Film Costumes in Action: Design, Production and Performance Cultures in British Film, 1965-2015
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: School of Media & Communication
Abstract
Film Costumes in Action investigates how costumes for film are designed, made and disseminated in British film culture from the 1960s onwards. Different types of professional expertise are involved in the processes of design, manufacture, screening and post-release consumption. These elements inter-lock and we use our concept of 'the costume journey' to map this expertise across 1. Design; 2 Making; 3 Shooting; 4 Screening. Drawing together films, practitioner interviews and material sources, the project team will research how costumes are designed, fabrics selected, the role of actors and others in costume choice, where costumes are made and stored, and how they are filmed and marketed to audiences. Then, by working in partnership with curators, costume practitioners and the cultural heritage sector, we will develop a range of outputs to preserve this history and make it available to diverse audiences. Our goal is to increase the visibility, understanding and appreciation of the myriad work processes and craft skills underpinning the costume journey, highlight the significant input of the costume team in the successful creation of film, and have an impact on film programmers and audiences by expanding notions of screen heritage in new directions.
This is important and necessary because costume plays a central role in film imagery, operating as a visual shorthand through which narrative and characterisation are constructed. Its significance is recognised by the general public whose record visitor numbers to the V&A made its 'Hollywood Costume' exhibition (2012-13) one of the most popular in the museum's recent history. Yet little is known about how costumes are created, made, shot and crafted into film performances. The prevailing approach in scholarship is that costumes are 'stitched into' narrative rather than drawing attention to themselves, an idea which shifts attention away from the work underpinning their production and performance. Moreover, the preponderance of women in the costume profession, and its associations with fashion/consumerism, has detracted from serious engagement with the subject, with scholarship privileging directors and other majority-male roles in the production hierarchy. This has left the specifics of costume design, costume making and its craft skills poorly understood. Consequently, production histories are impoverished and established production hierarchies go unchallenged.
This project uses British film as the case study through which to recover, analyse and make visible the craft skills and work processes of the costume team. Unlike Hollywood, where in-studio costume departments flourished, British film companies mixed original design with rentals from specialist costume houses (Angels), and ready-mades adapted for the screen. From this mixed economy Britain developed a reputation for craft skills and period expertise with British-trained designers, especially women, becoming increasingly prominent internationally from 1965 onwards. Several have won multiple BAFTAs and Academy Awards (Sandy Powell, The Favourite; Jenny Beavan OBE Mad Max: Fury Road, Jacqueline Durran, Little Women) and are recognised as industry leaders.
Our focus encompasses the three main costume types of 'modern', 'historical' and 'fantasy' - defined by practitioners as the main categories of costume production - and ranges over a period of 50 years (1965-2015). We draw case studies from a number of films including recognised classics A Room With A View (1985) and The King's Speech (2010), alongside lesser-known films such as Velvet Goldmine (1998) and Moon (2009), chosen to examine different manifestations of the costume journey. Our ambition is two-fold; to raise the profile and appreciation of British-led costume design and making, nationally and internationally, and champion expanded notions of screen heritage, past, present and future.
This is important and necessary because costume plays a central role in film imagery, operating as a visual shorthand through which narrative and characterisation are constructed. Its significance is recognised by the general public whose record visitor numbers to the V&A made its 'Hollywood Costume' exhibition (2012-13) one of the most popular in the museum's recent history. Yet little is known about how costumes are created, made, shot and crafted into film performances. The prevailing approach in scholarship is that costumes are 'stitched into' narrative rather than drawing attention to themselves, an idea which shifts attention away from the work underpinning their production and performance. Moreover, the preponderance of women in the costume profession, and its associations with fashion/consumerism, has detracted from serious engagement with the subject, with scholarship privileging directors and other majority-male roles in the production hierarchy. This has left the specifics of costume design, costume making and its craft skills poorly understood. Consequently, production histories are impoverished and established production hierarchies go unchallenged.
This project uses British film as the case study through which to recover, analyse and make visible the craft skills and work processes of the costume team. Unlike Hollywood, where in-studio costume departments flourished, British film companies mixed original design with rentals from specialist costume houses (Angels), and ready-mades adapted for the screen. From this mixed economy Britain developed a reputation for craft skills and period expertise with British-trained designers, especially women, becoming increasingly prominent internationally from 1965 onwards. Several have won multiple BAFTAs and Academy Awards (Sandy Powell, The Favourite; Jenny Beavan OBE Mad Max: Fury Road, Jacqueline Durran, Little Women) and are recognised as industry leaders.
Our focus encompasses the three main costume types of 'modern', 'historical' and 'fantasy' - defined by practitioners as the main categories of costume production - and ranges over a period of 50 years (1965-2015). We draw case studies from a number of films including recognised classics A Room With A View (1985) and The King's Speech (2010), alongside lesser-known films such as Velvet Goldmine (1998) and Moon (2009), chosen to examine different manifestations of the costume journey. Our ambition is two-fold; to raise the profile and appreciation of British-led costume design and making, nationally and internationally, and champion expanded notions of screen heritage, past, present and future.
