Produced by acclaimed filmmaker David Puttnam, The Mission (1986) is an epic 18th century set tale of Spanish Jesuits who travel into the South American jungle to protect an Indian tribe from virtual extinction under the Treaty of Madrid (the formation of what we now call Brazil). Jeremy Irons plays one of these adventurous Jesuit priests, tough but mild mannered Father Gabriel. During the film’s first act, as Gabriel undertakes a death defying waterfall climb to reach the Indian tribe, he wears a classic example of early extreme sports attire – a plain linen shirt: Natural linen open-neck shirt with long sleeves. Turn down outer collar and internal stand collar,…

During his twelve year stint as James Bond 007, Roger Moore wore some exceedingly contemporary costumes, perhaps none more so than his shocking plaid jacket from The Man with the Golden Gun. Think Lulu’s theme song is the loudest thing in the movie? Think again. The Man with the Golden Gun arrived in cinemas Christmas, 1974, a year after the release of Live and Let Die. Audiences and critics gave the film a lukewarm response. Its muddled plot and over-reliance on situation comedy was grating and despite the imposing presence of Christopher Lee as Bond’s nemesis Francisco Scaramanga a.k.a. The Man with the Golden Gun, it felt a particularly limp…

Here is an interesting article from The Observer. Bill Nighy lists the five things he knows about style. Really you should read the whole thing over there as they wrote it, but for lazy clickers we have included the gist below: 1. ‘Wear a kilt – it is a deeply satisfying garment.’ 2. ‘If I ruled the world, every woman would have a Chanel suit in her wardrobe.’ 3. ‘The shape a suit presents is always going to be better than anything I can do.’ 4. ‘I’d kill myself before wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms.’ 5. ‘There are only three men in the world who are licensed to wear…

Written, directed by and starring Adam Deacon, Anuvahood is the antithesis of grimy thrillers set on run-down London housing estates. This is a bright, vibrant film, its knowing costume design differentiating sharply between individuals and sects within the community. Anuvahood’s protagonist, Kenneth (Deacon), or ‘K’ as he longs to be known, is typical of his ilk. Someone who has watched one episode of The Wire and somehow thinks he is living the life, Kenneth aspires to be a gangster, or at least a gangster rapper. Dressed in cotton jersey tracksuits, wraparound sunglasses, even an ironic ‘Timmy Mallet’ (and Mallet’s Mallet) vest, Kenneth selects random style notes with no real clue…

The UK trailer for Lovelace has debuted with all the grainy razzmatazz you would expect of a film set in the world of 1970s porn. However, although Linda Lovelace’s oral talents are drawing most grasps in this footage, we were more impressed by the costumes. Every single dress gorgeous Amanda Seyfried wears is gorgeous. Forget Anna Karenina, Catching Fire, The Great Gatsby, this is the film we want to see spark a fashion revolution/revival. The 70’s is generally considered a joke as far as style is concerned, but surely this kneejerk opinion is on the wane? Tell us Seyfried as Linda Lovelace does not look amazing in every single outfit…

Though really nothing more than an extended, backlit music promo, Flashdance (1983, directed by Adrian Lyne) has garnered a considerable cult following in recent years. Savaged by poor reviews on its release, the film is now embraced as a musical and stylistic record of the second most hedonistic decade in western history. In this respect it is actually a stronger movie than, say, Wall Street (1986), and Flashdance even has a biracial woman as its star; unusual at the time, we should perhaps be grateful producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer didn’t opt for Goldie Hawn instead. The clothing in Flashdance can be separated into two categories: dance wear and…

That is the long and the short of it: according to the wise words of this month’s Vogue India, Clothes on Film are one of the leading voices in digital fashion coverage. The exact words of their writer Dal Chodha were ‘game changer’, so we’ll happily run with that. You can read the full Vogue article in THIS PDF. We’re on page 156, the piece begins at p 148. Honestly we are not entirely sure what being bestowed such an honour means, but with names such as Victoria Beckham and Burberry included in the list we must be doing (and saying) something right. It does make Clothes on Film seem…

The Warriors (1979) has transcended the label of ‘cult classic’ to now simply be regarded as ‘classic’. A barebones plot, but briskly directed by action maestro Walter Hill, this gang warfare movie was never so much about the fighting as the clothes. During the memorable opening credits sequence for example, admire the matching yellow satin jackets, striped jersey sweaters and army coats worn by the gangs as they march the subways of NYC as if strutting the runways of Milan. Frankly, by today’s standards, it can all look faintly comical. Though in the late seventies, when downtown New York was something of a no-go area at night, even a man…

Letters and 48 designer outfits belonging to Audrey Hepburn went under the hammer in London yesterday raising £268,320 with half the proceeds going to charity. A whopping £60,000 alone went on her black lace cocktail dress and jacket by Givenchy for the film How to Steal a Million (1966). The collection, sold by Kerry Taylor Auctions, was owned by lifelong friend of Audrey Hepburn, Tanja Star-Busmann. It comprised, amongst others, a Mark Cross striped knitted top worn by Hepburn during the shoot for War and Peace (1957), a domed green velvet hat with pom-pom streamers by Givenchy (1964), a blue silk cocktail dress from Autumn 1966 worn in ’67 to…

In Proof of Life (2000), a kidnap thriller set in fictional South American country Tecala, Meg Ryan plays Alice Bowman, one of the least convincing hippies ever committed to film. On Alice, hippie seems like a passing trend rather than a lifestyle choice. Meg Ryan’s costumes are a mix of sarong skirts with embroidery, cotton vests, tie-dyed t-shirts, big belts, linen shirts, waist cincher, leather jacket, waistcoat, sandals, even a matelot sweater. Add in a $300 hairdo with a generous application of lip gloss and Alice Bowman, all in all, looks pretty fresh considering her husband has been trapped in captivity, or quite possibly dead, for several months. Proof of…