The costume is a powerful device, blending the worlds of storytelling with fashion. The right costumes can transport viewers to a galaxy, far away, or even into another dimension. Thanks to costumes, we can see through the characters’ lives and inner worlds without saying a single word.
Look at great outfits, we cannot stop wondering what thoughts have gone into costume designers or how costumes instantly convey information about the story’s setting.
Sometimes,
Movies seemingly act as a fashion runway, showing impressive, eye-catching outfits donned by actors. It’s not just the clothes that matter in the movie, but also makeup and hairstyles. This is why the Motion Picture Academy chooses costume design to be one of the criteria to decide which movies deserve to be rewarded and won an Oscar in a particular year.
Below are some movies with amazing costumes that received an award for “best Costume Design”. Click
here to see more.
#1 Gladiator (2000)
Source: © Gladiator / Universal Pictures and co-producers
Designers did a great job for the movie “Gladiator”. They used foam rubber to create mental-looking costumes. It was a huge challenge for designers to make them natural and comfortable. There are 12 sets of armor, with 8 repeats per set for both the actor and the stuntman.
We can notice the figurine on the breastplate of Russell Crowe’s cuirass. It was made from hardened black leather, not mental but still looked real.
#2 Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Source: © Moulin Rouge! / Twentieth Century Fox and co-producers, © Moulin Rouge! / Twentieth Century Fox and co-producers
The costumes in the movie are a combination between 1890s Parisian bohemia and the glamorous musicals of the 1930s. The designers, Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie designed 450 costumes, and many of them were worn by Satine (Nicole Kidman). We can’t forget her strapless Indian wedding dress.
She also wore one of the film industry’s most expensive jewelry pieces — a handcrafted diamond necklace made out of 18K white gold set with 1,308 dazzling diamonds totaling 134 carats.
#3 Chicago (2002)
Source: © Chicago / Miramax and co-producers, © Chicago / Miramax and co-producers
The designer Colleen Atwood expressed her talent in the musical movie “Chicago”. She used ‘20s art deco, Bauhaus, and Cubism. It was worth more attention that Roxie Hart’s (Renée Zellweger’s character) skin-toned palette reflected her monotonous routine.
While her white beaded dress showed her craving for fame, black and bold colored ones displayed her fearlessness.
#4 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Source: © The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King / New Line Cinema and co-producers, © The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King / New Line Cinema and co-producers
Costumes in the blockbuster movie were created by Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor. They intricately embroidered clothes and some of them were made 40 times. Many viewers couldn’t take their eyes off Arwen’s pale green, light, airy coronation gown with the elaborate coronation crown.
Designers took hours after hours to create her dark red and blue mourning gown with enormous sleeves and neckline.
#5 The Aviator (2004)
Source: © Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons, © The Aviator / Forward Pass and co-producers, © MGM / Wikimedia Commons, © The Aviator / Forward Pass and co-producers
Sandy Powell took over the costumes for Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. She got inspiration from the fashion enthusiast, Howard Hughes’ black-and-white photos. She imagined colors, incorporating red, green, and blue shades into the costumes.
Cate Blanchett’s outfits reflected Katharine Hepburn’s high-waisted, baggy trousers, loose-fitting blouses, and dramatic formal gowns flawlessly.
#6 Marie Antoinette (2006)
Source: © Melike Benli / Pexels, © Marie Antoinette / Columbia Pictures and co-producers
Milena Canonero designed the costumes for the movie. Thanks to the box of beautifully colored macarons director Sofia Coppola gifted, she created masterpieces. Canonero blended present-day modern and trendy outfits with elaborate eighteenth-century high-fashion dresses. For example, Versailles looked stunning in dresses that belong to candy-like fashion.
#7 Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Source: © Elizabeth I of England in Parliament Robes / British School / Wikimedia Commons, © Elizabeth: The Golden Age / Universal Pictures and co-producers
Shekhar Kapur worked with Alexandra Byrne for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. They made the movie look very different, much lighter, and with a more feminine court by adding bright and rich colors. However, some details were not accurate. For instance, in one scene, Elizabeth wore blue which wasn’t a royal color in the 16
th century.
#8 The Duchess (2008)
Source: © Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire / Thomas Gainsborough / Chatsworth House / Wikimedia Commons, © The Duchess / Paramount Vantage and co-producers
Designer Michael O’Connor worked extremely hard to make sure Keira Knightley looked like a fashion icon of the 18
th century with beauty and elegance. The actress wore 27 outfits and to get her entirely costumed took 2 hours. All costumes were not only gorgeous, and eye-catching but historically accurate.
#9 The Young Victoria (2009)
Source: © The Young Victoria / GK Films and co-producers, © The Young Victoria / GK Films and co-producers
Many might not know that each outfit Emily Blunt put on in the movie was insured for $10,000. Young Victoria wore a lot of pastels, like pink, yellow, and light blue, with ruffles, lace, and ornamentation. Swarovski loaned various pieces of jewelry.
It was challenging to create Victoria’s coronation robe. It was dyed a purchased fabric with metallic thread to get the right shade of gold and intricate embroidery by printing and hand painting was also added.
#10 Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Source: © Alice in Wonderland / Walt Disney Pictures and co-producers, © Alice in Wonderland / Walt Disney Pictures and co-producers
The heavy black decoration on Alice’s dress made her not childish. We can see some laser-cut leather in Italy that looked burned, then re-embroidered with gold thread on The Mad Hatter’s hat. Designers also stuffed a clown wig in the hat.
#11 Anna Karenina (2012)
Source: © Anna Karenina / Universal Pictures and co-producers, © Anna Karenina / Universal Pictures and co-producers
For costumes in the movie, Jacqueline Durran blended the traditional 1870s with Dior’s 1950s couture designs and architectural hats and veils with elegance. He used colors brilliantly. Her black sleeveless bustle dress refers to the rejection of Vronsky’s love while her red bustle represents her falling in love. The diamonds and pearls Keira Knightly wore were from world-famous brands.
#12 The Great Gatsby (2013)
Source: © The Great Gatsby / Warner Bros. and co-producers
The director, Baz Luhrmann, and his wife, Catherine Martin, worked together to create the set from scratch. She created 1,700 gorgeous vintage outfits for the cast, belonging to 1920s fashion. She collaborated with Brooks Brothers on over 500 ensembles and hundreds of boater hats, and with Prada for about 40 dresses. Daisy’s party dress was made by Prada, while her headband was from
Tiffany & Co.
#13 The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Source: © The Grand Budapest Hotel / Searchlight Pictures and co-producers, © The Grand Budapest Hotel / Searchlight Pictures and co-producers
Thanks to designer Milena Canonero, we can see fantastic costumes in the movie “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. Klimt’s paintings became an inspiration for Fendi and Prada to create Madame D.’s clothes. Moreover, Monsieur Gustave’s outfit, and other hotel employees’ getups were inspired by Italian tailor Umberto Tirelli’s sketches.