Clothes on film

The leggy lure of Bombshell. A new trailer for Daniel Radcliffe’s Guns Akimbo has arrived and it’s hilarious. The costume style evolution of Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone (1984). The scruffy gumshoe style of Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart (1987). With very special trousers. A brief glimpse at the costume world Mark Bridges created for Joker. Examining the shirt collars of all the gentleman in 1941 noir classic, The Maltese Falcon. A brief video dip into the costume design of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Actually that title is a tad misleading – it’s all the clothes worn by Lee Marvin as kick-ass-tough-guy-on-a-mission Walker in Point Blank. This…

The subtle differentiation of character through costume design in Moon. Contributor 2 Comments 17 Sep ’10 5 Feb ’10 28 Nov ’14 A satisfactory start to the summer blockbuster season. Lord Christopher Laverty 8 Comments 14 May ’14 22 Nov ’10 17 Nov ’11 Here are a few images from the film that you have probably seen already. Lord Christopher Laverty 21 Comments 8 Mar ’13 16 Apr ’15 29 May ’13

Oscar winning costume designer Janty Yates has kindly taken time out filming Ridley Scott’s latest Robin Hood to chat about her contribution to an earlier Scott picture, Hannibal (2001). Hannibal’s forbear, classic chiller The Silence of the Lambs (1990), was directed by Jonathan Demme and costumed by Colleen Atwood. It relies on a dank, washed-out atmosphere that informs the narrative by very lack of its presence. Hannibal on the other hand was always intended as a glossier more conspicuous affair. This marked something of a change of pace for Janty Yates whose earlier credits included the austere Victorian fashions of Jude (1996) and Scott’s own sword and sandal epic Gladiator…

Shocking, but not really considering all the legal wrangling going on with the franchise recently, James Bond 23 has been shelved “indefinitely”. Not good news for any of us who enjoy gawping at the man’s enviable wardrobe. Without getting lost in our dusty legal dictionary, it appears that the main problem lies with Bond’s financial backers MGM. Having put themselves up for sale late last year, the company’s shareholders are currently in the process of arguing to accept the best offer (i.e. take the money and run) or hold out in hopes of keeping the studio afloat. In other words, they’re in limbo. Bond’s producers EON, as headed by Barbara…

It’s been all go with award nomination announcements for costume design over the past two weeks. Here is our round-up of the big three: BAFTA, CDG and Oscar. First up the BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) Film Awards: The Artist – Mark Bridges Hugo – Sandy Powell Jane Eyre – Michael O’Connor My Week with Marilyn – Jill Taylor Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy – Jacqueline Durran Perhaps the most surprising nomination, even though it shouldn’t be, is Jacqueline Durran for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Overruling the costumers’ chapter vote for Anonymous (Lisy Christl), general voters chose Tinker, Tailor instead – and with good reason. Critic Guy Lodge…

Just over ten years ago, Inception arrived in cinemas (remember those?) like a well-dressed jigsaw puzzle and caused us all brain ache. As twisty, knotty, turny now as it ever was, director Christopher Nolan’s dazzling sci-fi adventure also remains one of the chicest attired movies of all time. In honour of Inception being a decade old, we caught up with its costume designer, Academy Award nominee, BAFTA and Costume Designer’s Guild winner, Jeffrey Kurland. Not so much an interview, more a reminiscing chat as Mr. Kurland recounts his approach to the film, costume clues and unmissable sock moments. Plus we even cover that apparent ‘shirt malfunction’ from one of his…

Catherine George’s costume design demonstrates how we read physicality on-screen. Playing computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander, Noomi Rapace embodies the character in such a way that picturing anyone else in the role is nearly impossible. Mark Bridges exclusively explains his costume choices for retro epic Boogie Nights. The most exquisite fashion promo ever made. Anuvahood showcases urban wear swagger. If you want to belong, you must fit in. Jackson Pollock spawned a thousand imitators in the art world when he chose to work in denim jeans. Costume designer Louise Mingenbach worked closely with Zach Galifianakis to create Ethan’s camp and blissfully unaware look. We have teamed up with Last Exit to…

Interesting costume design stories you might have missed this week. Anna Nicole ‘A rags to riches tale of a pretty but plain girl growing up in small town Texas’, so says the strapline. Deborah Everton discusses her costuming of Agnes Bruckner as the tragic title character. Mad Men Janie Bryant looks back on season six and picks some choice cuts. …and responds to questions on Twitter House of Cards Tom Broecker gives THR the lowdown on costuming Robin Wright and Kevin Spacey in the acclaimed (and brilliant) Netflix show. A nice companion piece to own our article HERE. Christies auction Check out the costume lots. $6,746 for Timothy Dalton’s top…

Into the Woods opened on Broadway in 1987, with the music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim and the book by James Lapine. It is Sondheim’s most performed musical and one of his best known works. The story combines familiar characters from childhood fairy tales such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and the ubiquitous Witch, and explores their journeys to get their wish, as well as the negative consequences of the small dishonesties committed by each character to get what they want. As the witch sings, “Told a little lie/Stole a little gold/Broke a little vow/Did you?/Had to get your prince/Had to get your cow/Had to get your wish/Doesn’t…

As Little Junior Brown, Nicolas Cage puts in the kind of over the top performance that was in vogue during the early nineties (see also Robert De Niro in Cape Fear, 1991). Cage himself admits that muscle-bound gangster Junior is ‘larger than life’, so why not the same for his fashion sense? Kiss of Death was made in 1993/94 and released in 1995, but even taking this into account Junior’s monochrome wardrobe is still blatantly outdated and vulgar. For most characters in the movie fashion is dictated by circumstance. Put upon ex-con Jimmy Kilmartin (David Caruso) wears clothes that are anonymous and cheap. His new wife Rosie (Kathryn Erbe) makes…