Fantasy Fashion- Q&A...

Fantasy Fashion- Q&A with Game of Thrones Costume Designer Michele Clapton- from Time Magazine...

Michele Clapton worked on her own fashion line and was a stylist for musicians before embarking on a successful career in costume design for television. Now she’s the Emmy-award winning designer responsible for the lavish gowns and hard-edged armor on HBO’s Game of Thrones. In honor of the third season’s March 31 premiere, she spoke to TIME about how she grounds her sartorial fantasies in reality.

Did you consciously try to move away from a stereotypical medieval fantasy look?

In a way I did. Probably the books are more fantastical. When I first met David and Dan [Benioff and Weiss, series creators] the whole idea was that it was a fantasy rooted in reality. There should be a reason for everything, the way people dress—to keep warm or to keep cool or to protect themselves. It was a very definite move on all of our parts to try and make it real, so that people look at it and aren’t quite sure whether it’s real or not. And then they go, actually no, this didn’t happen, this is not real!

How do the varied landscapes affect the way you dress the cast?

If you’re in the North, you don’t have access to a lot of cloths that they do in King’s Landing [capital city in the South], so you look very much within the radius of what’s there, which is furs and wools and rather murky dyes. So that really dictates how the clothes look. But as soon as you go to a port or somewhere warm, then they can trade and you get vibrant colors and jewels. And I try also to bring in the sigils [symbols for each house]. For instance, the Tullys’ is a fish, and I made their armor reflect that. So there’s a lot of leather scales which we hand-dye; the metalwork is scaly as well.

Some of the main characters develop battles with each other—in King’s Landing especially, with Margaery arriving on the scene and [Queen Regent] Cersei used to being the woman who was there before, so there’s a sort of costume standoff in there, which actually is alluded to in the script. And that also influences the court. The younger pretty girls start dressing like Margaery a little bit—it’s what would happen, it’s the new princess in town. I think the costume is richer this year. The rich stuff is richer and the rough stuff is rougher.Can you reveal anything about what to expect for season 3 in terms of costumes?

Are you surprised to see that the show has had an influence on real world fashion trends?

Yes and no. I think it’s so interactive. I’m sometimes influenced by fashion, and I think fashion is sometimes influenced by something which is very, very popular. We put a lot of effort and research into the costumes, so it’s a huge compliment.

How important is function to you in these costumes?

Everyone wears their costume for a reason, and I think what ultimately I’m trying to achieve is that these characters pick these clothes because they suit their way of life, be it in the palace or be it in the field. And some people, the poorer people, do what they can to suit their way of life. So I always try to make it really character-based, and even if it’s something that looks like a bit of a flight of fancy, I hope it works within the respect of the person who’s trying to impress someone or trying to say something.

What do you do to make the clothing look worn?

We have a breakdown department. Especially on the cameras we use, it just shows up so much if something’s too new. I don’t like that—I think everything has to have a little edge. [The breakdown department] often destroys a thing and then repairs it and destroys it again and repairs it. As we go on, we’ve got some great things that have been destroyed in season 1 that are still being used in different guise in seasons 3 and 4, so it’s good. We just re-patch and change and dye and put it up to something else.

HBO is launching a traveling Game of Thrones exhibition this spring. What items do you think fans will be most excited to see?

I think they’re always really excited by the throne. Then maybe the crowns we designed for Joffrey, those are quite cool, and Ned Stark’s costume will be there, which is pretty iconic now.

Capitol Couture...

Oz The Great And Powerful...

Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi, produced by Joe Roth, and written byDavid Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner. The film stars James Franco as Oscar Diggs, Mila Kunis as Theodora, Rachel Weisz as Evanora, and Michelle Williams as Glinda.

The film is based on L. Frank Baum's Oz novels, and also homages the 1939 MGM film, The Wizard of Oz. Set 20 years before the events of both sources, Oz the Great and Powerful focuses on Oscar Diggs, who arrives in the Land of Oz and encounters three witches; Theodora, Evanora and Glinda. Oscar is then enlisted to restore order in Oz, while struggling to resolve conflicts with the witches and himself. The Costumes were designed by Gary Jones...

Vivienne Westwood and the English National Ballet a Collaboration...

 

Article from Vogue:

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD is helping rebrand the English National Ballet with a new campaign that shows the ballet dancers wearing the label's creations. The imagery aims to celebrate a fusion of modernity and tradition.

"I am thrilled that Vivienne Westwood has agreed to let us use her clothes in our first campaign," said ENB artistic director Tamara Rojo. "It's a dream come true to be able to collaborate with someone of such stature.  Her designs capture the creativity and ambition of our dancers who, in turn, add drama and movement to the clothes."

The rebrand features a new logo, new production imagery and a new website, as the ENB strives to champion ballet as a historic art form, while making it contemporary, accessible and relevant. Westwood was chosen as the first of many collaborators to emphasise a "non-conventional but classical image". The campaign - which a Westwood spokesperson described as "a perfect collaboration of English tradition" - was formulated with the help of creative agency The Beautiful Meme.

"It is about taking dancers out of tutus and moving away from conventional backstage images to show the intensity and creativity of the dancers," said The Beautiful Meme creative director Tom Sharp. "The Company's directive is to respect the tradition of ballet but build on it, and our copy lines are designed to reflect but challenge a perceived view of the art form. Tamara Rojo inspires unusual collaborations so to create a campaign that combines choreography, amazing fashion and beautiful photography demonstrates her ethos in every single image."

Breaking Dawn Wedding Dress...

Above Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is seen with husband Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) in the stunning custom fit gown which is made out of crepe satin and French Chantilly lace. And from behind the Carolina Herrara designed dress is studded with buttons from the neckline to the hemline - 152 - in total The rear of the dress features a sheer panel with delicate scrolled embroidery and was designed by Carolina to be a 'romantic' surprise. Stephenie Meyer and Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon selected the final design out of ten sketches that Carolina submitted. The handmade creation- which was custom fit for Kristen Stewart, took Ms Herrera and four seamstresses six months to complete. It is breathtakingly beautify to behold, so elegant in it's cut and design.

Beautiful Creatures...

Beautiful Creatures is a 2013 American romantic fantasy film based upon the novel of the same name by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The film is directed by Richard LaGravenese and stars Alden Ehrenreich as Ethan Wate and Alice Englert as Lena Duchannes. The costumes in this movie are so eclectic, the layering, mix of textures and colour combinations are stunning Not to mention the little slice of American Civil War costume!!