The costume vault

A couple of months ago, I talked extensively about the narrative aspect of the designs for 2006's  Marie Antoinette (see here ). But that's only one half of the story. This movie is, after all, a period piece, so let's have a look at how they translated that period into the costumes. MARIE ANTOINETTE : WORKING WITH AN HISTORICAL BASIS Period accurate pieces are actually the hardest to get by; that is because clothing in past centuries was way more complex and expensive than our 21st century standards. Because of this, most costume designers end up being constricted by their allotted budgets and have to make compromises with accuracy. This was not the case with this movie. Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette had a rather large budget, which allowed renowned designer Milena Canonero the freedom to create period-accurate pieces (the inaccuracies were only added for narrative purposes, not budget constrictions). Because of this, Canonero decided to work off...

A good costume design should be able to tell the story solely through dress, creating interdependence between the costume and the character, both becoming two inseparable parts of the same whole. And on that note, the best costume design I've seen in the last years is, undoubtedly the one from Marie Antoinette . The 2006 movie was directed by, at the time, third time director, Sophia Coppola, and the costume design was done by Milena Canonero. Canonero is one of the heavyweights in the business, having been nominated 9 times for best costume at the Academy Awards, and having won 4 of those. Barry Lindon (1975) was her first win, which was followed by the Oscar for Chariots of Fire (1981). Marie Antoinette was the movie that gave her the awaited third Oscar. And this past year, she took home another with The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Among her body of work, we also find  A Clockwork Orange (1971), The shining (1980), Cotton Club (1984), Out of Africa (1985),...