The power of costume design to elevate a story
When you think of the key elements of film and TV production, most people think about the direction, the writing, the cinematography, and the performances. But the truth is there are several other key elements that are integral to a film or show’s success - one of those being costume design.
Since Film is a visual medium, it only goes to show just how important costume design really is. Actors need to wear something, right? But putting them in any old garment doesn’t serve the story. Done well, costume design can elevate a story to new heights.
Here are just a few ways in which costume design can do just that (w/ examples) *SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL THE SHOWS AND MOVIES MENTIONED*
1. It can show a character’s personality:
For many, fashion is a way to express who you are or who you aspire to be. When it comes to costumes, the designer must think about what the characters are like. Who are they down to their core? What do they project out into the world? What are their beliefs and values? All of this goes into consideration when dressing a character.
One example of this would be the characters Serena and Blair from Gossip Girl, whose costumes were designed by Eric Daman.
Image Source: Getty Images
Blair and Serena, while best friends, could not be more opposite and it shows best in the way they dress.
Image Source: Getty Images
Serena is a free spirit. She shines like the sun and doesn’t concern herself with what’s expected of her – she carves her own path and creates her own values (even if she falters in them sometimes). Throughout the show, Serena is seen wearing more earthy tones and bright, warm colours like yellow, orange, and pink.
She’s not afraid to explore her sense of fashion and constantly switches up her style as she tries to find herself.
Image Source: Glamour
Blair, on the other hand, is a little more rigid and set in her ways. She’s very regal and believes strongly in maintaining the social hierarchy. She is also a bit of a romantic and loves old Hollywood cinema. Over the six seasons of the show, her style doesn’t evolve much. She is often seen wearing deep, rich, jewel tones (RICH being the operative word there, wink wink.) – like teal or purple – and very elegant and structured pieces with classic lines.
The styling here serves the show so well that if you were to watch just one episode of the show with the sound off, you could probably tell what Blair and Serena were like just by looking at them.
2. It immerses you into the world of the story
Aside from simply telling you about a person’s personality, costume design can also tell you about the world of the story. It can let you know what groups have formed within society and even who has the power.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the Hunger Games, designed by Judianna Makovsky.
Image Source: IMDB
One of the major plot points of the film is the oppressive power of the Capitol. Typically, this is personified in the character of President Snow, but it can also be seen in the styling of the Capitol’s citizens.
Image Source: Unknown
Throughout the films, Katniss and other survivors of the Hunger Games talk about the ridiculous amount of wealth that the Capitol has. The citizens spend their money on sponsoring tributes and betting on who lives and dies. Whereas, the people in the districts don’t even have enough money for food. One way that their wealth is contrasted is in their styling.
Citizens of the Capitol wear loud, vibrant, and outlandish things and they often pair that with crazy hair and makeup. Contrarily, people in the districts - especially in District 12 - wear old, ragged clothes and save their one nice outfit for the reaping each year.
Image Source: Unknown
This stark contrast in the way they present shows clearly who holds all the power and, to a degree, symbolizes the resource and wealth theft from the districts by the Capitol.
3. It can map a character’s arc
The journey a character takes from the beginning of a film to the end and how they evolve throughout it is referred to as a character arc. This can be seen through the actions they take as they try to achieve their goals and fulfill their desires. One other way it can be seen is through what they wear.
A prime example of this is Andy in The Devil Wears Prada, designed by Patricia Field.
Image Source: BuzzFeed
Andy starts the film not paying much attention to her appearance. She puts minimal effort into how she presents, as seen by the opening montage comparing her morning routine to that of other New York women.
Once she secures a job at Runway, a fashion magazine, her lack of interest in fashion keeps her from truly succeeding at her job. So, in a moment of desperation, she decides to embrace the world that she despises to further her future job prospects and impress her boss, Miranda.
Image Source: Fox Pictures
After that, the more and more she succeeds the more confident in her abilities she becomes and the more her fashion sense improves – up until the climax where she realizes that she is worth more than a job that doesn’t value its people and warps her values for validation.
Later, once she’s returned to NY from Paris, and getting her life back on track we see her wear something a little more Andy but slightly more polished and refined. As if she took what she learned from her time at Runway and blended it with her own beliefs and values. Her character arc is solidified in this final look.
Image Source: Fox Pictures
By paying attention to the styling we can pinpoint where exactly Andy is in her character arc.
4. It can show the inner life of a character
Like all people, characters in film and TV have their own inner life. They have hopes and dreams, thoughts and emotions that present themselves in ways that aren’t always so obvious, if at all. Some characters are so good at hiding what they're going through that it can be hard to spot. But if you pay close attention, the Costume Designer can leave you some clues as to what’s happening beneath the surface.
One of my favourite examples is the villain of Everything Everywhere All at Once, Jobu Tupaki, designed by Shirley Kurata.
Image Source: A24
The premise of a villain that can see and experience anything and everything from every possible universe means we get to see some pretty interesting costume design. Even more interesting is the fact that Jobu Tupaki’s costumes are constantly changing (to reflect her universe hopping). This not only reflects the chaos and noise of all the universes but the chaos and noise in her mind.
Image Source: A24
As the film goes along, we learn that the villain is suffering internally from the lack of meaning in her life – all that chaos and all that noise keep her from feeling anything but dread and hopelessness. As we get to the final battle her outfits get more and more chaotic and she feels more desperately that she wants to just let go.
The chaos of her outfits masks the emptiness she feels inside and serves as a symbol of the chaos that is driving her mad. And in her final confrontation with Evelyn in the variation of “Evelyn’s universe,” we see her in normal clothes just as she’s divulging what she’s feeling. Her vulnerability shines through.
Image Source: A24
5. It can foreshadow events to come
In the years since the pandemic began, serialized content has come back in a big way. Many shows have opted to release episodes weekly, rather than all at once. This builds suspense for the audience as they eagerly await new content. And with that time in between episodes, fans of shows like to make theories about what’s to come. They’ll look for the smallest of details that can help them predict what happens next. Those clues can be hidden anywhere, even in the costume design.
A show that does this very well and in the most subtle of ways, in my opinion, is House of the Dragon, designed by Jany Temime.
Image Source: IMDB
The two most important characters, Rhaenyra and Alicent, start the show as best friends who support each other but as the story progresses, they become estranged and ultimately become enemies. The object of the show is to tell the story of the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war that rips apart the Targaryen family ultimately leading to their demise.
Many fans of the books already knew this was coming, but if you hadn’t previously read the book there was still a way to see the upcoming divide between these two friends.
Image Source: HBO
In the Game of Thrones universe, there are houses, and in this prequel series, we can see that each house has a respective colour. Rhaenyra belongs to House Targaryen and so her house colour is Red. Alicent belongs to House Hightower, whose colour is green. Green and Red. On the colour wheel, they are situated directly across from each other, meaning they are opposing colours.
From this alone, you can infer that the houses are stark opposites and can inspire conflict within the Westerosi political system. As the first season progresses Red and Greens are shown more in the outfits of each woman, cementing their opposition.
Image Source: HBO
The show designers do a great job of using colour to communicate ideas and the values of each family, and if you pay close attention you can find clues as to what may conspire in the next season…
Image Source: Netflix
Costume Design is an art form in its own right. A lot of work goes into creating the perfect costumes for characters and all of the designers mentioned deserve their flowers!
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Until next time.