29 Nov ’10 1 Sep ’15 27 Nov ’09

American Gigolo (1980, directed by Paul Schrader) is a vapid expression of style without substance that has somehow become an academic’s favourite. Yet to argue the emptiness of the film and its bland protagonist as subtext is to miss the big picture: American Gigolo is not even about its protagonist; it is about what he wears. American Gigolo is about Armani. It was Italian designers who led a revolution in tailoring during the early 1980s, reinventing the male suit by removing hitherto essential padding for a lightweight, almost floppy silhouette. Combined with unusual fabric choices and bold colours, they defined the decade. Giorgio Armani was at the forefront of this…

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.

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. The two other principal characters are Isabelle’s assistant Dani (Karoline Herfurth) and Christine’s boyfriend Dirk (Paul Anderson) who get…

Lucinda Wright talks to Clothes on Film about her contribution to The Suspicions of Mr Whicher starring Paddy Considine. Lord Christopher Laverty 2 Comments 10 Feb ’12 1 Apr ’14 9 Oct ’09

Lucinda Wright talks to Clothes on Film about her contribution to The Suspicions of Mr Whicher starring Paddy Considine. Lord Christopher Laverty 2 Comments 30 Jul ’13 28 Dec ’12 20 Dec ’12

Lucinda Wright talks to Clothes on Film about her contribution to The Suspicions of Mr Whicher starring Paddy Considine. Lord Christopher Laverty 2 Comments 7 Sep ’12 2 Jul ’13 20 May ’10

Star Trek’s Michael Kaplan confirmed as costume designer for Star Wars Episode VII. Lord Christopher Laverty 10 Comments 17 Nov ’11 23 May ’20 4 Jun ’10

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. The two other principal characters are Isabelle’s assistant Dani (Karoline Herfurth) and Christine’s boyfriend Dirk (Paul Anderson) who get…