Clothes on Film

The study of costume design in cinema and television. Featuring exclusive articles, news, interviews, videos, podcasts, essays and competitions.

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  • Clothes from 1837-1919,  Girls on TV,  Guys on TV,  Interviews,  Premium

    The Alienist: Costume Featurette Provides Glimpse into Gilded Style

    26 Apr ’18 /

    Netflix have released a short featurette about costume design for The Alienist, giving an overall glimpse at the work of Michael Kaplan and his team in putting together the era of 1896, New York. What is enticing about The Alienist, apart from the fact that it’s brilliant whodunit telly, is that it is set outside of England, which is so often the preserve of dramas such as these. This is NY style at a point in history when those with money were about to get a whole lot more. Expensive, in other words, and if you had deep enough pockets your taste in fashion would echo this. Check out the…

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    Review: Oz the Great and Powerful

    4 Mar ’13

    The First Great Train Robbery: Sean Connery’s Victorian Coat

    5 May ’09

    Status and Signifiers: Costume in There Will Be Blood

    1 Apr ’14
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews

    The Last Jedi: Interview with Costume Designer Michael Kaplan

    24 Dec ’17 /

    MINOR SPOILERS There are already lots of good interviews with Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) costume designer Michael Kaplan on the internet (we recommend this one in particular), so for Clothes on Film we kept it brief and fresh. We caught up with Kaplan, who is also responsible for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Trek (2009), Fight Club (1999) and Blade Runner (1982), for a little chat about what’s new for episode 8 of the ever evolving space saga. Clothes on Film: Let’s kick off by asking you about the best new costume in the film, the Elite Praetorian Guard… Michael Kaplan: They are my favourite costumes…

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    Tron Legacy: Light Suit Costume

    9 Nov ’10

    Doctor Who: Interview With Costume Designer Ray Holman

    9 Apr ’10

    Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman Costume: Full Paparazzi Reveal

    26 Sep ’11
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews

    Star Wars: Interview with Michael Kaplan

    22 Jan ’16 /

    Surely we all know Michael Kaplan by now? Flashdance (1983), Fight Club (1999), Burlesque (2010), Star Trek (2009), and the biggest of the big, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Versatile is not a generous enough word for his talent; he is literally one of the best in the business, as his CDG (Costume Designers Guild) nomination for Star Wars goes some way to proving. I spoke to Mr Kaplan just after Christmas about his work for The Force Awakens, but due to unforeseen circumstances (basically Clothes on Film HQ flooding), this interview is only being posted now. Still much to enjoy though, and plenty of costume titbits to sift through.…

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    Film Review: Avatar

    9 Feb ’10

    Superfly Solo

    18 Jun ’18

    Seventh Son Trailer: Filthy Fantasy

    12 Jul ’13
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    Star Wars Episode VII: The Costumes Awaken

    21 Dec ’15 /

    SPOILERS Ahead of a detailed interview with Star Wars: The Force Awakens costume designer Michael Kaplan (currently hard at work on Episode VIII), we take a brief look at his undeniable achievement in bringing the 1970s – early 80’s back to life right here in the present. How do you make the now look old when paradoxically it is supposed to be the new? Well, you go simple. We say simple, but we mean ‘back to basics’. This is not the prequels; The Force Awakens takes place thirty years after the Rebellion defeated the Empire. Now both sides are in state of rebuilding so there is little call for Padmae’s…

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    The Catwalk of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

    15 Nov ’13

    The Dark Knight Rises: Costume Q&A with Lindy Hemming

    1 Aug ’12

    Man of Steel: New Featurette Discusses the Superman Suit

    3 Jun ’13
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Premium

    Four Slices of Costume Pie from the Star Wars VII Trailer

    28 Nov ’14 /

    There is little point in Clothes on Film delving too deeply into the first trailer for director J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars sequel The Force Awakens, mainly because it is just so much speculation at the moment, which of course is part of the fun, but also because there are far smarter (or more interested) minds on the Internet who will do a better job. That said how can you watch that trailer and not have an opinion? So here are ours, and with no contribution whatsoever from Star Wars VII costume designer Michael Kaplan. If he told us anything at this stage he would be thrown in the Sarlacc pit…

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    Game of Thrones Costume Analysis: Cersei Lannister

    6 Sep ’13

    X-Men: Days of Future Past Pics – 1973 Xavier, Hank & Logan

    10 May ’13

    Man of Steel? Underwear of Steel More Like

    17 Jun ’13
  • Clothes from 1970s,  Clothes from 1980s,  Premium

    Style Icon of the Season: Cousin Eddie in Christmas Vacation

    18 Dec ’13 /

    He is the whitest of the white trash, the kind of man who dumps raw sewage in a storm drain and kidnaps your boss as a Christmas present. And the only man to ever combine a leather belt with a bathrobe. Randy Quaid has played lovable moocher ‘Cousin Eddie’ in four separate National Lampoon films, but his most famous performance still resides at yuletide. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, directed by Jeremiah C. Chechik) has weathered years of apathy to become something of a seasonal favourite. Watching Chevy Chase’s bipolar family man Clark Griswold lose his rag every December is now a festive tradition . Yet Clark is not really…

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    From Bum to Italian Stallion: Sylvester Stallone as Rocky

    22 Apr ’14

    The Conjuring 2: Costume Q&A with Kristin Burke

    19 Jul ’16

    American Hustle: Beneath the Glamour

    13 Jan ’14
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    The Catwalk of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

    15 Nov ’13 /

    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…

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    Man of Steel? Underwear of Steel More Like

    17 Jun ’13

    Oz the Great and Powerful: Close Up Look at the Costumes

    11 Mar ’13

    Star Wars Corsets: Force Needed to Get into Them

    8 Jun ’10
  • Costume Stories and Links

    Costume Stories: This Week, Look of Love and Man of Steel

    22 Jun ’13 /

    The week’s costume stories and links.

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    Costume Stories, This Week: Amy Adams & Sleepy Hollow

    25 Jan ’14

    Costume Stories, This Week: Thor: The Dark World and Reign

    26 Oct ’13

    Costume Stories: This Week, Elysium and The O.C.

    10 Aug ’13
  • Costume Stories and Links,  Guys in Films

    Costume Stories: This Week, Arrested Development & Star Wars

    25 May ’13 /

    This week’s other costume design stories and links.

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    Costume Stories: This Week, Barry Lyndon & Sleepy Hollow

    14 Sep ’13

    Costume Stories: This Week, Gatsby and Capitol Couture

    20 Apr ’13

    Costume Stories: This Week, A Field in England and Doctor Who

    6 Jul ’13
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Costume Designer Michael Kaplan on Star Trek Into Darkness

    17 May ’13 /

    Michael Kaplan gives Clothes on Film the lowdown on his Star Trek Into Darkness costumes.

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    Inception Revisited with Costume Designer Jeffrey Kurland

    17 Jul ’20

    Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

    26 Nov ’10

    Brigbsy Bear: Interview with Costume Designer Sarah Mae Burton

    14 Aug ’17
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Star Trek Into Darkness: The Devil is in the Details

    9 May ’13 /

    Spoiler warning: The costume clues and details of Star Trek Into Darkness.

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    Journeying Into the Costumes of Into the Woods

    9 Mar ’15

    Alien Anthology: A Revolution in Sci-Fi Costume Design

    19 Oct ’10

    Doctor Who: Interview With Costume Designer Ray Holman

    9 Apr ’10
  • Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Fight Club: Remembering Marla, the Dark Tourist

    7 May ’13 /

    Costume designer Michael Kaplan reminisces with Clothes on Film about creating dark tourist Marla Singer in Fight Club.

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    Tailoring The Wolf of Wall Street

    7 Feb ’14

    The Grifters: Be Careful What You Wear

    6 Jun ’13

    Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: Elegant Opera Dress

    25 Jun ’10
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