Jacqueline Durran is celebrated for her costumes having been three times nominated for the Best Costume Design Academy Award; first in 2005 for Pride and Prejudice, again in 2007 for Atonement, and now 2013 for Anna Karenina in which she is both Oscar and BAFTA nominated. Starring Keira Knightley, who wore Durran’s emerald green 30’s-style dress to widespread acclaim in Atonement, Durran’s face-framing furs, extravagantly veiled hats and watered silk gowns beautifully accentuate Knightley’s tragic Anna. Clothes on Film contributor Karin E. Baker spoke to Durran about gathering the many details that went into creating the opulent look for this latest interpretation of Tolstoy’s novel. The $2 million worth of…

Christmas comes early for anyone looking forward to The Dark Knight Rises (that’s all of us then); as Warner Bros. has released a full trailer telling us absolutely everything we need to know before the film hits cinemas next July, i.e. nothing. This is not quite true; the trailer is a good one. It tantalises without giving anything much away regarding plot that we do not already know. Gotham is on the eve of a revolution, hinted at by sultry Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), aka Catwoman, and seemingly instigated by the near silent menace of Bane (Tom Hardy). It is an uprising against the privileged and decadent, something that has…

A couple of days ago we paid a visit to Brooks Brothers in London. Unfortunately for the disappointed staff we were not planning on spending anything, instead we just wanted to see Catherine Martin’s costumes on display from The Great Gatsby. We snapped a few photos but they are largely terrible thanks to an unsteady hand and underpowered camera. Still, they should give you a flavour of the costumes if nothing else. There are three displays featuring half a dozen dresses with male mannequins dotted in-between – all of which are wearing tuxedos/evening suits. This is a shame because Brooks Brothers provided 1920s patterns of all suit styles for the…

Stone slacks, leather cardigan, pale denim – who wouldn’t want to dress like Alan Partridge? This may be dad brand clothing, but it announces you as the most confident man in the room. Driving gloves? That’s nothing. Try removing your coat and jacket then leaving the driving gloves until last. That takes guts, or failing that a complete lack of personal awareness. In other words it takes a Partridge. Steve Coogan co-created and has played sports-journalist-turned-chat-show-host-turned-DJ Alan Partridge on and off for 22 years. Nothing his character wears is random. For costume designer Julian Day (Berberian Sound Studio, Rush), working alongside perfectionist Coogan on Alpha Papa must have been a…

Scrupulously period accurate TV drama Boardwalk Empire (screening on Sky Atlantic) is set in early 1920s Atlantic City, a then hotbed of political corruption and prohibition racketeering. Not that such a description would be alluded to in the holiday brochures; on the surface everything was salt water taffy and Temperance League matriarchs fighting the good fight. Via John Dunn’s striking costumes, the show broadly ensures that men are the primary objects of exhibition, in particular corrupt county treasurer Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). This is because women of the era had yet to break away from history’s designated roles of wife, mother, sex object; they had no freedom to choose their…

A few random images from The American starring George Clooney, really for no other reason than the costume design by Suttirat Anne Larlarb is so stylishly contemporary and, despite the title, clean and European. It’s going to be a good looking film. The American (directed by Anton Corbijn) is an upcoming thriller about expert assassin Jack (Clooney) who holes up in Europe after his last disastrous job. He vows his next hit will be his last, but being as this is a feature length movie that was not very likely to happen. And it doesn’t. George Clooney’s serious hitman Jack, here casual in hip length lightweight jacket and black zip…

Le full trailer for Luc Besson’s latest film as director, Les Aventures Extraordinaires d’Adele Blanc-Sec (The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec) has arrived on the net. It is the early 20th Century and ladies wore massive hats. Watch le trailer with subtitles HERE Based on the dual French/Belgian comics of writer/illustrator Jacques Tardi, the movie, like the books, follows the escapades of heroine Adèle Blanc-Sec, an eligible investigative journalist who battles crime and mythical monsters while all the time endeavouring to ‘act like a lady’. The stories first appeared in 1976 and are set in the 1910s and later on around 1918, after Blanc-Sec is cryogenically frozen for the duration…

As preface to this week’s Dual Analysis of The Young Victoria with Maggie from The Costumer’s Guide, here is a little chat we had about the clothes, hair, jewellery, even underwear from the movie. Chris, Clothes on Film: So, what did you think of the The Young Victoria? My opinions changed slightly from at the cinema. I liked it more actually. Maggie, The Costumer’s Guide: I loved it when I saw it in the theatre – it almost felt too short, it went by so quickly. Watching it again last night I enjoyed it just as much! I actually have very few complaints, except for Albert getting shot, which of…

The full trailer for director Zach Snyder’s action fantasy Sucker Punch has arrived in all its steampunk, cutesy, fairytale, dragons and ass kicking glory. Despite its catch all mishmash, this is not going to be for everyone, that’s for sure. See for yourself HERE Sucker Punch takes place in a succession of alternate realities. Starting in our reality, specifically the 1950s, we follow ‘Baby Doll’ (Emily Browning), a teenage girl locked away inside a mental institution by her stepfather with only five days to break out before she is lobotomised. As a figurative escape, Baby Doll creates a fantasy world where she and her inmate friends can flee; a hyperactive…

Pleasant surprise of the day, the first official photo for The A-Team movie has gone online – and it looks rather good. Obviously there has been some updating going on, the original TV show began in 1983 don’t forget. Overall though there is nothing too jarring here, it is recognisably The A-Team, no question. But let’s analyse exactly what has changed in twenty six years… Bradley Cooper as Templeton Peck, aka ‘Faceman’ Wearing a smart grey mohair suit, open neck white shirt and black oxford lace-ups, Cooper looks similar to his character in The Hangover (2009), apart from the machine gun accessory of course. When not in disguise, Dirk Benedict’s…