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 1960s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Deena Appel on the Costume Design of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

    25 Sep ’18 /

    With Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), costume designer Deena Appel created one of the most iconic screen looks of all time. That is no overstatement; Austin Powers has been copied and homaged and wheeled out every year as a Halloween costume, with very little credit put Appel’s way. It is a rather sad indictment of how the industry works that, despite its importance, especially in a film such as Austin Powers, a costume designer will rarely see any kudos come their way. Awards? Well, you might have a chance if your film is set in Victorian England or Disney-verse, but other than that not so much. With this…

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    Black Caesar: Blaxploitation Gangster

    1 Nov ’13

    Shifting Trends: Claire Foy in First Man

    25 Oct ’18

    Skyfall Teaser Trailer Hits: Provocative

    21 May ’12
  • Clothes from 1940s,  Clothes from 1950s,  Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 1970s,  Clothes from 1980s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Get on Up: Sharen Davis Shares Costume Design Sketches

    9 Dec ’14 /

    As Get on Up, director Tate Taylor’s look at the life of singing legend James Brown, hits UK screens we have some fantastic sketches to share of the film’s costuming. Costume designer for Get on Up is the one and only Sharen Davis, who previously worked with Taylor on The Help, although you may know her better for Devil in a Blue Dress, Dreamgirls, Ray and Django Unchained. Davis is absurdly talented and every single project she undertakes should be greeted with cheers by any costume fan. Get on Up with its collective of lowly, stage and civvie ensembles worn by Chadwick Boseman as adult James Joseph Brown (60+changes) is…

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    Gangster Squad: Gangster Gloss

    28 Jan ’13

    To Catch a Thief: Grace Kelly’s Beach Wear

    5 Apr ’11

    The Star Wattage of Mildred Pierce (1945)

    6 Mar ’17
  • Clothes from 1980s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Internal Affairs: A Black and White World

    6 Dec ’14 /

    Internal Affairs (1990) is an excellent stone cold thriller. The costumes are a subtle tease, revealing personal information that the characters never say out loud. Like many movies released in the late 1980s/1990s, Internal Affairs radiates uneasiness caused by shifting societal attitudes – anything that threatens a straight male chauvinist black-and-white world. Costume designer Rudy Dillon punches through this black-and-white world with ensembles that poke fun at the status quo and subsequently subvert them with eroticism, perhaps ironically using only a colour scheme of black and white. The straight white male chauvinist is Dennis Peck (Richard Gere), a police officer in Los Angeles who controls his colleagues by involving them…

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

    26 Oct ’10

    Awesome Lack of Taste: Style Lessons from Hot Tub Time Machine

    11 May ’10

    Ellen Mirojnick Describes Costumes for Behind the Candelabra

    7 Jun ’13
  • Clothes from Fantasy & Sci-fi,  Guys in Films,  Guys on TV,  Interviews,  Premium

    A Comfortable Future: The Costume Design of Her

    13 Feb ’14 /

    The near future romance Her, written and directed by Spike Jonze, whose widely diverse resume ranges from the world of music videos to MTV’s Jackass to major motion pictures, brought together a creative team that costume designer Casey Storm refers to as “friends first, and co-workers second.” Storm and production designer K.K. Barrett create a soft, comfortable world of tomorrow. Shot on location around Los Angeles and Shanghai, Barrett avoided familiar locations to create a world that is accessible but not overtly recognisable. Our first introduction to the world feels very familiar. Seated in an office in a simple button up, Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Theodore Twombly, dictates a letter to…

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    Alien Anthology: A Revolution in Sci-Fi Costume Design

    19 Oct ’10

    All the Catching Fire Fashion Portraits in One Place

    9 Mar ’13

    X-Men: First Class Costumes

    20 Jan ’11
  • Clothes from 1980s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Tailoring The Wolf of Wall Street

    7 Feb ’14 /

    There is a problem with the costumes in The Wolf of Wall Street, and it has nothing to do with the film itself but the coverage they have received. Namely, that this coverage is incorrect. Articles such as this one for Vogue France, or this for The Hollywood Reporter, or a ‘suit guide’ by Esquire, concentrate almost solely on Giorgio Armani’s contribution to the project with barely a mention of costume designer Sandy Powell. And this is the Sandy Powell by the way: 10 Oscar nominations and so well respected she has an OBE for services to the industry. It was Powell who costumed The Wolf of Wall Street, not…

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    13 Going On 30: Colourful Jennifer Garner

    27 Aug ’10

    Ghostbusters: Sigourney Weaver’s Cape Coat

    15 Sep ’09

    Coming to America: Prints & Turbans in Contemporary Fashion

    17 Feb ’11
  • Clothes from 1950s,  Clothes from 1960s,  Clothes from 1970s,  Clothes from 1980s,  Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    The Look of Love: Q&A with Costume Designer Stephanie Collie

    29 Aug ’13 /

    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…

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    Rear Window: Grace Kelly’s Paris Dress

    5 May ’09

    Costume & Identity in Hitchcock’s Vertigo

    10 Apr ’12

    Shifting Trends: Claire Foy in First Man

    25 Oct ’18
  • Clothes from 1960s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    The Look of Love: Dressing the No-Body Body

    14 Aug ’13 /

    How changing body shapes can affect the appearance of period costume.

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    How to Steal a Million, or £60k for an Audrey Givenchy

    9 Dec ’09

    Mad Men: Christina Hendricks’ Op Art Blue Dress (S1)

    11 May ’09

    Dual Analysis: Rosemary’s Baby – KB’s Thoughts

    8 Jan ’10
  • Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    The Grifters: Be Careful What You Wear – Part 2

    20 Jun ’13 /

    Second and final part of our retrospective of The Grifters with insight from Mark Bridges.

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    Internal Affairs: A Black and White World

    6 Dec ’14

    Film Review: Misery

    8 Sep ’09

    Dual Analysis: The Big Lebowski – Chris’ Thoughts

    1 Jun ’10
  • Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    The Wolf of Wall Street Trailer: Expensive Bad Taste

    17 Jun ’13 /

    The Wolf of Wall Street trailer brings wide pinstripe suits and revolting ties.

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    Internal Affairs: A Black and White World

    6 Dec ’14

    Clueless: Calvin Klein White Dress Makes Comeback

    8 Jul ’10

    Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: Elegant Opera Dress

    25 Jun ’10
  • Clothes from 1990s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    The Grifters: Be Careful What You Wear

    6 Jun ’13 /

    First in our two part retrospective of neo-noir classic The Grifters with exclusive insight from the film’s assistant costume designer Mark Bridges.

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    The Place Beyond the Pines: Don’t Try This Look at Home

    15 Apr ’13

    Deena Appel on Creating the Costume World of The Spy Who Shagged Me

    2 Oct ’18

    Basic Instinct: Sharon Stone, Devil in a White Dress

    22 Feb ’11
  • 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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    Dual Analysis: The Big Lebowski – Chris’ Thoughts

    1 Jun ’10

    The Secret Sharer: Abbie Cornish & Andrea Riseborough in W.E.

    20 Mar ’12

    Dual Analysis: The Big Lebowski – KB’s Thoughts

    7 Jun ’10
  • Clothes from 1920s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films

    The Great Gatsby Costumes at Brooks Brothers in London

    2 May ’13 /

    We visited Brooks Brothers to check out their costume display from The Great Gatsby.

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

    26 Jun ’09

    Boardwalk Empire: Women of the Empire

    9 Feb ’11

    Status and Signifiers: Costume in There Will Be Blood

    1 Apr ’14
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