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 2000-10,  Girls in Films,  Premium

    Beautiful Oppression: Tilda Swinton in I am Love

    5 Jun ’15 /

    From stills of this film alone you could easily be forgiven in thinking that I am Love (Io sono l’amore, 2009) was set during the 1960s. The designer clothes draped worn by lead members of the Recchi family, as selected by costumer Antonella Cannarozzi, are generally minimalist, in plain colours with little embellishment. I am Love is actually set in Europe around 2000, but its central characters are trapped as the well-heeled repressed of the sixties. Just as sexual, artistic and cultural expression was blossoming, the old guard struggled to make sense of this new world so regressed even more vehemently into their old one. The Recchi’s seem to live…

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    Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Beautiful Oppression: Tilda Swinton in I am Love

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    Costume Designer Theadora Van Runkle Dies Aged 83

    8 Nov ’11

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

    29 Aug ’13

    Goldie Hawn in Cactus Flower: Mini Skirts and Mini Suits

    28 May ’13
  • Guys in Films

    The Fabric of Film: Tough Guy Wear

    16 Apr ’15 /

    In honour of The Times’ film critic Kevin Maher’s list of iconic movie rebels, we take a look at what it truly takes to make a tough guy in cinema. What constitutes a tough guy, as in ‘man’, on film is usually a traditional interpretation of masculinity. There is always room for the sensitive hero in a sweater and slacks, but for those who watch movies as ingrained wish fulfilment, the sexy and sweaty man’s man needs suitable attire to reflect his personality. But it is not just about the garments themselves. A jacket is a jacket, but a leather jacket is a symbol. A wax jacket on the other…

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    Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on The Fabric of Film: Tough Guy Wear

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    The Catwalk of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

    15 Nov ’13

    Dunkirk: Interview with Costume Designer Jeffrey Kurland

    31 Jul ’17

    Prince of Persia: Interview With Costume Designer Penny Rose

    7 May ’10
  • 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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    Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on Internal Affairs: A Black and White World

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

    1 Sep ’11

    Behind the Candelabra: Wearing Liberace On Stage and Off

    31 May ’13

    Reading Costume Design in No Country for Old Men

    5 Apr ’13
  • Clothes from 1970s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    From Bum to Italian Stallion: Sylvester Stallone as Rocky

    22 Apr ’14 /

    In the very opening scene of Rocky (1976, costume designer Robert Cambel), we see the title character in the ring, bare chested, hands encased in boxing gloves, the picture of sporting violence and masculinity. But this is no more than a surface assumption. Not two minutes later, we see Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) shrug on his faded brown towelling dressing gown, with “The Italian Stallion” embroidered on the back, and things start to shift. This is not a macho film concerned with the fight alone, but an exploration of masculinity in all its guises – the assumptions, the pretence and the reality. Clothes play an important part in this, both…

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    Lord Christopher Laverty Comments Off on From Bum to Italian Stallion: Sylvester Stallone as Rocky

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    Suit Yourself: Elliot Gould in The Long Goodbye

    12 Dec ’13

    The Post Trailer Debuts: Ann Roth sets the Tone

    8 Nov ’17

    Favourite Fashions From Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

    4 Oct ’10
  • 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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    Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

    26 Nov ’10

    Iron Man 3: A Different Kind of Suit

    24 Apr ’13

    New Thor Pic: Now Hopkins & Hiddleston

    14 Jul ’10
  • Clothes from 1980s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Smooth Talk: “Tomorrow Night I’ll Wear the Halter”

    23 Nov ’13 /

    Moments of sartorial significance, and that glimmer of recognition that we feel upon seeing an onscreen outfit worn more than once are found throughout Smooth Talk, Joyce Chopra’s underseen 1986 adaptation of a Joyce Carol Oates short story. The film is rife with all the monotony of life and charming ensembles we expect of a teenage girl in the summer, yet it simultaneously offers complexity and creepiness. Laura Dern plays Connie, an ingénue spending her days as an “unfinished girl, waiting for completion of some sort” (Quart 74). In her essay, “Smoothing Out the Rough Spots: The Film Adaptation of ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” Rebecca Sumner…

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 1 Comment

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    Tailoring The Wolf of Wall Street

    7 Feb ’14

    Coming to America: Prints & Turbans in Contemporary Fashion

    17 Feb ’11

    Hot Tub Time Machine Trailer: Colourful Past

    25 Dec ’09
  • Clothes from 1970s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Kramer vs. Kramer: Meryl Streep in a Burberry Trench Coat

    21 Mar ’13 /

    Meryl Streep’s timeless Burberry trench coat is one of the most recognisable contemporary costumes of 1970s.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 3 Comments

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    Argo: Interview with Costume Designer Jacqueline West

    16 Feb ’13

    Saturday Night Fever: John Travolta’s White Suit

    16 Nov ’09

    Dark Shadows Trailer: Campy, Period Blending Costume Fun

    16 Mar ’12
  • Clothes from 1920s,  Clothes from 1930s,  Guys in Films,  Interviews,  Premium

    Tom Hardy in Lawless: The Knitwear Anti-Hero

    21 Sep ’12 /

    Tom Hardy heralds dawning of the knitwear anti-hero. Margot Wilson discusses her use of the cardigan for Lawless.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 14 Comments

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    Dress like a Peaky Blinder

    13 Sep ’13

    Boardwalk Empire: Cometh the Dandiest Man

    28 Sep ’11

    The Fortune: Costume Guide – Dressing Soft For Murder

    19 Jan ’10
  • Clothes from 1950s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Doris Day in Pillow Talk: Couture Allure

    18 May ’12 /

    Doris Day’s last hurrah for 1950s fashion wearing some of the most exquisite costumes ever seen on screen.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 8 Comments

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    Katie Holmes in The Kennedys: Armani’s Copy of a Copy

    5 Aug ’11

    Cinema Paradiso: Invisible Costume

    9 Feb ’15

    Colleen Goes Contemporary: First Official Pic from The Tourist

    14 Jun ’10
  • 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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    Deena Appel on Creating the Costume World of The Spy Who Shagged Me

    2 Oct ’18

    Dual Analysis: The Big Lebowski – KB’s Thoughts

    7 Jun ’10

    Basic Instinct: Sharon Stone, Devil in a White Dress

    22 Feb ’11
  • Clothes from 1980s,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Style & Identity in Do the Right Thing

    17 Feb ’12 /

    Ruth E. Carter’s work on Do the Right Thing is a masterclass in how costume can influence the look and feel of a film.

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    Contributor 6 Comments

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    Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan

    11 Mar ’11

    Gena Rowlands in Gloria: Gangster’s Ex Wears a Skirt Suit

    9 Mar ’12

    The Gumshoe Chic of Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart (1987)

    29 Nov ’19
  • Clothes from now,  Girls in Films,  Guys in Films,  Premium

    Crazy, Stupid, Love: Suits and 407s

    27 Jan ’12 /

    Crazy, Stupid Love is every inch the ‘fashion film’, both in terms of narrative and costume designer Dayna Pink’s elegant menswear styling.

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    Lord Christopher Laverty 3 Comments

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    Kurt and Bart Discuss the Costume Design of Stoker

    8 Mar ’13

    Review: The Dark Knight Rises

    21 Jul ’12

    Review: Skyfall

    16 Oct ’12
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