Clothes on film

Join Clothes on Film editor Christopher Laverty for a special Oscars Red Carpet Livestream. You better believe he’s wearing a custom made crown. Costume’s big week. Every dress worn by Best Actress Academy Award Winners We featured this lovely infographic by Mediarun on our Facebook page. Roll on Sunday! Funny Face Good article on the classic film by Pamela Hutchinson, including a telling quote summing up just how little Audrey Hepburn really understood about costume design: “His (Givenchy) are the only clothes on which I am myself.” Bobi Garland Bobi Garland is Director of the Research Library and Costume Archive at Western Costume. You are about to find out why…

Janty Yates, costume designer for director Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sci-fi prequel Prometheus, is multi-award nominated and an Oscar winner for Gladiator (2000). She almost always collaborates with Scott (they have made seven pictures together and counting), but has an impressive catalogue of stand-alone work including Jude (1996), Plunkett & Macleane (1999) and Miami Vice (2006). Clothes on Film caught up with Ms. Yates for an exclusive chat about the space suits and fatigues in Prometheus, which she describes as containing some of her proudest work since Gladiator. SPOILER WARNING: We suggest only reading this after you have seen the film. Clothes on Film, Chris: What was the costume brief for…

The first full-length trailer for Disney’s new live-action adaptation of Cinderella was this week and featured tantalising glimpses of what promises to be a visually gorgeous film. The costumes, designed by three time Academy Award winner Sandy Powell, appear to be absolutely stunning. With a clever mix of the eighteenth century, the 1830s, and a little 1950s couture thrown in for good measure (Powell has been quoted as saying she was aiming for the look of “a nineteenth-century period film made in the 1940s or ’50s”), Powell has created another jewel to add to her already over-bling crown. Here is a quick rundown of some of the looks we’ve been…

Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz Directed By: Sam Raimi There is a cute line early on in Oz the Great and Powerful. The screen is black and white, pre land of Oz with the boxy ratio of an old television set. Circus illusionist Oscar (James Franco) is told by the one that got away (Michelle Williams) that she can no longer wait for him. He strokes the fabric on her dress, “Is this gingham?” he inquires. We are back in Kansas. Oz the Great and the Powerful is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, not a remake. It lays the groundwork for all that befell poor Judy…

Watch the Lady Dior film HERE David Lynch has premiered his sixteen minute commercial for Lady Dior and it is every bit as ‘Lynch’ as you might expect. Apparently David Lynch was allowed to do pretty much what he liked when creating this mini-movie providing it featured Old Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl Tower (incidentally Lynch did not know what this was beforehand) and, of course, the swish Lady Dior bag itself. Inspiration came from his own short poem. The rich and moody film entitled Lady Blue Shanghai is third in the Lady Dior advertising series, or chapter, or saga – or is it art? What’s obvious is that you do…

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…

A new trailer for Jane Campion’s Bright Star has hit the web. Due for release in the UK on 6th November, the film looks to be a refashioned view of period romance and meticulous showcase for early 19th century dress. Watch the trailer HERE Bright star is based on the last three years in the life of poet John Keats (Ben Whislaw), specifically his secret love affair with muse Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Keats was only twenty-five when he died so this isn’t an upbeat tale by any stretch. Though director/screenwriter Jane Campion’s most celebrated picture The Piano (1993) was an emotional gut-wrencher too, and all the more perfect because…

As is often the way with costume designers, Stephanie Collie is something of an unsung hero. We will not reel off her entire back catalogue, but it does include South Riding (2011, TV), Telstar (2008) Peter’s Friends (1992) and perhaps most exciting of all, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Now, anyone old enough to remember when Lock, Stock arrived will remember just what an incredible influence its Mod inspired costumes had on the world of fashion. You could not pick up a men’s magazine of the time without seeing some guy in slim trousers and a jersey polo shirt. Stephanie Collie invented this look, thus providing one of…

No actress personifies the vivid style and nutty playfulness of the flower power years more than Goldie Hawn. From the disheveled crop of sunny blonde locks and psychedelic mini dresses to the teeny bikinis and hand-painted slogan tattoos, Goldie’s most notable looks left an indelible stamp on 1960s pop culture. For three years her giggly, dizzy blonde routine and flawless comic timing charmed American television viewers and made her the most popular member of the ‘Laugh-In’ roster and her work on the legendary TV show led to her first starring role in a major motion picture, 1969’s Cactus Flower. In Cactus Flower, Goldie is cast as a Greenwich Village-dwelling hipster,…

Well, new ish, as there are about a hundred different clips of Paranormal Activity 2 on the internet at the moment. This does look interesting though; not least costume wise. In a very ordinary way. Despite this clip being only seven seconds long it does shed potentially enormous light on the new story. It is also a bit spoilery if you have not seen the first film, so bear that in mind before you watch: Hmm, that’s possible prequel territory – although probably not worth speculating over too deeply as we will find out for definite in a few days. What is interesting, however, even in this mini-clip, is the…