Throughout much of Wall Street (1987), Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko dresses as sharp as a tack, wearing perhaps two really great shirts: the renowned ‘Gekko shirt’ in blue with white contrast collars and cuffs and an appealing variation on the Gekko, a pink and white Vichy check – again with white collars and cuffs. Both embody the corrupting authority of a 1980s power outfit: immaculate and comfortable, yet loud and in your face. Disrespectful. Douglas adopts the former signature look for his first big reveal as Gekko: Med blue shirt with white contrast turn-down collar and white French cuffs. Two-tone blue narrow stripe braces. It was costume designer Ellen…

When Arnold Scaasi opened his couture salon in 1964, he soon became a couturier to the stars. He was already a favoured designer for Barbra Streisand when he famously dressed her for the 1969 Oscars. Streisand was up for Best Actress for her movie debut in Funny Girl and was established as something of an ‘individual’; usually described as ‘kooky’, she was completely different from anyone else, an innovator of style, and challenging and changing the ideas of beauty. So it is no surprise that when it came to her clothing choice for the Oscars, Streisand resisted the usual protocol of an evening gown and instead opted for a most…

Catch up with the costume gossip you’ve missed. Godzilla “Contemporary in design with a multitude of uniforms”, says costume designer Sharen Davis. We remember chatting to Ms. Davis about her work on Godzilla during an interview for Django Unchained – she was so stoked to be working with director Gareth Edwards. X-Men: Days of Future Past Q&A with ace Louise Mingenbach which we haven’t read because we haven’t seen the movie yet. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom For the film’s 30th birthday an enticing look back at Anthony Powell’s costume design by Tim Pelan for Cinetropolis. Game of Thrones More secrets in the costumes, unless you want to…

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…

HBO’s five part adaptation of Mildred Pierce starring Kate Winslet debuted 25th June on Sky Atlantic. A prevalent theme in the first episode is how domestic costume, specifically the housedress, can be read as a signal for sexual availability. Mildred Pierce (Winslet) is abandoned by her husband at the start of the story and left to bring up her two daughters alone during America’s Great Depression. At present there is little cause for Mildred to choose anything other than rudimentary housedresses. As costumed by Ann Roth, Winslet wears three such dresses in total. One is calf length in brown floral crepe, belted with long slashed sleeves and high round neckline.…

In addition to script, acting and direction, the most iconic moments in some of the best-loved films are defined in no small part by costume. This can most certainly be said of Dirty Dancing (1987) in that classic scene where “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” Johnny Castle’s (Patrick Swayze) half-unbuttoned black shirt and equally rebellious leather jacket with up-turned collar define him as the bad boy ‘your Daddy would never approve of’, whilst Baby (Jennifer Grey) wears a floaty, pale pink dress that gives her the grace of a ballerina and the elegance of a dove reflecting her much purer nature. But beyond these best known ensembles by costume…

Part one of a new Dual Analysis costume film review. Attesting that upbeat and silly often go hand in hand, Beetle Juice (1988) stands as one of director Tim Burton’s most cheerfully insane projects. If its blend of fantasy, horror, comedy proves too much for some, then the imaginative costumes by Aggie Guerard Rodgers and Bo Welch’s vibrant production design save the film from merely a cult following. Yet there is so much to see in Beetle Juice that the real enjoyment comes from re-viewing. This spooky tale revolves around the recently deceased Maitlands, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis). Just coming to terms with dying and forced to…

The perfection of a rose-tinted past, Doris Day’s costumes in Pillow Talk (1959) are some of the most exquisite ever worn on screen. They personify her immaculate character and symbolise the remnants of a dying era; opulence, optimism and the changing face of urbanised fashion. Costume designer for Pillow Talk was Bill Thomas, although, as became standard with Doris Day pictures, he was not directly responsible for creating her outfits. That job fell to celebrated costume/fashion designer Jean Louis, earning him a ‘Gowns By’ credit on the film. Louis was known for his stylish and often deceptively simple garments, including most famously Rita Hayworth’s strapless black sheath in Gilda (1946).…

Grace Kelly (as Lisa Fremont) wears five separate outfits in Rear Window (1954) including one negligee. Three of these are exceptional standouts, each neatly representing a different sector of 1950s women’s fashion: dress, casual and tailored. All will be covered in time, but for now let’s start with the ‘fresh from the Paris plane’ dress, as designed by Edith Head, unquestionably the most famous movie costumer of all time; known for her clean and elegant ‘taste maker’ style: Fitted black bodice with deep V cut down to the bust and rear to the small of the back, off the shoulder neckline, cap sleeves. Here Head actually seems to pre-date the…

Black Swan costume designer, Amy Westcott, BAFTA and CDG nominated for her work on the film, puts the record straight on controversy surrounding herself and Rodarte’s contribution, exactly what her role comprises, and how she feels about that Academy Award snub. Amy Westcott worked with Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky previously on The Wrestler in 2008, plus has been costume designer on over twenty features and seventy episodes of TV series Entourage. Here she talks exclusively to Clothes on Film: Clothes on Film, Chris: Are you aware of the controversy surrounding yourself and fashion house Rodarte (the Mulleavy sisters) in the press; that they should be credited alongside you as…