The Phantom of the Opera (2004, directed by Joel Schumacher) is a lavish depiction of its world, examining the nature of facade – the un-reality of the stage, the masked Phantom of the title, and the duality of “costume” within costume (the majority of clothes on screen are designed as costumes for use in performances in the narrative). Costume designer Alexandra Byrne makes use of symbolic colour palettes and silhouettes to bring this heightened world to life. We are first taken into the world of the Opera Populaire, 1870, with the dress rehearsal of “Hannibal”. It is interesting to note that not all are wearing full “costume” – corsets and…

Part two of our chat with costume designer for Running Scared (2006), Kristin M. Burke. If you thought part one was interesting, this will blow your socks off. Chris, Clothes on Film: Regarding the ‘beefy dudes’ in Running Scared that you mentioned, they did all look massive on screen; it was like their clothes made them intimidating, especially ‘Mac Daddy’ pimp Lester (David Warshofsky). He is clearly dressed OTT and this suits his character and the tone of the film perfectly. How much do you know about the intended tone of a film when you start on the costumes? Kristin Burke: Man, that Lester the Pimp story is epic. I…

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Saoirse Ronan Director: Peter Jackson After directing one of the greatest multi-award winning trilogies ever and remaking his own favourite film in the world, King Kong (2005), Peter Jackson has decided to go back to basics with his interpretation of Alice Sebold’s ‘The Lovely Bones’. The result is reminiscent of Jackson’s earlier work Heavenly Creatures (1995). Both films flit between the imagination and reality of two young girls; The Lovely Bones deals with life, death and the nature of heaven and hell. Set in 1970s Pennsylvania, fourteen year-old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is murdered by her neighbour Mr Harvey (Stanley Tucci). Susie then finds herself…

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…

Following on from an insightful chat about The Big Lebowski, here is part one of our Dual Analysis costume review with Kristin M. Burke from FrockTalk.com. Fewer motion pictures have warranted so much over analysis as The Big Lebowski (1998). The Coen Brothers, extraordinarily talented as they are, simply did not write all the hidden meanings that magazines, blogs, and now even books have subscribed to the piece. The Big Lebowski is a far-out fun detective homage, just not as deep as some people think. So without disappearing on our own magic carpet ride, let’s have a look at the film’s costume design by Mary Zophres (Ghost World, 2001; A…

Costume designer for Running Scared (2006), Kristin M. Burke, has kindly chatted to us about her contribution to the movie. Being a long time friend of Clothes on Film, she opened up her big book of anecdotes specially. For anyone even remotely interested in costume design this is essential reading. Running Scared (directed by Wayne Kramer) is a restless action thriller; an enjoyable, if visually exhausting and violent fairytale. Paul Walker stars as Joey Gazelle, a low-level mob hood frantically searching for a ‘hot’ weapon he was supposed to stash, while pursed by crooked cops and an impatient mafia family. Vera Farmiga features as Joey’s loyal yet independent wife Teresa,…

He is the whitest of the white trash, the kind of man who dumps raw sewage in a storm drain and kidnaps your boss as a Christmas present. And the only man to ever combine a leather belt with a bathrobe. Randy Quaid has played lovable moocher ‘Cousin Eddie’ in four separate National Lampoon films, but his most famous performance still resides at yuletide. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, directed by Jeremiah C. Chechik) has weathered years of apathy to become something of a seasonal favourite. Watching Chevy Chase’s bipolar family man Clark Griswold lose his rag every December is now a festive tradition . Yet Clark is not really…

Jennifer Garner’s costumes in 13 Going On 30 (2004) are some of the most fun for a romantic comedy of recent years. In a plot which sees gawky teenager Jenna Rink (Garner) flash thirteen years into the future to find herself editor of Poise fashion magazine, it is unsurprising if the clothes she wears are somewhat…ahem….‘colourful’. At the start of the film, when Jenna is indeed 13, there is an array of 1980s fashions on show, including pale dyed denims, bejewelled off-the-shoulder tops and colours so bright they are practically luminous. Costume designer Susie DeSanto (Miss Congeniality, 2000) really went to town. When time jumps forward, however, and Jenna is…

This insightful comedy about the hopelessness of love is every inch a ‘fashion film’, both in terms of narrative and thanks to costume designer Dayna Pink’s enviable parade of menswear trends and elegant suiting. Crazy, Stupid, Love (directed by Glenn Ficara and John Requa) stars Steve Carell as Cal Weaver, a middle aged man who has forgotten how to be a man and Ryan Gosling as Jacob Palmer, a bar culture player who helps Cal regain his self respect. Clothes in the film are prioritised over the man. They denote what we wear reflects how we evolve. Or in the case of Cal during the very first scene, how we…

Suzy Benzinger, the costume designer of Blue Jasmine, chose iconic brands like Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Missoni to serve as visual shorthand of what the modern-day wealthy socialite wears, but it is the white Chanel jacket that follows Jasmine from the beginning of the movie to the end which tells its own tale of what is happening to its owner. When we first see Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) she is flying first-class from New York to San Francisco to see her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins). On the flight she dazzles a fellow passenger with the story of how she met her wealthy businessman husband Hal (Alec Baldwin). Or so she thinks.…