Hollywood Costume

Transcription

Hollywood Costume

Hollywood Costume
Education Resource
Wednesday 24 April – Sunday 18 August 2013
CONTENTS
HOLLYWOOD COSTUME ....................................................................................... 4
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION ................................................................................................................... 4
ABOUT THIS RESOURCE .................................................................................................................. 4
Scene 1 .................................................................................................................. 5
WHAT IS COSTUME DESIGN? .......................................................................................................... 5
DESIGNING THE CHARACTER .......................................................................................................... 6
CHARACTER AND COMPOSITION .................................................................................................... 7
SERVING THE STORY........................................................................................................................ 8
DECONSTRUCTING CHARACTER ................................................................................................... 10
A ROYAL ROMANCE ........................................................................................................................ 12
Scene 2 ................................................................................................................ 15
CREATIVE CONTEXTS ......................................................................................................................15
COLLABORATING WITH DIRECTORS ..............................................................................................15
CHANGING CONTEXTS .....................................................................................................................16
COLLABORATING WITH ACTORS .................................................................................................. 18
Scene 3 ................................................................................................................ 21
THE FINALE ......................................................................................................................................21
SUPERHEROES ................................................................................................................................ 21
Beyond the Exhibition ....................................................................................... 23
COSTUME FOR TELEVISION ........................................................................................................... 23
COLLABORATION ............................................................................................................................ 23
COSTUMES AS CULTURAL ARTEFACTS ....................................................................................... 25
ENDNOTES....................................................................................................................................... 26
FREE FOR EDUCATIONAL USE - Education Resource- Hollywood Costume
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HOLLYWOOD COSTUME
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Hollywood Costume explores the central role costume design plays in cinema storytelling,
bringing together iconic costumes from across a century of filmmaking.
The show unites classics from the Golden Age of cinema with the latest Hollywood releases,
illuminates the costume designer's creative process from script to screen and reveals the
collaborative dialogue that leads to the development of authentic screen characters.
Curated by Professor Deborah Nadoolman Landis, a renowned Hollywood costume designer,
writer and academic, the focus of this exhibition is on the integral contribution of costume
design to the storytelling process at the heart of filmmaking.
ABOUT THIS RESOURCE
The exhibition is divided into three main sections:
-- Scene 1: What is Costume Design?
-- Scene 2: Creative Contexts
-- Scene 3: The Finale
This resource follows the structure of the three sections and themes, and draws from the
key ideas that underpin them. Designed for use in a range of educational contexts, the
resource provides prompts, questions and activities that allow teachers to explore the
connection between costume, character and story in a variety of ways. As well as
highlighting curator Deborah Nadoolman Landis’s approach to the art and craft of costume
design, this resource also references the perspective and practices of many of the designers
who are featured in the exhibition.
While Hollywood Costume celebrates a number of ‘great moments’ in costume design and
offers visitors the opportunity to see a number of iconic costumes, the exhibition is first and
foremost about the ideas and concepts that underpin the art of designing costumes for film.
Acknowledgements
This resource has been compiled by Susan Bye, ACMI Education, and is organised around and
includes material written by Deborah Nadoolman Landis for Hollywood Costume.
Thank you to Naomi Milgrom for her support of the Hollywood Costume education program.
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Scene 1
WHAT IS COSTUME DESIGN?
‘Costume design has far more to do with storytelling than to do with clothes.
Fashion is the polar opposite of costume design because fashion is all about the
clothes.’i
Costume design in film has both a narrative and visual importance. It is a distinct discipline
that takes as its starting point the written word of the screenplay.
EXPLORE
Sir Christopher Frayling, who acted as co-curator of Hollywood Costume, recounts the story
of receiving two postcards from curator Deborah Nadoolman Landis: ‘The first was a still
from Brokeback Mountain (dir. Ang Lee, des. Marit Allen, 2005), showing Heath Ledger and
Jake Gyllenhaal wearing jeans, washed-out shirts and cowboy hats. On the back she had
written: "This is costume design." The second was of Audrey Hepburn wearing Givenchy
couture; on the back she had written: "This isn't."’
What do you think Landis meant?
Do you agree? Explain.
Have you ever watched a film (or a TV show) where the costumes have gotten in the
way of the story, or where you have been distracted by the costumes? Give details.
Image: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, PARAMOUNT / THE KOBAL COLLECTION / FRAKER, BUD
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Landis continually foregrounds the importance of story, ‘A successful costume must be
subsumed by the story and be woven seamlessly into the narrative and visual tapestry of the
movie.’ii
What does she mean? Give examples of where this has been successfully achieved.
It is possible to source many screenplays online. Download the screenplay for one of the films
featured in the exhibition or for a film that contains particularly memorable characters. (You
will need to limit this activity to one of the many screenplays available online.)
Focus on a character that you know well and list some of the lines and cues that
might have prompted the design of the character’s costumes.
Choose a character from a story or novel that you have read.
Describe this character’s circumstances (job, family, culture etc.) and personality.
What does this character believe about her/himself and what is s/he really like?
Imagine this story is being made into a film and you are the costume designer. How
would you use costume to tell an audience about this character?
DESIGNING THE CHARACTER
‘What’s most important is creating the character with the costume. That’s where
the need for simplicity comes in; if you have too much going on, it’s confusing.
You go through all the choices and hone it down to what defines the character
you’re creating.’iii
The costume designer must first know who the character is in the screenplay. Drawing
inspiration from art, literature, nature, music, childhood memories and other films, the
designer works with the director and actor to create a new person.
EXPLORE
Films ask their audiences to believe that the people in them are authentic and had a life prior
to the start of the action.
The ‘curtain’ dress worn by Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (dir. Victor Fleming, des.
Walter Plunkett, 1939) and featured in this first section of Hollywood Costume, offers a vivid
example of this process of building character. Gone with the Wind tells the story of the spoilt
but resourceful Scarlett who draws on her steely determination to survive the American Civil
War. When she and Mammy have nothing else left, they make this dress out of curtains to
hide Scarlett’s desperation and poverty from the hero Rhett Butler whom she is going to ask
for money. ‘I'm going to Atlanta for that $300 and I've got to go looking like a queen.’
Focus on this dress and consider what it tells us about Scarlett. You can watch
Scarlett’s meeting with Rhett here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8EodW2ossg
What do the colour, fabric and design add to the story and to our understanding of
Scarlett as a character?
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You may like to refer to the Harry Ransom Center website for an image of, and more
information about, the dress:
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/web/gwtw/wardrobe/curtain/curtchoose.ht
ml
The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin has an impressive
collection of dresses from Gone with the Wind and you can see a number of Scarlett’s
other costumes at this site as well. Each dress is placed in context and offers you the
opportunity to think further about the way that Scarlett’s character was built through
costume.
Select a film character you consider particularly ‘true’ or authentic.
Describe the character’s costume. (Remember costume involves hair, makeup and
shoes, as well as clothing.)
How does costume contribute to the ‘realisation’ of the character?
How does costume contribute to the impression of a ‘life prior to the action’ of the
film?
Who was the costume designer? See if you can find out more about the designer and
his/her approach to character. You may like to consider some of the other films s/he
has worked on.
CHARACTER AND COMPOSITION
‘Costume designers design a whole character. The process starts with the script. I
try to find character and then the world they live in. After that I do the research,
and then I design the clothes.’iv
In costume design it is important that the integrity of the story takes precedence over
glamour. When clothing is authentic, the audience believes in the story and each character’s
role and place in the world of the story.
EXPLORE
Jeff ‘The Dude’ Lebowski (The Big Lebowski, dir. Cohen Bros, 1998) is a much-loved cult figure
and costume designer, Mary Zophres, was pivotal to the character’s development and his
place in the world. Hollywood Costume features The Dude’s bathrobe, a garment that
defined the character: ‘Someone who is so relaxed that he wears his bathrobe to Ralph’s
Market. When we came up with that idea in the fitting with Jeff Bridges, I remember
clapping my hands and laughing.’v
List characters from other films who have become defined by a single clothing item.
Explain how and why this item of clothing is integral to the audience’s understanding
of and response to the character.
Spy character Jason Bourne (The Bourne Ultimatum, dir. Paul Greengrass, 1998) needed to
evade notice, so the challenge for the costume designer was to create a kind of ‘negative’
costume that evaded attention. Here is how costume designer Shay Cunliffe described her
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creative process: ‘I distilled Bourne’s “look” down to one of pure, utilitarian simplicity. My
goal was to create a totally functional and forgettable garment so that Bourne could move
efficiently and invisibly through the world. Twenty-five copies of these jackets were needed
to handle all the abuse they would take during the action sequences.’vi
Focus on a series of film sequences and rate costumes as memorable and
forgettable. This is a good group exercise. List characters and give reasons for your
judgement.
Provide a sustained and ‘in-depth’ exploration of a ‘forgettable garment’: consider
how this design choice contributed to the story being told.
Make a list of film characters that needed to fade into the background and explore
the costuming decisions that contributed to this. (Some suggestions include Verbal
Kint in The Usual Suspects (dir. Bryan Singer, des. Louise Mingenbach, 1995), the
second Mrs de Winter in Rebecca (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, des. Eugene Joseff, 1940),
John Christie in 10 Rillington Place (dir. Richard Fleischer, des. Tiny Nicholls, 1971),
Vincent in Collateral (dir. Michael Mann, des. Jeffrey Kurland, 2004).
What are the challenges of creating costumes that make your characters blend in
with rather than stand out from the crowd and the physical setting?
SERVING THE STORY
According to many costume designers, it is more challenging to create costumes for
contemporary characters in contemporary settings, as audiences are so attuned to anything
that does not ring true. Moreover, since everyone gets dressed in the morning, audiences
consider themselves experts on modern clothes. In most cases, modern costumes are
considered successful if audiences do not notice them, but they remain nonetheless deeply
connected to the characters.
It is also necessary to avoid ‘fashion’ in contemporary films as this will date a film, even on
its initial release.
When designing the costumes for Big (Penny Marshall, 1988), Judianna Makovsky used the
1980s fashion for shoulder pads to define the female character played by Elizabeth Perkins:
‘her shoulders get smaller as her character gets softer’. Nevertheless, they draw too much
attention to themselves as costume: ‘I think I learned a great lesson from the film...to ignore
the fashion trends of the moment as they are fleeting. Create characters instead.’vii
EXPLORE
Brokeback Mountain, which portrays the tragic and doomed relationship between two
cowboys, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, required intense honesty and realism. According to
producer James Schamus, ‘everything needed to be honest, direct, and clear…from the
rawness and vulnerability of our actors to the presence of the natural environment’.viii
Consider the challenge facing costume designer Marit Allen. She had to create ‘real’
cowboy characters that were recognisable, but not conventional.
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Focus on the image below, and view the trailer
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QdJt9E-f2A) to explore and analyse the
choices she made in consultation with the actors.
Image: Brokeback Mountain, FOCUS FEATURES/THE KOBAL COLLECTION
Allen has said of her work in Brokeback Mountain: ‘Hopefully you don’t notice the clothing,
but you feel the emotions that the clothes convey.’ix
How has she gone about achieving this aim? How can clothes convey emotion?
The cowboy is such a generic and conventional figure in popular culture and in
Hollywood cinema. What are some of the ways Allen has ensured that these
characters remain ‘real’ and authentic?
While the authenticity of the Brokeback Mountain story required that the costumes work
silently in the service of character, Vertigo (dir. Hitchcock, des. Edith Head, 1958)
foregrounded costume, placing the clothing worn by Kim Novak at the centre of the plot.
Madeleine’s tastefully simple grey suit was contrasted by the bright vulgarity of Judy’s choice
in clothing, a contrast that contributes to the film’s central conceit that ‘Madeleine/Judy
(Kim Novak) seems only to exist in terms of what she wears ... not who she is’.x
Make a list of other films where the costumes or a costume item are an integral part
of the plot. Give details.
The following blog is one of many that details the significance of costume in Vertigo:
http://clothesonfilm.com/costume-identity-in-hitchcocks-vertigo/25039/: Focusing
on a different film, write a blog entry on the role and significance of its use of
costume.
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Our own clothes are a collection of stories, each item telling its own tale depending on where
we bought it and why. Clothes also reveal or conceal the way we are feeling on a particular
day, our personal taste and sense of who we are as well as our economic situation.
What do the clothes you are wearing at this moment say about you?
What are some of the considerations that lead you to choose a particular outfit on a
particular day?
DECONSTRUCTING CHARACTER
Inhabiting a character is the actor’s profession, and they often discover their characters in
the fitting room. Costumes are so much more than clothes – they are the means to channel
new people. The actor’s gait, posture, gestures and their entire physicality are informed by
what they wear.
Michael Kaplan, who designed the costumes for Fight Club, recounts the following phone
conversation with Helena Bonham Carter:
‘I don’t know what this movie is about. I have no idea who Marla Singer is. I’ll be there in a
week or so and hopefully you can help me with the character. In the meantime, do you have
anything at all I can be thinking about? What’s your take on Marla Singer?’ Kaplan responded
with the incisive suggestion: ‘Judy Garland for the Millenium’, an idea that encapsulated the
essence of the character.xi
When it’s well-designed, costume embodies the psychological, social and emotional
condition of the character at a particular moment in the story.
EXPLORE
Focus on a single image of a believable film character (drawn from your own viewing
experience).
Describe the scene/moment in the film from which this image has been drawn?
Describe the character’s costume.
How does the costume add to the viewer’s understanding of the character?
How does the costume embody the psychological, social and emotional condition at
this moment of the story?
While costume designers help individual actors create a history and identity for their
character, they are also required to bring all of the characters together as part of a shared
story. The costume designer is pivotal to the overall ‘look’ of a film. There are a number of
costumes from Addams Family Values (dir. Barry Sonnenfeld, 1993) included in Hollywood
Costume, allowing visitors to consider the interplay between costume designs and the
complementary nature of character construction. Designer Theoni V. Aldridge described how
the collective idea of the ‘family’ underpinned her creative process:
‘I envisioned a family who digs into old trunks and graves for their clothes. … Everything
should look just a little dusty. We'd throw some buff powder on the edges of a lapel … and
rub it in.’xii
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Find a digital image of the Addams family as they appear in Addams Family Values.
Focus on the way that these costumes work together to complement each other.
What do they have in common? Give details.
How has Aldridge used her initial creative concept to inform the final product?
Focus on a scene where the Addams family are placed in contrast to other characters
from outside the family and describe how costume is used to represent the family’s
difference from the rest of the world. (In Addams Family Values, this happens to
great comic effect when Wednesday and Pugsley go to camp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgGvCCbXNn4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twRhsz_vMz8
Go online to compare Aldridge’s designs with those of Ruth Myers in the original
Addams Family film.
What are the challenges of coming up with a new look for such an iconic set of
characters?
With the collection of costumes from Addams Family Values, visitors have the opportunity
to see the way that a costume designer creates a group identity through the use of costume.
In the case of Fight Club (dir. David Fincher, 1999) the visitor has the opportunity to contrast
the clothes worn by the uptight Narrator (Edward Norton) with those of the brash and sexy
Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Designer Michael Kaplan has said that when the two characters’
sets of clothes were hanging in the wardrobe trailer, they looked as though they came from
scarlets, fuchsia, pattern on pattern, outrageous pornographic prints.’xiii
Fight Club is a film about masculine identity – about masculinity in crisis.
If you have not seen the film, do some research and describe the versions of
masculinity represented by the Narrator’s suits and Tyler Durden’s anti-fashion
approach to clothes.
Tyler Durden’s clothing has become a sought-after ‘look’ and there are a number of online
websites offering suggestions about where to find similar clothes.
Go to one of these sites and consider what it is about this clothing (all sourced from
charity and second-hand shops) that has made it sought after.
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Image: Fight Club, 20TH CENTURY FOX / THE KOBAL COLLECTION / MERRICK MORTON
A ROYAL ROMANCE
‘Most audiences have a sort of idea of what the period must have been like, but
we seldom think about how funky and vibrant, sexy and exciting aspects of it
might have been. Alex has successfully tweaked and played with what the
portraiture of the clothes looked like. She’s made them seem more alive and
much more accessible to our 21st century eyes.’ Geoffrey Rush talking about
Alexandra Byrne’s designs for Elizabeth the Golden Age. xiv
While many costume designers avow that contemporary films tend to pose a greater design
challenge than period films, period films, sometimes referred to as costume dramas, are
often the ones that receive the accolades. While many costume designers consider that they
have been successful if the costumes do NOT stand out, viewers often revel in the beauty
and other-worldliness offered by clothes from an earlier period.
Designers will research the period being explored in a film, but they rarely endeavour to
slavishly reproduce the fashions of the time. The role of the costume designer is always first
and foremost to highlight story and character so, in the case of a film set in the past, the
designer’s challenge is to reference rather than mimic the period in which a film is set.
The legendary Hollywood designer Adrian highlighted the complexity of creating a character
out of a historical figure:
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‘Literal reproductions would not have achieved the dramatic quality we sought.
Miss Garbo wears a gown of ivory velvet adorned with bands of silver and
diamonds. As far as is known the queen never possessed such a costume but as
a picture it struck both designer and director as conveying a dramatic credibility
with the particular scene.’xv
As well as drawing from the history of a particular period, event or person, costume
designers also work within the established filmmaking tradition. When designing costumes
for a figure such as Queen Elizabeth 1, who has been the subject of many films, the designer
is contributing to a history of film representations and must be both respectful to what has
gone before but also add something new.
EXPLORE
Art historian Aileen Ribeiro suggests that the 1938 Hollywood film Marie Antoinette became
overpowered by its pursuit of period authenticity: ‘ in spite of a considerable amount of
research, and including silks woven specially in Lyon, [it] was an overblown parody of French
court life, where the costumes wore the stars and not vice versa’.xvi
Use online clips or trailers to watch a range of film interpretations of the same period.
Compare, for instance, films about Marie Antoinette, Elizabethan England or the
American Civil War or focus on a selection of Jane Austen or Dickens adaptations.
Describe the design decisions that have been made by each designer in terms of
representing the historical context.
What are the differences and what are the similarities?
Imagine that you are a costume designer who has been given the task of designing
for a film set in a historical context.
Describe this context, focusing not only on when the events took place but also on
where and when.
Make a list of all the things you will need to find out more about as you research the
period and your characters’ possible lives.
Do your research and note down the key pieces of knowledge you will use as a basis
for your designs.
How will you draw from your knowledge about the society where the film is set to
create your characters’ costumes?
Hollywood Costume provides visitors with the opportunity of seeing three different
interpretations of Elizabeth I. One of the challenges for any costume designer is the iconic
status of Elizabeth I’s much-reproduced image. The many portraits that exist of the Queen
set the parameters within which a designer needs to work. At the same time, while the royal
portraits, extending across the Queen’s 45 years on the throne, share certain qualities, they
also present a range of interpretations and characterisations of Elizabeth I. Moreover, as
designer Sandy Powell makes clear in her comments on the design for Judy Dench’s portrayal
of Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (dir. John Madden, 1998) even with such a well-known
historical figure, film allows – even invites – a certain amount of creative licence: ‘as the
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script was so fresh and light, I felt that there was room for the imagination, whilst always
keeping it convincing’.xvii
Watch these clips from Shakespeare in Love and describe Elizabeth I’s costume in
these scenes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_avQPM3L90 and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_KXbKa2crI
Go to the internet for an overview of portraits of Elizabeth I. What features has
Sandy Powell chosen to incorporate in her portrayal of Elizabeth?
What aspects of the design are more about Powell’s imagination?
Compare the Elizabeth of Shakespeare in Love with the Elizabeth I character created
by Powell (with co-designer Dien Van Straalen) for Sally Potter’s film Orlando (1992):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJWATUB3joU
Use these portrayals to think about the quite different characterisations required for
historical figures depending on the story being told in a feature film.
Image: Elizabeth the Golden Age, Universal Studio Canal/Working Title/
The Kobal Collection/Greg Williams
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Scene 2
CREATIVE CONTEXTS
All Hollywood feature films are the product of creative teamwork. The costume designer
works with the production designer on the world of the film, with the actors on the
interpretation of character and, above all, with the director who tells the story and makes the
final decision about everything that appears on screen.
COLLABORATING WITH DIRECTORS
‘The director is the key to the movie and I take the director’s vision and translate it into
three-dimensional characters.’xviii
The creative relationship between director and costume designer is an essential part of
filmmaking.
Designer Penny Rose is clear about where the final responsibility for the look of the film and
its characters lies: ‘Even if I don’t particularly like it, I stick to what my director wants. When
we have interference from production people who are not creative I tell them, “Yes, you are
the producer, I’m sure your wife has wonderful taste, but I’m working for the director.”’xix
A number of costume designers have formed strong and lasting relationships with directors.
Because the costume designer is not only essential to the look of the film but also to the
interpretation of character, it can make the director’s job so much easier if s/he knows how
the costume designer works. Similarly, once a costume designer understands a director’s
way of working, it becomes much easier to communicate and respond to ideas.
Hollywood Costume focuses on four outstanding and productive designer-director
relationships to consider the elements that contribute to a successful creative relationship in
the feature film industry. The four relationships that are placed under the spotlight are:
Edith Head and Alfred Hitchcock
Ann Roth and Mike Nicholls
Colleen Atwood and Tim Burton
Sandy Powell and Martin Scorsese
EXPLORE
Focus on one of the designer-director relationships featured in the exhibition.
Consider how the designer’s knowledge of the way the director works has contributed
to the costume design process.
Give examples of some of the design decisions that have emerged from this
relationship.
Why does the costume designer play such a crucial role in communicating the
director’s vision to the actors? Can you give some examples?
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CHANGING CONTEXTS
Films are a product of the society in which they are made. Changing cultural values and
norms influence costume design, as do changes and advances in technology. As well as these
cultural shifts, evolving character and narrative conventions are reflected in costume design.
Story and character are interpreted by a costume designer in ways that ‘speak’ to the
audience of the time. It may seem a bit contradictory, but in many cases, audiences will be
alienated by a slavish adherence to historical verisimilitude. It can be hard to recognise the
influence of context at the time a film is made, but its impact is revealed with the passing of
time. When Gone with the Wind was released in 1939, audiences were impressed by its
apparent historical authenticity. However, as Edward Maeder pointed out in 1987 (in an essay
reproduced in the Hollywood Costume catalogue):
Many aspects of the film’s costume styles are rooted more in the 1930s than the
1860s. The hats designed by John Frederics for Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) are
not of a style worn in the Civil War: with silk ribbon bows tied under her right ear,
they present an asymmetry that only became acceptable in the 1930s. In all the
dresses for the film, bodices were cut to conform to the shape of the bosom
whereas in the 1860s the corset formed the basis of the fashionable shape and
the bosom conformed to the corset.xx
With advances in digital technology and design, costume designers are increasingly working
with a team of digital designers and animators to contribute to the construction of
believable characters in created worlds. The costume designer’s role is to create costumes
and a ‘look’ that the digital animators can use as a reference point and for inspiration.
Hollywood Costume features Deborah Lynn Scott’s designs for Avatar (dir. James Cameron,
2009) as part of its exploration of the role of costume design in films that use technologies
such as Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) and Motion Capture (mocap).
For the female Na’vi clan leader’s ceremonial gown, Scott arrived at one particular
element that matched director James Cameron’s concept: an actual leaf skeleton. She
translated this ethereal object into a costume for the nine-foot tall Na’vi by making
several sample garments from fabrics as disparate as chiffon and taffeta. Next, Scott
tested the movement of these costumes, considering properties like flow and hang
time. Finally, she distilled all of these components together and supplied animators
with an illustration of her Costume Design, a motion test, an actual garment, a size
reference, and a texture reference. These were the materials the animators needed in
order to assemble a computerized image that corresponded to the vision of the
character shared by Scott and Cameron.xxi
Whether designing costumes for a period film or an imagined world, for a figure from history
or an animated character, the costume designer needs to create a convincing character who
will inhabit a believable world.
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EXPLORE
Find out more about Cleopatra (dir. Cecil B. DeMille, des. Vicky Williams, 1934) and Cleopatra
(dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, des. Renié, 1963).
In what ways does the costume design for each of these films signal the period in
which the film was made?
How has each of the designers combined Egyptian decorative elements with the ideal
of female beauty in fashion at the time each of the films was made? You will need to
find out more about the fashions of the relevant periods.
Each of these films about Cleopatra featured a great Hollywood star. When the audience
watched these films, they were not simply interested in the story of Cleopatra, but in seeing
a familiar star play Cleopatra:
The audience goes to the theatre to experience the story and to see the
transformation of a favourite star whom they know through publicity. While they
expect this transformation into a character they still enjoy seeing something of
the familiar star, who may in turn make the character more accessible.xxii
Focus on a film you have seen where a well-known actor plays a historical or
real-life figure and try to identify if, and how, the costume designer has
balanced the actor’s star power and the figure being portrayed.
In some portrayals, such as Meryl Streep’s performance of Maggie Thatcher, the
costume designer and make-up artist work with the actor to make her/him
disappear. Can you suggest some other similar examples and describe how this
was done.
As well as using costume to highlight changing interpretations of the same character, the
exhibition also provides visitors with an opportunity to compare interpretations of ancient
Rome, with Ben Hur (dir. William Wyler, des. Elizabeth Haffenden, 1959) and Gladiator (dir.
Ridley Scott, des. Janty Yates, 2000) and the Wild West, with The Searchers (dir. John Ford,
1956, des. Charles Arrico) and True Grit (dir. Ethan and Joel Cohen, des. Mary Zophres, 2010).
Choose a historical period and compare clips from a range of films made about a
particular society at a particular time. For instance, if you focus on adaptations of
Jane Austen’s novels, you will be able to compare a number of different
interpretations of the clothing of the Regency period, including the decision made to
dress the cast of the 1940 production of Pride and Prejudice (Robert Z. Leonard,
costumes by Adrian) in the full skirted dresses of the early Victorian period.
Consider why particular costuming decisions have been made and how they might
have been influenced by the fashion and taste of the period in which each of the films
was being made.
You might also like to suggest other factors influencing the choice of costume,
including the image and physical attributes of the leading actors.
Page 17
Costume designers are expert in the art of collaboration. The designer’s capacity to listen and
respond to a range of cues, suggestions and requirements is integral to digital costume
design projects. A number of examples of the challenges and the triumphs of this process of
collaboration are outlined in this article:
http://costumedesignersguild.com/articles-videos/articles-archive/feature-digital/ xxiii
Choose a film in which digital and computer technology has been used to ‘dress’ and
style the characters.
How effectively have the animators reproduced the physical properties of fabrics and
accessories? Consider texture, movement, how a costume falls or is draped as well as
the more obvious elements such as colour and shape.
List the challenges the animators would have had in creating the digital costume.
COLLABORATING WITH ACTORS
‘Working with the actors is a crucial part of costume design,’ Powell says. ’Quite
often they have researched and thought about their character more than you,
and can therefore contribute a lot to how a costume evolves.’xxiv
Actors often discover their character through costume. When an actor is asked to fully
inhabit a different person, costume assists this transformation.
‘The Eureka moment, when you know a costume is just right, is the best part of
the job. It usually comes during a fitting when you put everything together and
suddenly there's your character. The actor will say: "Right, I know exactly who I
am now." Or I'll say: "This is it! We've done it!"’xxv
While costume designers recognise the director as the final authority, the relationship they
establish with the actors is extremely important. Because costume plays such an important
role in the creation of a character, costume designers must be able to communicate their
ideas clearly and listen carefully to what an actor is telling them. As well as stressing the
importance of building a good relationship with actors, Michael Kaplan highlights the
enormous emotional and professional investment good actors will necessarily have in their
roles.
You hear horror stories about this one or that one being difficult. For the most
part I ignore these stories because I’ve found that usually those people are
perfectionists who care about what they’re doing – to me that’s not difficult;
that’s a plus.xxvi
In Hollywood Costume, the collaborative relationship between actor and costume designer is
explored through the careers of Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro. Both of these actors are
renowned for their ability to transform themselves in a role and they are both highly
appreciative of the contribution that costume makes to this process.
Page 18
Image: The Iron Lady FILM 4 / THE KOBAL COLLECTION
Page 19
EXPLORE
Focus on a film performance by either Meryl Streep or Robert De Niro.
Briefly describe the character and the plot.
Describe each costume the character wears and how this costume contributes to the
story being told about this character.
How does the design of this character’s costume relate to the costume design in the
rest of the film?
The short newspaper article, ‘Costume Designers and Actors, a Tightly Woven Fabric’
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/20/news/la-en-mn-actors-costumes-20121220/2
describes four recent collaborations between actor and costume designer.
Use the article as a launching point for an analysis of one of the featured characters.
Describe the impact of the costume design and what it communicates to the
audience.
When actors ‘become’ a character, they not only have to take on a different personality but
imagine a different life for themselves.
Choose a screenplay – preferably of a film you have not seen and focus on one of the
character descriptions (in one scene). List the key pieces of information in the
description.
Imagine you are an actor about to take on this role and are preparing to meet with
the costume designer.
o What does the costume need to communicate about the character?
o What three aspects of your character would you most want emphasised
through costume?
As with fictional characters, we use clothes to tell a story about ourselves. Our clothes tell
the world who we think we are and who we want to be. We also choose different clothes for
different occasions, depending on the context of, and audience for, our ‘performance’. Think
about how you might dress for a party with friends, a family dinner or a job interview.
Make a list of the outfits you have worn during the past week.
Describe each outfit and the context for that choice (i.e. where you wore the outfit,
who you were meeting and why you made the choice you did).
What impression were you trying to make?
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Scene 3
THE FINALE
Some film characters become bigger than the film that created them and some ‘moments’ in
the onscreen lives of these characters assume an ongoing cultural significance. For instance,
even people who have never seen the Seven Year Itch are familiar with the image of Marilyn
Monroe’s halter neck dress billowing up around her. This insubstantial white dress, with its
fluid pleats is part of the legend of Marilyn Monroe, an actor famed for a combination of
sexual allure, glamour and tragic vulnerability. Audrey Hepburn’s portrayal of Holly Golightly
in Breakfast at Tiffany’s has also become an iconic role defined by a chic Givenchy black dress
and a very long cigarette holder. A more recent character to have become part of
contemporary mythology is Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean.
‘We decided to leave Captain Jack pretty much as he was, he has become so
iconic. We’ve added some trinkets over time and a new waistcoat which we think
Jack stole from a Spanish ship. He’s added a shrunken head which he tells me is
his mother!’ xxvii
EXPLORE
The meaning of the word ‘iconic’ has changed over time and now refers to something that is
not only very famous but also represents a particular idea. Certain aspects of our culture
assume an extra meaning and significance and this is undoubtedly the case with certain film
characters and their costumes. In this brief article, Anna Wyckoff suggests that the
costumes that endure and become iconic are those based on a simple, clearly expressed idea:
http://costumedesignersguild.com/articles-videos/articles-archive/feature-iconic/
Focus on a character from a Hollywood movie who has become bigger than the movie
s/he was created for.
Describe this character.
How has costume contributed to this character’s significance?
Is there a single costume that represents the essence of this character? Explain and
give reasons. Does this costume have the simplicity associated with memorable
costume design?
When the curator of Hollywood Costume began designing the exhibition, she had a single
guiding principle: ‘Movies are about people. When I was choosing which costumes to track
down, I began by asking everyone: “Who in the movies do you most want to meet?”’xxviii
How would you answer this question?
What is it about this character that has captured your imagination?
How has costume contributed to the creation of this character? Provide a detailed
response.
SUPERHEROES
In the case of many superhero costumes, the designer has to work with a pre-existing (and
often iconic) ‘look’ and costume. Nevertheless, each new manifestation of Superman,
Page 21
Batman or Catwoman is reinterpreted by the costume designer in keeping with the vision of
the director. When Kym Barrett designed the Spiderman suit for The Amazing Spiderman,
the challenge was to ‘stay true to the inspiration and keep it recognizable, while making it
credible to a new audience’.xxix
Choose two different film interpretations of a superhero and describe the similarities
and differences in the costume design.
Explain how each design reflects the overall ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of the film they were
designed for.
Even superheroes must be believable characters with whom the audience can
identify. How has this been achieved in each of these examples?
TM & © DC Comics (s13), The Dark Knight (2012), Comics. Costume designed by Lindy Hemming.
Page 22
Beyond the Exhibition
COSTUME FOR TELEVISION
Hollywood Costume focuses on high budget feature films and the evolution of costume
design within the legendary Hollywood system. At the same time, the principles of costume
design that Deborah Nadoolman Landis draws out in the exhibition apply to any moving
image text that tells a story about people. You might like to consider how costume design
works within the realm of television.
What are the challenges of the domestic, small-screen viewing environment or of
creating a character for an episodic or serial narrative?
For film, costume designers create a past for their characters. In the case of a
television program that has been running for some time, the viewers have
established a relationship with many characters and feel they know them. How might
this pre-existing relationship affect and contribute to decisions about costume?
Read this article listing the best costume design for period drama on television and then
choose a different television genre and focus on three to five programs that stand out for
their costume design.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/gallery/2011/jan/09/ten-best-costume-dramas xxx
Explain why the costume design is so successful in each of the examples you have
chosen.
Other articles on TV costume design can be found on the Costume Designers Guild website:
Wyckoff, Anna, ‘The Joy of Pilot Season’, 10 June 2011,
http://costumedesignersguild.com/articles-videos/articles-archive/feature-joy/
Lippin, Alexandra, ‘Designing Halloween Episodes’, 31 October, 2012
http://costumedesignersguild.com/articles-videos/articles-archive/designing-halloween/
COLLABORATION
‘I usually stay in close contact with the production designer, to exchange ideas
about what colours are prominent in each scene. The combination of people, how
they look together, how they look against the setting – it's all important. Not that
I would match a costume to furnishings or walls, but if you're aware of what the
setting will be, you can avoid having anyone disappear into the curtains.’xxxi
While the director is the final arbiter of all design decisions made on a film production, good
costume designers also need to collaborate with many other people who make an important
contribution to the final outcome of a film. Hollywood Costume makes a feature of the
relationship between the costume designer and the director, the actors and, in Motion
Capture productions, the digital design team. However, costume designers also need to work
with the production designer, the cinematographer and the hair and make-up artists to
make sure that the actors’ costumes appear on the screen as they have been imagined.
Page 23
The production designer’s role is to create the setting of the film. The production designer
builds the world the characters inhabit.
Why is it important that the costume designer consults with the production
designer?
Consider and explain the importance of the production design to the costume
designer’s decisions about colour, pattern and texture. Give some hypothetical
examples of where a production design will preclude certain costume choices.
Focus on a scene in one of your favourite films and describe the way that the
costumes work within the setting. Imagine how a completely different colour,
silhouette or texture would have altered the scene.
‘The cinematographer operates the camera and works with the director to shoot
the scene as it has been planned on the storyboard. The cinematographer is
responsible for setting up the camera equipment, carefully framing each shot
and shooting the highest possible quality of footage.’ xxxii
On occasion, a costume designer may work with the cinematographer to decide how to
communicate those aspects of the costume that are essential to building the character.
Many cinematographers believe that getting the lighting right is one of their most important
tasks and lighting is crucial in the effect a particular costume has onscreen.xxxiii
Hollywood Costume provides an excellent example of the effect of lighting on costume:
Scarlett O’Hara’s velvet dress is transformed by a green filter that hides the colour variations
produced by light damage but also changes the gold features into a matching emerald green.
Dorothy’s ruby slippers are actually garnet so as to allow for the effect of the intense lighting
required for the technicolor process.xxxiv
Explore the challenges of costume and lighting by placing someone in a number of
different lighting contexts and note the variations in colour and effect.
Consider the challenges posed by different shot types to the design of a costume.
How might a complicated neckline or hat work in close-up?
For instance, in Elizabeth the Golden Age, Alexandra Byrne communicated the
queen’s growing power through the size of her ruff – this needed to be taken into
account when framing the character.
The costume designer does not simply dress actors but creates the entire look of a character
and as a consequence needs to work closely with hair and make-up artists.
Focus on still images of three characters from the same film and focus on the
interrelationship between the characters’ costumes and their hair and make-up.
Explain how each aspect of a character’s ‘look’ contributes to the overall effect.
Costume designers need to work with hair and make-up artists to make sure that
each character’s look works well and can be sustained throughout the process of
filming.
Page 24
Watch a clip from the film you have chosen and consider the character in motion.
What are some of the challenges that the filming process creates for the costume
and hair and make-up team?
COSTUMES AS CULTURAL ARTEFACTS
For much of Hollywood history, costumes were rarely treasured and were often remade and
worn again. The renowned actor Debbie Reynolds was ahead of her time in recognising the
cultural value of film costume and she began to put together a collection in the 1970s. In
more recent times, people and film studios have become much more aware of the historical
significance of costumes.
In this interview, Deborah Nadoolman Landis describes what is special about the collection of
costumes displayed in Hollywood Costume as well as the challenges of putting the exhibition
together: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/costume-designersstitched-up-bad-20130423-2icwk.html
A number of the costumes in Hollywood Costume are now worth an extraordinary amount of
money. The Seven Year Itch dress sold for a record US$4.6 million dollars.xxxv
Why do you think certain costumes have become so valuable?
Focus on a decade in Hollywood history. Describe the role and status of costume
design at this time. Which costumes from this period do you consider the most
collectible? Try to find out if any of the costumes on your list have survived into the
present day.
In recent times, people have become much more conscious of the value of costumes and of
their important contribution to the creation of memorable film characters.
If you were starting your own costume collection, which costume would you collect
first? Why?
What do you think some of the challenges would have been for the curator putting
together the Hollywood Costume exhibition?
You might like to begin with Deborah Nadoolman Landis’s first glimpse of Dorothy
Gale’s gingham checked dress: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article2216698/Dorothys-dress-snip-140-000-As-exhibition-Hollywood-costumes-opensheres-sneak-peek.html
Page 25
ENDNOTES
i Beavin, Jenny in Landis, Costume Design, p. 21.
ii Landis, Deborah Nadoolman (ed.), Costume Design, ILEX, Lewes UK, 2012, p. 8.
iii Kaplan, Michael in Landis, Costume Design, p. 100.
iv Makovski, Judianna in Landis, Costume Design, pp. 106-7.
v Mary Zophres (quote), Hollywood Costume panel.
vi Shay Cunliffe (quote), in Landis, Costume Design, p. 55.
vii Makovski in Landis, Costume Design, p. 107.
viii ‘Voices of Brokeback Mountain’,
http://focusfeatures.com/article/voices_of_brokeback_mountain?film=brokeback_mountain
ix Marit Allen (quote), Hollywood Costume panel.
x Ribeiro, Aileen, ‘Moving Pictures, Silent Movies and the Art of William Hogarth, in Landis, Deborah
Nadoolman (ed.), Hollywood Costume, V&A Publishing, London, 2012.
xi Kaplan in Landis, Costume Design, p. 97.
xii ‘Theoni Aldridge Dies at 78’, Los Angeles Times, 22 January 2011,
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/22/local/la-me-theoni-aldredge-20110122
xiii Michael Kaplan (quote), Hollywood Costume panel.
xiv http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=4370
xv Adrian, Hollywood Costume panel.
xvi Ribeiro in Landis, Hollywood Costume, p. 57.
xvii Sandy Powell (quote), Hollywood Costume panel.
xviii Mirojnick, Ellen in Landis, Costume Design, p. 129.
xix Rose, Penny in Landis, Costume Design, p. 155.
xx Maeder, Edward, ‘Hollywod and History’ in Landis, Hollywood Costume, p. 128.
xxi Wyckoff, Anna, ‘Costume Design in a Digital Age’, Costume Designers Guild,
http://costumedesignersguild.com/articles-videos/articles-archive/feature-digital/
This report provides a glimpse into the role of the costume makers working on AVATAR:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/media/features/film&television/film_claire-prebble-nzartist_feature.cfm
xxii Druesedow, Jean L., ‘Silhouettes of Seduction’ in Landis, Hollywood Costume, p. 111.
xxiii Wyckoff, Anna, ‘Costume Design in a Digital Age’.
xxiv Sandy Powell to Teeman, Tim, ‘Sandy Powell: a Cut Above the Rest’, The Times, 9 March 2010.
xxv Sandy Powell to Gryn, Naomi, ‘Stitches in Time: Sandy Powell’s Oscar-winning Costumes, The Guardian, 17
October 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/oct/17/sandy-powell-oscar-winning-costumes
xxvi Kaplan, Michael in Landis, Costume Design, p. 96.
xxvii Penny Rose to Lodwick, Keith, ‘Transformations’ in Landis, Hollywood Costume, p. 82.
Page 26
xxviii Deborah Nadoolman Landis to Jess Cartner-Morley, ‘Hollywood Costumes Showcased in V&A Blockbuster
Exhibition’, The Guardian, 20 Jan., 2012.
xxix Wyckoff, Anna, ‘The Superhero Costume’, Costume Designers Guild,
http://costumedesignersguild.com/articles-videos/articles-archive/feature-superhero/
xxx Anthony, Andrew, ‘The 10 Best Costume Dramas’, 9 January 2011, The Guardian Observer,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/gallery/2011/jan/09/ten-best-costume-dramas.
xxxi Sandy Powell to Gryn, Naomi, ‘Stitches in Time: Sandy Powell’s Oscar-winning Costumes’, The Guardian, 17
October, 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/oct/17/sandy-powell-oscar-winning-
costumes
xxxii See Building the Concept, Production Resources, ACMI Generator,
http://generator.acmi.net.au/sites/default/files/ProductionResources2_BuildingtheConcept.pdf
xxxiii Keating, Patrick, ‘The Art of Cinematography’, Trinity, January 2010,
http://www.trinity.edu/departments/public_relations/magazine/issues/10_january/cinematography
.htm
xxxiv Rodriguez, Cecilia, ‘Hollywood's Ruby Slippers Fly to London Without Help from The Wizard Of Oz’, Forbes,
10 April 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2012/10/04/hollywoods-most-iconic-red-shoes-flyto-london-without-help-from-the-wizard-of-oz/2/
xxxvSee, for instance, ‘Marilyn Monroe’s Seven Year Itch Dress Sells for $4.6 m.’, BBC News, Entertainment and
Arts, 19 June 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13828609
Page 27

Hollywood Costume

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