Clothes on film

Award winners from the CDG are in for a celebratory weekend. Monique Prudhomme’s sensational costumes for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus won in the ‘Excellence in Fantasy Film’ category, once again leaving fellow nominee, and all round big hitter, Avatar, out in the cold. Other recipients at the 12th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards included Doug Hall for Crazy Heart in the ‘Contemporary’ section, eclipsing our prediction Marina Draghici for Precious, which is unfortunately off the Academy’s list on March 7th as well. In television, Janie Bryant took the prize for her continually exciting work on Mad Men in ‘Period/Fantasy’. While ‘Mini-series’ saw Catherine Marie Thomas get the nod for…

The latest MCU smash-hit, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), features one of the strangest villains in the wallcrawler’s rogues’ gallery. When it comes to movies based on comic books, the outfit a character like Mysterio wears is not supposed to work on-screen. On the printed pages of comics, the outfits can be impractical and outlandish, and nothing is more of those things than the villain’s fishbowl helmet, lavender cape fastened with giant eyes, and green, scaly tights. Still, costume designer for the film, Anna B. Sheppard, met the challenge of making a fantastic look for Jake Gyllenhaal’s villain. Instead of running away from the crazy roots of the character, she…

There is no doubting that Joker (here played by Joaquin Phoenix) is unlike any movie featuring the character that has EVER been on screen. As costume designer, Mark Bridges embraced the film’s dismal, crime ridden, nihilistic 1981 setting and created a sartorial palate almost entirely devoid of warmth. Mr. Bridges is a two-time Oscar winning costume legend. This is what might be deemed one of his ‘smaller’ projects (it’s a comic book movie in name only – this is no tentpole picture). He threw himself into it, however, as he does with every movie he makes, to build a believable world of poverty running up against the 1%. Plus, an…

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…

Who could ever suggest James Bond never puts a foot wrong sartorially? While it tends to be Roger Moore’s seventies incarnation receiving most disdain, this baby blue towelling playsuit worn by Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964, directed by Guy Hamilton) is commonly remembered as the actor’s one costume disaster. Yet, seen in period context and motion, plus modelled by one of the most handsome gentlemen who ever graced the screen, it might be worthy of reconsideration. Worn for the film’s first post-credits scene, whereby Bond is introduced, informally, to megalomaniac villain Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe), this diminutive, crotch wrangling ‘beach wear’ is not especially typical for the time. Here featuring…

Contributor Birdie McAra explores the fantabulously non-male gazey world of Birds of Prey. Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Just About Everyone) 17 Feb ’11 9 Jan ’14 4 Feb ’14

To tie-in with the release of Disney’s new live-action version of Beauty and Beast, the project’s Oscar winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran teamed up with students from Central Saint Martin’s college in London to reinterpret ensembles from the film. These are outfits designed in homage to Beauty and the Beast, taking specific elements here and there, a song, colour or concept and creating something entirely new. Whether these are fashion or art pieces is ultimately unclear – what stands out though is their reach beyond that of merely marketing a big movie. Just as an idea it would be fantastic to see more films promoting their costumes in this way.……

See the website HERE Warner Bros’ official website for The Box starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden has gone live. This is creepy 1970s. Creepy as hell. The Box is director Richard Kelly’s reinterpreting of a 1970 Richard Matheson short story called ‘Button, Button’ (filmed as a Twilight Zone episode in 1986). Kelly’s expanded version sees a cash strapped couple (Diaz and Marsden) left an apparently innocuous box one evening with a solitary button on top. They next day a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) informs them that by pushing the button they will receive $1,000,000 dollars, but that somebody, somewhere will die. And that’s it. From this point on only…

Troop Zero (2019, directed by Bert & Bertie) is the kind of film you just wish they made more of. A simple, good natured story, well told without an ounce of pretentiousness. A feel-good movie about a ragtag troop of girl scouts called ‘Birdies’? Unless you’ve just fallen into a crocodile infested pit (for heaven’s sake call somebody), Troop Zero cannot fail to make you smile. Costume designer for Troop Zero is Caroline Eselin-Schaefer, she of Moonlight (2016), Under the Silver Lake (2018), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and many, many others. Intuitive and meticulous, Caroline Eselin is someone who really ‘feels’ the projects she works on. Troop Zero…

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne dons the simplistic sophistication of a well-fitted Crombie later on during The Bourne Supremacy (2004), but Karl Urban kicks off proceedings with near 007 chic dressed in a natural linen tunic shirt – perfect attire for the travelling assassin in Goa: Natural linen overhead tunic shirt, rever collar with two button fastening, notched hem, full length sleeves turned up slightly, plain cuffs. Ethnic styled bracelets and necklace to compliment. The tunic shirt has experienced a resurgence in recent years, for both men and women. It is now a staple of the summer season and normally sold in either linen, cotton, a linen/cotton mix or treated…