Costume Design display at FIDM

Eye on the Oscars: Art Direction, Costume Designers & Makeup

FIDM’s Meghan Hansen installs Peppy Miller’s dress from ‘The Artist.’

For 20 years, costume designers, some of whom were nominated for an Oscar on Jan. 24, have found their work on display at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in downtown Los Angeles. The groundwork for securing the costumes starts a year in advance as FIDM Museum director Barbara Bundy and her staff curate the display after watching movies and trailers. Some of the costumes have been rented, some recycled for other productions and with so many projects from around the globe meriting inclusion, the staff has to move early before costumes are scattered to the winds once production ends. Costume Designer Oscar nominees displayed in the LA fashion district in downtown Los Angeles. FIDM Institute of Fashion Design and Merchandising School, has produced several notable designers over the years. The show is also hosted by the Costume Designers Guild of professionals. – - read more in Variety.com By Shalini Dore

Related articles

• Costume Designer, Arianne Phillips talented skills for “W.E.” (rtw-fashionspot.blogspot.com)
• Blockbuster exhibition Displays Costumes (rtw-fashionspot.blogspot.com)
• Sandy Powell Oscar Contender (rtw-fashionspot.blogspot.com)

Blockbuster exhibition Display Hollywood Costumes

©ourtesy dailymail.co.uk By Sadie Whitelocks

Women still hanker after the simple black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And, millions of other ensembles seen on the big screen continue to influence fashion. Now recognizing the power of the Hollywood costume, a major exhibition will showcase more than a hundred of the most memorable wares for the first time. Items such as Dorothy’s blue and white gingham pinafore dress from The Wizard of Oz, and Scarlett O’Hara’s green ‘curtain’ gown worn in Gone with the Wind will be displayed alongside items from more recent releases including Consolata Boyle’s costumes for Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady. The exhibition, launching at the V&A this October, has taken more than five years to pull together. Clothing was sourced from across the world and has been borrowed  from costume houses, museums, film studios and private collectors. A Footnote: Hollywood studios focus on the designers interpretation of the natural history of scripts. Los Angeles County has long been a haven for film production in California. Studios like Warner Bros have long featured the work of the Costume Designer in many film production movies and previews. Edith Head always stands out as a pioneer in breaking down the costume plot with emphasis on historical costumes for the hollywood film. It was pure genius what she accomplished. Fashion design schools more and more are introducing Costume Design as a major. The American Film Industry by far is a part of a staple of good film making, Internationally. The costume designer jobs have been celebrated by the Academy Awards since its inception. Even Independent film makers relish the Costume Designer in the movie business as well as Major Film Studios. Oscar nominations doesn’t necessarily mean an Award but it’s close. Sandy Powell a seasoned Costume Designer has brought the art of Costume Design to a level of greatness. This years oscar nominees for films like War Horse Steven Spielberg’s epic, The Descendants with George Clooney, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Hugo directed by Martin Scorsesse, are all a shoe for the Academy Awards. Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre has been playing host for the presentations in the past few years where winners like SOCIAL NETWORK, THE KING’S SPEECH and THE SOCIAL NETWORK were all costume design contenders. Just think, back when it all started the Hollywood Roosevelt was host. Now it’s a great part of Oscar History. Don’t forget the many other categories: Art Direction, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress Oscar and so on. Film Schools in LA are now very prevalent and talent from all over the globe go there waiting for their day in the sun. French actors, British actors and of course our American actors all await being an Oscar Winner whether they admit or not. Period costumes for The Silent Film “The Artist” inspired great artistry and performance by a great assortment of Talent from various parts of the World. Wow…good Old Hollywood! – - Read more

Related articles

• Edith Head: Hollywood’s Successful Costume Designer (lyndseysweeney.wordpress.com)
• Hollywood Costumes at the V&A (winningreview.wordpress.com)

British COSTUME DESIGN spotlighted

Finally, an exhibition for those of us who care who wins the Academy Award for best costume design. Cut! Costume and the Cinemaputs 43 examples of the best of British costume design in the spotlight. Here’s a dazzling sampling of what you’ll discover at the Glenbow, all custom-fit for some very famous female forms.

From left to right:

Ever After - This Renaissance-themed gown made Angelica Huston’s evil stepmother an attractive adversary to Drew Barrymore’s updated Cinderella.  Designer: Jenny Beavan.

Sense and Sensibility - A simple day dress, made from cotton muslin instead of silk, highlights the reduced circumstances of Kate Winslet’s Marianne. Designers: John Bright and Jenny Beavan.

The Phantom of the Opera - Worn by Emmy Rossum, this ballgown was one of 300 costumes hand made to meet director Joel Schumacher’s high fashion standards. Designer: Alexandra Byrne.

The Duchess - A military-style day ensemble helped Keira Knightley channel 18th-century iconoclast Georgiana Cavendish and earned its designer the 2008 Oscar. Designer: Michael O’Connor.

Finding Neverland - Kate Winslet’s dressing gown, inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement, is one of exhibition co-curator Nancy Lawson’s favorite pieces. Designer: Alexandra Byrne.

Cut! Costume and the Cinema. Until Sept. 28. Glenbow Museum, 130 9th Ave. S.E., 403-268-4100. glenbow.org.  — Story courtesy of Shelley Youngblut

AfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBulgarianCatalanChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDetect languageDutchEnglishEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekHaitian CreoleHebrewHindiHungarianIcelandicIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseKoreanLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalayMalteseNorwegianPersianPolishPortugueseRomanianRussianSerbianSlovakSlovenianSpanishSwahiliSwedishThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduVietnameseWelshYiddish⇄AfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBulgarianCatalanChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekHaitian CreoleHebrewHindiHungarianIcelandicIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseKoreanLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalayMalteseNorwegianPersianPolishPortugueseRomanianRussianSerbianSlovakSlovenianSpanishSwahiliSwedishThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduVietnameseWelshYiddish

Detect language » English

• Calgary museum exhibits movie costumes (cbc.ca)
• Anything for a tenor? Royal Opera House to hold costume sale (guardian.co.uk)

The Job of “Costume Designing” for Cinema

Costume designers often labor over the script, the production concept and they spend hours and hours hunting down fabrics as well as drawing and physically, creating wearable works of art. A character’s costume can give clues to the ‘Era (History of Fashion)’ the movie is set in, the age of the character, their station in life, their mood, their personality and their relationship with the other characters. The reel below is a sample of some of this years Nominated movies. You can follow this article in order to get a List of some Nominees and Winners of the Past.  Historically, past Oscars have recognized many costume designers for their hard work. Many of these artist have done a great deal to create the world of the film through fashion.| Read more…..!

Related articles

• Meredith Barnett: Costume Designer Luke Reichle on Closets, Clothes, Crazy Costumes and Castle (huffingtonpost.com)
• Jacqueline West, WFE Costume Designer, Says Rob Is The Next Brad Pitt (thinkingofrob.com)

Designer Colleen Atwood Wins Oscar

The nominees for best costume design created a variety of looks, including nineteenth century western apparel and avant-garde Elizabethan garb. Let’s meet the five women who made the cut for this year’s Costume Design category.

‘Alice in Wonderland‘: Designer Colleen Atwood, who has worked with director Tim Burton on seven previous films including ‘Big Fish‘ and ‘Sweeney Todd,’ wanted to make the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) look like he was a real hat maker from the Edwardian era.

The actor was dressed in ‘playful but still traditional’ garb, which included a custom hat made from imported Italian leather woven with gold threads that was sized to fit his fluffy orange wig. ‘He’s a real person with a great amount of heart in the story, so to have him running around in something that distracted from that would have been a mistake,” Atwood told WWD.

Read more: NY Daily News

 

Related Articles

• Seeing Stars, and Carpet-Fillers, at the Oscars (abcnews.go.com)
• King Colin: Oscars Triumph For British Actor (news.sky.com)
• Oscars 2011: Helena Bonham Carter flashes Union jack garter on red carpet (mirror.co.uk)

Costume Exhibit at LA’s FIDM

The 19^th Annual Art of Motion Picture of Costume Design hosted by FIDM.

Exhibit Begins: February 8  till  April 30, 2011

On view will be actual costumes from over 20 movies from 2010.

This exhibition is free to the public and will be open Tuesday – Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The Museum & Galleries will be closed April 22 through April 25 for Spring Recess.

Group tours may be arranged by calling the college at 213.623.5821

LA’s Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) is rolling out its 19th annual salute to the “Art of Motion Picture Costume Design,” which will display the original costumes of more than 20 top films from 2010. On display from February 8 thru April 30 at the FIDM Museum & Galleries On The Park, located in Downtown LA, this annual major exhibition is the only one of its kind in the world, paying homage to the creativity of the film industry’s costume designers with a dazzling show of outstanding costumes and Oscar® nominated and award-winning designs. On view will be more than 100 actual costumes — including the costumes from major motion pictures including Alice in Wonderland by costume designer Colleen Atwood, Inception by costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, Shutter Island by costume designer Sandy Powell, and The Wolfman by costume designer Milena Canonero. The FIDM Museum houses the FIDM Permanent and Study Collections, along with the renowned Rudi Gernreich Archive, the Gianni Versace Menswear Archive and the Hollywood Costume Collection from the Department of Recreation and Parks, City of Los Angeles. The 15,000-piece collection ranges in date from 1785 to the present day, and is composed of couture and ready-to-wear garments, film and theatre costumes, non-western garments, textiles, jewelry and accessories. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday.

Archived Online Exhibitions of Past Exhibits

Related Articles

• Win A Scholarship to FIDM: Design The Next FashionClub Tote Bag (prweb.com)
• Oscar-Winning Costume Designer Theoni V. Aldrege Has Died (laist.com)
• Nominees Announced For The Costume Designers Guild Awards (geektyrant.com)

All About Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland

The actors are in the foreground, so the costumes are in the foreground,” comments costume designer, Jeffrey Kurland, Oscar-nominated for Bullets Over Broadway. Yet whereas a period or fantasy costume might pop off the screen due to the nature of the clothing and the spectacle of the films, the average viewer may not even notice contemporary costumes because they are so integrated into the experience of a film as a whole. If that is the case, how does one not only vote for costume design, but first recognize costume design that is award winning?

Follow more at Below The Line

Related Articles

• Do ‘Captain America’ And ‘Thor’ Costume Lines Offer An Early Peek At The Red Skull? (splashpage.mtv.com)
• Why Rodarte Won’t Get The Credit They Deserve for Designing Black Swan’s Costumes (fashionista.com)

Costume Designer on the Move…!

Costume Design Professor, Deborah Landis talks about

experiences while teaching in Cuba.

Story By ELISA MOSLER | Published January 23, 2011 in A&E, Lifestyle

Last May, when costume design Professor Deborah Landis was invited to conduct a workshop at a film school in Cuba, she had no idea what to expect. She certainly didn’t think that she would be designing costumes for 18th century merchants, pirates and the new American Republic, French Royal, French Republican and British navies.

The founding director of UCLA’s Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design, Landis is an experienced costume designer who has worked in Hollywood and Europe for many decades. Her work includes “Animal House,” “Blues Brothers” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video.

Get more on this story: DAILY BRUIN (UCLA)

Related Articles

• Costume designer from Tyler works on MAMMA MIA!, performed in Fort Worth (fashionslast.wordpress.com)
• Theoni V. Aldredge, Costume Designer for ‘Chorus Line,’ ‘Annie,’ Has Died (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
• “Dracula” Costumers accuse their Producers of dodging outstanding invoice (fashionslast.wordpress.com)

Costume Designer Colleen Atwood, Alice in Wonderland

December 20, 2010 | By Mary Ann Skweres

Director Tim Burton’s magical, yet skewed spin on the fantasy adventure, Alice in Wonderland, inspired two-time Oscar-winning costume designer, Colleen Atwood, to take an imaginative twist on the classic tale. “I really wanted to do something that went with the script, which put us in a new world for Alice. I set the costumes at the beginning of the movie in the period of the 1860s when the story was originally written, with her little party dress, because it was a recognizable thing,” revealed Atwood. “But from then on out I was set free. I was especially set free by the aspect of the story that when Alice shrinks and grows, her dress does not.”  »