Clothes on film

This week this happened in costume… Diana Rush, Alpha Papa and now Diana, costume designer Julian Day is everywhere at the moment (good, because he’s very talented). Here Day explains a little about undertaking what must have been one of the trickiest costume jobs of the year. Revenge All about Emily Thorne’s (Emily Van Camp) wedding dress. Preview: Jill Ohanneson designed it herself. Trish Summerville Video: The 2013 Stylist award winner looks understandably bemused throughout Pop Sugar’s excitable interview. Riddick Helen o’Hara skilfully pulls apart the film’s frankly disgusting misogyny. Northern Costume Social Event Advice for those in the TV/film costume game. Toronto International Film Festival Leaving aside award friendly…

Clothes on Film were fortunate enough to be invited to a display of costumes from the latest adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express (2017), plus interview its costume designer Alexandra Byrne. An Oscar winner for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2008), and well known for her period design work, since 2011 Byrne has become connected to the world of Marvel, her most recent project being Doctor Strange in 2016. Here she chats candidly about recreating the (mainly) glamorous side of the early 1930s and the challenges that faced her and her team. Alexandra Byrne on shooting in 70 mm: “Director Ken (Branagh) and I did Hamlet (1996) together which was……

Where to start with Penny Rose? Pirates of the Caribbean? Evita? King Arthur? Most recently of course 47 Ronin (directed by Carl Rinsch). You do not hire Penny Rose for something small. This is not to say she won’t work on independent and low budget projects, just that her CV is becoming increasingly packed with huge scale period and/or fantasy studio movies – basically the kind of pictures that would make most costume designers weep. Multiples, armour, uniforms, plus Ms. Rose practically always builds from scratch. Not a fan of ‘shopping’ or even slightly interested in fashion, Penny Rose is old-school hands on, no-nonsense and no fear. Nonetheless, there is……

Clothes on Film have an exclusive chat with Academy Award winning costume designer Janty Yates about her work on Prometheus. Clothes on Film on the costume design for HBO’s immense fantasy series, Game of Thrones. Innovative costume designer and art director Eiko Ishioka has died aged 73. Christmas comes early for anyone looking forward to The Dark Knight Rises, as Warner Bros. has just released a full trailer. Colleen Atwood does it AGAIN. Unquestionably the most historically significant outfit Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy wears in the show is her rose pink tweed suit. No, Thor is not a musical. Clothes on Film were lucky enough to get an up…

When you are costuming the biggest franchise release of the year and creating a capsule range to run alongside it for a major online retailer, it is clear a normal approach to the task is not going to work. Ex-stylist and one time assistant for Michael Kaplan, Trish Summerville, one of the fastest rising names in the industry, has purposely sought out what many costume designers shy away from: co-collaborations with new and established fashion designers and, in several cases, pulling clothes directly from the runway. Summerville is smart and savvy with a feel for contemporary trends, though by not designing and making key items for The Hunger Games: Catching……

The costume style evolution of Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone (1984). SPOILERS THROUGHOUT Having recently finished a six week, six episode run on the BBC, John le Carré adapted spy drama The Little Drummer Girl was divisive in terms of audience reaction. Some found the plot impossible to follow, others revelled in the cloak and dagger shenanigans of twenty-something Charmain ‘Charlie’ Ross (Florence Pugh), a low level actress drawn into a high stakes mission of infiltrating a Palestinian revolutionary group in 1979. The show’s costume design by Sheena Napier and Stephen Noble inspired equal division. While most enjoyed the eye-popping period ensembles and how they exemplified character, just as…

Clothes on Film was launched by me, Christopher Laverty, in June, 2009. It’s intention was and remains to celebrate the art (or craft? There’s a future debate) of costume design in film and television. I have always been interested in costume design, though apart from a brief stint in theatre, I’ve never practically worked in the field. My knowledge is all theoretical and analytical. I am very lucky to have met, interviewed and can call friend some of the best and brightest costume designers in the business. I have learned so much about what the process involves and continue to do so every day. For me it is most important…

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is the quintessential evil queen, right up there with The Queen from Snow White and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Or is she..? Throughout Game of Thrones we have been given clues as to Cersei’s motivations and character, and by the end of Season 3 she has become, partially at least, a sympathetic character. While Cersei was not involved with the Walder-Frey-Marry-One-Of-My-Daughters plotline, which famously leads to the gruesome ‘Red Wedding’; that plot really drove home that point that in this world women are only worth how beautiful they are. Even Robb Stark, one of the so-called good guys, was horrified at the……

SPOILERS For anyone with an eye to costume, The Avengers: Infinity War (2018) seemingly takes few evolutionary leaps. This makes perfect sense when we consider the timeline following particularly significant events of Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Black Panther (2017). Infinity War costume designer Judianna Makovsky (previously on board for The Winter Soldier, 2014; Civil War and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, 2016) has crafted a combination of instantly familiar looks for a jam-packed canon of characters where nobody wants to be missed, but nobody should stick out above anyone else either. It’s a real balancing act, which is something we are should sure Thanos himself would appreciate. Judianna……

Poor Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner). She is only a young teenager and yet like most characters in Game of Thrones she has been forced to grow up far too fast. This ongoing character development is echoed in her clothes by series costume designer Michele Clapton. We first meet Sansa in season 1 of Game of Thrones at her home in Winterfell. Her clothes are simple. The knotted decoration around the neckline of her dresses and the harsher fabrics echo the rough terrain of the North. She chooses shades of grey and blue, matching the murky colours of her environment. The dress she wears for the party held in honor of…