© 2011, Paramount Pictures 29 Jul ’11 Clothes on Film talks exclusively to Anna Sheppard about her work on Captain America: The First Avenger, covering sartorial recreation of 1940s wartime, development of a superhero costume and the difficulties of working from someone else’s original designs. Anna B. Sheppard is one of the best known and respected costume designers in the business. Based in London but working internationally, she has created costumes for directors Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino, plus been Academy Award nominated twice, for Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) and The Pianist (2002). Captain America is something of a departure for Sheppard as she is effectively working from…

© 2012, The Weinstein Company 21 Sep ’12 One point of discussion after watching Lawless not involving violence, morals or hairstyles, has been the simple item of clothing worn by Tom Hardy as Forrest Bondurant. It seems that his rudimentary knitwear has caused head-scratching and amusement for some cinemagoers. Yet there is nothing odd in Forrest’s choice of attire, in fact historically speaking for the early 1930s in rural America it is spot-on accurate, not to mention perfectly in tune with his character; a gruff man, comfortable in his own skin, who cares about as much for fashion as he does money. This contrast between the man and his clothing…

© 2012, Clothes on Film 24 May ’12 In a week of new and exciting trailers, the first for director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby must surely be the most thrilling of all, certainly for aficionados of exotic period costume and lots of twinkly things. Based purely on tone this frenetic footage is likely to upset literary purists, but to those familiar with Luhrmann’s back catalogue (Romeo & Juliet, Moulin Rouge!), the gaudy, flashy visuals and controversial choice of contemporary music (Jay-Z and Kayne West) will not come as a great surprise. Thankfully two time Academy Award winner Catherine Martin’s costumes are showcased in all their OTT glory.…

© 2009, Clothes on Film 4 Jul ’09 Live and Let Die (1973, directed by Guy Hamilton) is a fantasy Blaxploitation movie made in the wake of Shaft and Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (both 1971). Roger Moore’s first stab at James Bond pitted his tightly buttoned jackets and high waisted trousers against a bevy of colourful, flared, snap-brimmed seventies street wear as commanded by corrupt diplomat/New York drug kingpin, Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto). For the first time in his existence the world’s foremost super spy would be all but invisible. Except that there were attempts to update 007′s image in line with the fashions of the day. Some worked;…

Costume design is more than just period – much more. Contemporary costume has an even tougher job of defining character and establishing setting. Yet every once in a while a period film comes along with clothes, hats and accessories so impeccably researched and realised on screen that it is impossible not to get swept along in the majesty of the past. Predominately early 1930s set Lawless is one such example. Costume designer Margot Wilson (The Thin Red Line, The Proposition, The Road), has created one of the richest costume palettes of 2012, and all in a believable real world setting. Speaking exclusively to Clothes on Film, Ms. Wilson talks us…

© 2011, Paramount Pictures 29 Jul ’11 Clothes on Film talks exclusively to Anna Sheppard about her work on Captain America: The First Avenger, covering sartorial recreation of 1940s wartime, development of a superhero costume and the difficulties of working from someone else’s original designs. Anna B. Sheppard is one of the best known and respected costume designers in the business. Based in London but working internationally, she has created costumes for directors Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino, plus been Academy Award nominated twice, for Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) and The Pianist (2002). Captain America is something of a departure for Sheppard as she is effectively working from…

© 2012, Clothes on Film 24 May ’12 In a week of new and exciting trailers, the first for director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby must surely be the most thrilling of all, certainly for aficionados of exotic period costume and lots of twinkly things. Based purely on tone this frenetic footage is likely to upset literary purists, but to those familiar with Luhrmann’s back catalogue (Romeo & Juliet, Moulin Rouge!), the gaudy, flashy visuals and controversial choice of contemporary music (Jay-Z and Kayne West) will not come as a great surprise. Thankfully two time Academy Award winner Catherine Martin’s costumes are showcased in all their OTT glory.…

© 2011, Sony Pictures Classics 3 Feb ’12 A rose tinted view of the Roaring Twenties, Sonia Grande’s costume design for Midnight in Paris (2011, directed by Woody Allen) offers everything we expect of the era, e.g. achingly fashionable female trends and the increasing Anglophile influence in male suits, yet does not become bogged down in a precise timeframe. Furthermore as the story segues from past to the present, a non specific retro vibe remains palpable, especially in Rachel McAdams’ loose fitting shirt dresses and Owen Wilson’s nubby tweed jackets. Wilson’s Gil is obviously intended to resemble Woody Allen during his late 1970s heyday, wearing natural waist trousers with brown…

Betsy Heimann’s costume design for Reservoir Dogs (1992) spawned a legacy in pop culture and fashion that is still being felt today. Heimann and director Quentin Tarantino determined a cinematic sub-genre by redefining the appearance of the petty gangster. From shambolic to symbolic; a man in a black suit, white shirt and black tie walking in slow motion is possibly the single most memorable costume image of the nineties. Here, talking exclusively to Clothes on Film, Ms. Heimann describes how the Reservoir Dogs look came together: “I am very pleased that the narrow silhouette I created influenced and still influences men’s fashion” she offers. “I think that Quentin is responsible…

© 2012, Focus Features 25 Feb ’13 Now the main award ceremonies are done and dusted there is just room for a summary of the Best (or ‘Achievement In’) Costume Design award winners before we gratefully shut up about it all for another year. There were no surprises at all. Not really. See for yourself, but if you did not call Jacqueline Durran for Anna Karenina every single time you were just throwing money down the drain. The 15th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards: Excellence in Contemporary Film Skyfall – Jany Temime Excellence in Period Film Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran Excellence in Fantasy Film Mirror Mirror – Eiko Ishioka…