How a Costume Designer Creates an Iconic Look (Part 1)
Watch the first part of the video and do the task
Watch the video again and answer the questions
- Why is historical accuracy important in costume design, according to the speaker?
- How can wardrobe choices reveal a character’s background or personality?
- Describe an example from the episode where symbolic meaning is conveyed through costume design.
- What are some era-specific details that costume designers focus on to add authenticity?
- How does the visual impact of costumes contribute to the story’s setting or character development?
Vocabulary
Read the following statements and share whether you agree or disagree, providing reasons.
Use vocabulary from the wordlist where possible.
“Historical accuracy in costume design is more important than visual impact.”
“The attention to detail in costumes can make or break a scene’s authenticity.”
“Aesthetic choices in costumes should prioritize style over era-appropriate attire.”
Choose one of the quotes below and explain its meaning.
Include vocabulary from the list to expand your answer.
“Costumes are the skin of the character.” – Colleen Atwood
“Good costumes help tell the story in ways words can’t.” – Ruth E. Carter
Answer thr questions
- How do costume designers balance cultural representation with symbolic meaning when creating costumes for complex characters?
- In your opinion, what role does mood setting play in costume design, and how does it affect the audience’s perception of the scene?
- How can the textile quality or fabric texture of a costume add to the character portrayal?
Fill in Gaps
Transcript
Behind every memorable character is a memorable costume, and behind every costume is a costume designer. Their job is to create a look for each character that serves the needs of the story, sometimes to make a character stand out from the crowd, sometimes to blend into one, but always to make sure that they’re clothed in the appropriate attire.
“That’s the definition of good costuming, that it’s the most appropriate thing for that character to be wearing.”
Deciding on what would make for the most appropriate outfit requires a deep understanding of character and story.
“Sometimes we’re more like psychologists figuring out our characters, how messy or neat they are, where they shop, we set the time and the place with our costumes.”
Stage One: Script Analysis
The first step to designing a great costume is understanding the script, and each of the characters. For each character to feel believable, you have to consider everything about that character when designing their wardrobe: where they’re from, their financial situation, how fashionably conscious they are, and the specific context of each scene. Princess Ann in Roman Holiday should be wearing something elegant while fulfilling her royal duties and something rather dressed down while incognito in Rome.
“This is what we call transformation through wardrobe. The main thing that I want to be very clear and explain to you is that fashion is not the primary thing – the primary effort in motion pictures is to tell the story.”
A good costume designer knows how to analyze a screenplay much like an actor would, to get inside the head of the character, develop an understanding of the world that character belongs to, and design the wardrobe accordingly.
Stage Two: Conversations with the Director
After a thorough reading of the script, the costume designer will begin conversations with the director. Each director will have their own unique vision for any given project, and it’s that vision that every crew member on a film should be working towards.
“It is a true collaboration in that we’re all reading the same screenplay, and the screenplay has clues but you have to have conversations with the director, and not just one but a lot of conversations, because it’s the director’s movie. Maybe not at Marvel, but it’s the director’s movie.”
Those conversations are crucial to understanding what themes are going to be explored, the transformations a character may go through, and how the costume should reflect that. How color can be used to subtly imply a character’s pride in their heritage and subsequent journey to a new country, or show that a character has fallen in or out of love.
A costume can show us a character following in his father’s footsteps, a character’s descent into a criminal underworld where moral lines become increasingly blurred, or foreshadow a character’s affinity for pretty things.
“There is something about him that is slightly vain, that little neckerchief he wears. So again it comes back to starting to let the audience know beforehand that there’s something about Smeagol that isn’t as endearing as a hobbit.”
There are endless possibilities for costume design to contribute to the storytelling, and that’s something that the costume designer and the director will work closely together to achieve.