Costumes

Movie Costumes

Costumes! One of the most important, for lack of a better word, props, in a movie. Specially for me. I think it helps to set the mood of a film. Without the right costume, the movie will be average. For example, there is one special piece of costume that isrritates me. If you've read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and you're interested in details, you will notice that Hermionys Yule ball dress is forget-me-not blue. Well, in the film it is pink, HOT pink! Of course, if you don't care about details which doesn't have anything to do with the plot, you havent't noticed. Well, I did, and I am annoyd. I mean, how hard is it to make a forget-me-not blue dress? Probably as hard as it was making the pink one.

Well, this was me blowing of some steam, now back to the point. By the way, all the costume designers for the Harry Potter films has been great. I'm just a really big fan of the books, as well as details regarding the books.

Costumes are important, and costume designers like Ngila Dickson and Trisha Biggar really make the task of making them, look easy.
Dickson, who can take the credit for costumes in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, did an amazing job on all the costumes. When I saw all of Arwens gowns in the first movie, I thougt that everyone can make a dress like that. But when I saw the making-of, I changed my mind. I mean, how many details do you need to use in making a dress. Of course, they wouldn't be the same without the detailwork, because then they would just, almost, plain gowns. But it's not just the gowns.

I feel that, everytime I see a movie, I'm always looking at the womens costumes. But in The Lord of the Rings I'm also drawn to the mens costumes. And that is not linked to the man wearing the costume, usually. Let's take Aragorns outfit for example. Of course that costume could not be the same without Viggo Mortensen, but anyhow, it is a great costume. All the layers of torn fabric, really showing that Aragorn is a man of the woods. It really comes through in the costume that he always is on the move. I also learnt from the making-of on the DVD that Viggo actually almost lived in his costume. He was Aragorn off-screen as well as on-screen, which I think, really made the costume what it was.
I am a huge fan of Ngila Dickson, and this was a bit about what I like about her. Before I start talking about movie costumes in general, I would like to write about another favourite of mine.

Trisha Biggar is the costume designer for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. In these films we see a costume story like no other. In the first movie the costumes, especially for Queen Amidala are really over the top and extravagant. As the trilogy evolves the costumes get simpler and simpler. This is because of the story of the film. Because the environment the characters are living in is getting tougher, the clothes get simpler.
In the first movie, Qeen Amidala, played by Natalie Portman, wears really over-the-top clothing. Like the red dress with the lights in the skirt. In real life this gown would be too much, but in the film it works. It really shows that Qeen Amidala is rich and powerful. That dress is really something, but my favourite is the "Senate" dress. This dress really shows Biggars inspiration. Or what I think was her inspiration. The make-up and the fabrics reminds me of the Geisha. With just a part of her lip painted with red, and the white face.

In the second movie the Queen becomes the Senator, and the clothing gets much simpler. We can still see the richness of the fabrics and the sense of welth that the clothing portraits, but they are not extravagant like the ones from film I. There is an elegance over the clothes in film II, that I personally think the dresses from the first film lacked. The best example is the gray dress Padmè wears when she's packing for her and Anakins trip to Naboo. The most extravagant on this dress is the ornament in the front. Besides that detail, the dress is very simple, as well as it shows her power. Of course some of the clothing in this movie is extravagant as well, like the two Senate dresses. These are detailed, but structured over-the-top dresses. Both accompanied by a hairstyle that balances out the look perfectly. But, my favourite from this movie is the Corset Gown. The black, very tight leather corset over the shimmery fabric, with the long necklace down her front is a very sexy look. I love this gown, and I think it's so simple and beautiful. It's a headturning dress, but it fits in perfectly in the scene she wears it. It is the scene were Anakin and Padmè discusses their lovelife, and what better way to turn him down than to show him what he wants.

In the third movie theres a sense of secrecey about Padmès clothing, because in the end of the second film she and Anakin gets married. Witch is a huge tabu in the jedi world. A jedi does not fall in love, and least of all with a senator. And of course, when you get married theres the honeymoon, and well, Padmè gets pregnant. All of the costumes she wears in this film reflects just that. The gowns are made in a way that covers up hur bump, and lets her fool everyone. Of course during the film people find out about her and Ani, and the dresses after the reveal really shows off her pregnancy. A good example to show before the reveal is the long velvet cloak in the very beginning of the movie. It is made in a dark blue velvet fabric which hides the bump on her stomach, as well as it gives her the look of a superior being. The richness in the fabric reflects the richness in the fabrics used in the earlier films. Padmès hair buns gave this look a feeling of nostalgia, because this look also reflects the look of princess Leia in the first trilogy of Star Wars. We all remember her famous hair buns and the white flowy and simple dress.
My favourite "after" look is the sleeveless short beige dress. This really shows og Padmès bump on the tummy, as well as it's so cute. The colour and the shape of this costume really reflects the lifestyle she lives in after she is revealed. The constant fear of her life, as well as her babys, and at the same time Anakin is getting angrier and angrier. This is the costume she wears when Obi-Wan is going to see Ani, and she secretly joins him. This costume really shows that life is getting tougher, and it gives us a sense of the costumes from the first trilogy.

In short, the costumes in the second Star Wars Trilogy goes from being extravagant and showing the wealth and power of the wearer, to the more simple clothing we see in the first trilogy.

This was a bit about two films whose costume designers fascinates me. But that does not meen costumes from other films isn't worth mentioning. The movie I first think of when I think costumes, are Sofia Coppolas "Marie Antoinette."In this film we really get to see the time period the plot of the film is from. Marie Antoinette obviousley is from the baroque and georgian era.

Marie Antoinette is without a doubt a costume drama. The heroine of the story sure was a drama queen, and a woman who liked to spend money. And this is reflected in her styling and clothes. The gowns she wears is very extravagant, and the time period is shown in it's best way. The power and wealth of Marie Antoinett is reflected through the choice of fabrics and accessories. And the colours show off the girlie side of the young Queen. In the beginning of the movie we see Marie Antoinette in her home in Vienna, and the clothes were much simpler before her marriage to the French prince. We can see the child she was when she wore the white gown lined with fur. This was the gown she wore when she arrived at the border. And the gown she was stripped of, as her journey into France required her to wear a French gown. The French one was of course richer in any way. The fabric was lighter and more expensive looking, in a light blue colour. As the movie evolves, the wealthy life of a princess/queen goes to Marie Antoinettes head. She starts gambling, and spending all the money on clothes and decorations. And as the spending goes on, the clothes get more and more over the top. She uses bolder colours, and richer fabrics. Feathers and lace becomes an everyday necessity for her, and this also shows on her gowns. especially on the hot pink dress she wears at dinner and for Mass. Here we see feathers on her hat and in the lining of her arms and bust. I must admit that the pink dress is one of my favourites from the movie. It has a simplicity about it that I love, even though it looks a bit over-the-top, it is one of the simpler dresses in this movie. And it actually is made in a fabric that isn't silk or satin. It looks like a light corduroy fabric, which makes the dress a bit more interesting to study.

The costumes in this movie is really a thing the designer Milena Canonero can be proud of. Because she really shows us the wealth of the wearer, as well as the time period.
And Kirsten Dunst gives the character her personality, and wears the clothes beautifully. I don't think this movie would be the same without Kirsten Dunst in the part as Marie Antoinette and Milena Canonero as the costume designer. Of course the film wouldn't be that good without Sofia Coppola as the producer.

In the end I would like to say, that even though I have only mentioned three movies, the costumes of other movies are spectacular as well. I could go on for several pages if I could, but I wanted to shorten it down to a length that people would bother to read.

The costumes of Pirates of the Caribbean, random vampire films, Jane Austen films, and many others are defenately worth mentioning. I will, most likely, publish another article about costumes one day. And maybe more. To end this particular article I would like to say that without the costume, the characeter is just a mere actor.