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 now,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    A Star is Born: The Cotton Rebel

    12 Oct ’18 /

    MINOR SPOILERS For all the inevitable chrysalis transformation of singer Ally (Lady Gaga) during A Star is Born (2018, directed by Bradley Cooper), the most subtle, yet real sartorial reflection of character belongs to her mentor and lover Jack (Cooper). Costumed by Erin Benach (Drive, A Place Beyond the Pines), Jack is the epitome of the casual rock star. Stage wear, day wear, evening wear, drinking wear, sleeping wear – it’s all the same. His simple clothes mask a mind so damaged it can only be subdued with the bottle. Jack lives in t-shirts (plain, dark or neutral colours), untucked shirts (dark or a green graph-check), brown calf leather jacket,…

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    The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Full Costume Trailer

    24 Sep ’11

    The Hangover Costume Guide: Black Suits and Shades

    15 Dec ’09

    Coming to America: Prints & Turbans in Contemporary Fashion

    17 Feb ’11
  • Clothes from 1970s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    The Passenger: Always at Odds

    2 Nov ’17 /

    Filmmaker Nic Fforde discusses how he come to realise the importance of costume design in his projects. Stories in films are all familiar to us in some way, no matter how remote the setting. The hell that unfolds aboard the Nostromo in Alien, LA’s icy criminal underworld in Heat or Rope’s Ivy League dinner party – a good story well told will whisk you away to its own self–contained world. All the tools of filmmaking are there to help create these worlds. What part does costume play in all this? My day job is to make films for advertising. We work on low budgets with small documentary crews. Whatever our…

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    Dual Analysis: The Big Lebowski – Chris’ Thoughts

    1 Jun ’10

    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: Dressed Trailer

    1 Jul ’11

    Live and Let Die: Roger Moore’s Chesterfield Coat

    4 Jul ’09
  • Clothes from now,  Guys in Films

    The Essential Nature of Simple Costume in Locke

    1 Sep ’15 /

    Locke (2013, costume design by Nigel Egerton) is a film unique in its restrictions – it takes place in real time, has only one character and only one setting. Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is driving somewhere important, and over the course of the film’s 85 minute running time, his life gradually begins to crumble around him as he desperately tries to salvage it. The controlled environment – the inside of his car – and the fact that the only character we actually see is Ivan himself means that interest in him is the only way of maintaining an audience’s attention with such limited visual stimulation. Ivan is the only character…

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    Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

    15 Aug ’11

    Black Swan: Interview with Darren Aronofsky

    17 Jan ’11

    Review: Melancholia

    21 Oct ’11
  • Clothes from 1980s,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    The Bloody Sartorialist: Christian Bale in American Psycho

    16 Jan ’14 /

    American Psycho (2000, costume designer Isis Mussenden) is a late 1980s set film that highlights the importance placed on external appearance and the disparity that can lie between this and the true nature of a person. The ‘Psycho’ of the title, Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) is outwardly flawless. He has an extreme and involved personal beauty regime, consisting of special shampoos, body washes, face masks and scrubs, complemented by a strict diet and exercise plan that he completes daily and without fail. He believes in looking after himself – or at least his external self. Beneath this perfectly glossy exterior is emptiness – a lack of humanity, of…

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 4 Comments

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    Win a Limited Edition Scarface Blu-Ray + Scarf & Money Clip

    1 Sep ’11

    Wall Street: Michael Douglas’ Gekko Shirt

    6 Apr ’10

    Back to the Future Nikes go on Sale: You Can’t Afford Them

    9 Sep ’11
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Clothes from now,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Realism through Identity: Clothing in The Last of Us

    30 Nov ’13 /

    If you have played The Last of Us on Playstation 3 it has likely ruined video gaming for you. The world created is so vivid and believable that every game afterward just feels dated and empty. Throughout, The Last of Us is unwaveringly real, full of seemingly inconsequential details such as every weapon or object you carry being attached or able to fit into your character’s backpack. Contrast this with Grand Theft Auto V where a rocket launcher appears out of your trouser pocket and it’s clear that if game developers really want to create a living, breathing parallel to reality they need to treat it as reality – no…

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 2 Comments

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    Inception: Jeffrey Kurland – Follow Up Costume Q&A

    20 Aug ’10

    Net-a-Porter to Launch Hunger Games Capsule Collection

    5 Sep ’13

    Iron Man 2: Some Late in the Day Images

    22 Apr ’10
  • Clothes from 1837-1919

    12 Years a Slave Trailer: Fine Fabrics

    16 Jul ’13 /

    Fabrics jump out of the screen in this trailer for 12 Years a Slave.

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    Review: Oz the Great and Powerful

    4 Mar ’13

    The Not so Colourblind Costumes of The Personal History of David Copperfield

    31 Jan ’20

    Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: Costume Round Up: Part 2

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

    World War Z and the Art of Breaking Down

    27 Jun ’13 /

    World War Z neatly demonstrates the art of breaking down and distressing costume.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment

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    The Last Jedi: Interview with Costume Designer Michael Kaplan

    24 Dec ’17

    Alien Anthology: A Revolution in Sci-Fi Costume Design – PT2

    26 Oct ’10

    Become The Babadook

    28 Oct ’14
  • Clothes from 1837-1919,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Costume Designer Joanna Johnston Talks Lincoln & Jack

    8 Feb ’13 /

    Joanna Johnston chats about her work on Lincoln and what we can we can expect from her latest project Jack the Giant Slayer.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment

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    True Grit: Exclusive Costume Featurette

    4 Feb ’11

    Review: The Woman in Black

    10 Feb ’12

    The Phantom of the Opera: Colour, Character and Costume

    5 Dec ’12
  • Clothes from 1930s,  Clothes from 1940s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Gangster Squad: Gangster Gloss

    28 Jan ’13 /

    The glossy costume world of gangster squad is faithful to history, but not a slave to it.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment

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    Trailer for Amelia Touches Down: Radical Fashions 1920s-30s

    26 Jun ’09

    UK Film Review: Public Enemies

    1 Jul ’09

    Film Review: 42nd Street

    5 May ’09
  • Clothes from now,  Film Reviews,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    Review: Skyfall

    16 Oct ’12 /

    James Bond is back and he has never scrubbed up better. Tom Ford now exists to make Daniel Craig suits.

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    Review: Inception

    13 Jul ’10

    Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – Full Trailer Online

    19 Feb ’10

    Review: Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

    16 Dec ’11
  • Clothes from 1920s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    The Great Gatsby Trailer: Roaring Costumes

    24 May ’12 /

    In a week of exciting trailers, the first for director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby must surely be the most thrilling of all.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 6 Comments

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    Martin/Prada Great Gatsby Collaboration: Fashion as Costume?

    22 Jan ’13

    Lawless: Interview with Costume Designer Margot Wilson

    27 Sep ’12

    Costume in The Great Gatsby: Use Your Imagination

    23 May ’13
  • Clothes from 1990s,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Reservoir Dogs: Gangster Silhouette

    2 Apr ’12 /

    Betsy Heimann chats exclusively about one of the most iconic costumes of the 1990s.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 3 Comments

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    Alien Anthology: A Revolution in Sci-Fi Costume Design – PT2

    26 Oct ’10

    T2 Trainspotting: Nostalgia Trip

    6 Feb ’17

    Clueless: Calvin Klein White Dress Makes Comeback

    8 Jul ’10
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