The Best Costumes of the Star Wars Saga

by Cláudio Alves

When I was a child my dad gifted me with the tapes of the original Star Wars trilogy and then took me to see The Phantom Menace when I was just five. Other kids left the theatre thinking of pod races and cool fights, but what most fascinated me were Queen Amidala's astounding costumes. As soon as I got home I started sketching ideas of what other crazy attires she could have worn and an obsession with movie costumes was born. I'd only consider dedicating my college studies to it many years later, but that didn't stop me from filling boxes full of drawings of the Naboo Queen and her mother in a variety of extravagant fashions.

In honor of the end of the Skywalker saga, let's take a look back to the franchise's many chapters in search of its very best costumes. Costume design is one of the few elements where the quality never wavered across nine movies, despite a single costume design nomination and win from the Academy (for the 1977 original).

There was plenty to choose from. To avoid any character dominating the list, the self-imposed limitation is one costume per character. 

Honorable Mentions: The many permutations of the Jedi's classic garb including Darth Maul's black version of it, Snoke's red Pretorian guard, Queen Apailana's funereal splendor and the jacket Finn got from his sexy boyfriend...

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Costume Designers Guild Nominations

by Murtada Elfadl

The costume guild nominations were announced today and some of the titles expected were indeed nominated. Ruth E Carter for Dolemite Is My Name, Arianne Phillis for Once Upon a Time….. In Hollywood and Julian Day in Rocketman. All in the Period Film category. 

However, surprise no shows were The Irishman, Little Women, and Judy. Perhaps because it mainly has suits and no showy gowns and dresses, The Irishman was omitted. But then how do we explain them passing on Judy? After getting only 2 Golden Globe nominations does this spell doom for Little Women’s awards chances? Or has it started screening too late for this year’s earlier deadlines?

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Singular Style: Laura Dern in "Marriage Story"

by Cláudio Alves

Some films have overtly brilliant costume design with sprawling wardrobes that call attention to their magnificence at every turn. Others shine in less showy ways, sometimes withholding their potential for sartorial spectacle until the right moment. A stylish coat can alter the way we look at a character. A bold pop of color can transform a scene's emotional tonalities. A singular stylistic choice can make all the difference.

Marriage Story is a good example of this sort of costume design. Mark Bridges isn't unfamiliar with epic feats of costumery but he knows when to hold back and sacrifice aesthetic splendor for the sake of character building. When it comes to Laura Dern's Nora, a savvy L.A. lawyer, his work gets a bit showier. This is a woman who knows her looks can be a weapon, even in a world of grumpy judges and boring office meetings. It's only sensible that her costumes are more attention-grabbing than the other characters' outfits…

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10th Anniversary: The Young Victoria

by Cláudio Alves

It's difficult to follow the Oscar race each year without developing a prejudice against prestige biopics. At times it seems its the genre where creativity goes to die, where formulas thrive and the appearance of respectability is more important than genuine artistic merit. These words are perchance, too harsh, because specific qualities do manage to shine through the baseline of expected mediocrity on numerous occassions. Take The Young Victoria, Jean-Marc Vallée's perfectly serviceable retelling of Queen Victoria's early years and marriage to Prince Albert. Rewatching it ten years after its initial release, the film isn't as despairingly dry as you may have remembered. The Young Victoria is one of Emily Blunt's lesser efforts, but she's luminous nonetheless, bringing a sense of modernity that rubs abrasively against the historical setting. She never convinces as a 19th-century ruler, but that manages to feel more like a feature than a fault. As for Rupert Friend's Albert, he remains a charming romantic ideal, establishing great chemistry with Blunt.

And then, of course, there are Sandy Powell's Oscar-winning costumes…

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101 days til Oscar. How will Disney's fare fare?

by Nathaniel R

Glenn Close actually dressed up as Cruella for the movie's premiere!Remember Glenn Close's Globe nomination for 101 Dalmatians (1996)? In retrospect it's kind of fascinating that greedy Disney didn't start fully committing to live-actioning and spinning off all their animated properties until recently because that early example was a huge hit, the sixth most popular film in the US that year. It also grossed $320 million globally well before the days when billion dollar worldwide grosses became common for Disney blockbusters.

Close's broadly comic diva turn didn't cross over to an Oscar nomination but its sequel managed one (for Costume Design). With Disney quadrupling down this year with four options for voters to look at (Dumbo, Maleficent 2, The Lion King, Aladdin) one wonders how the Mouse House will fare come nomination morning. After the jump a list of exactly how previous remakes have fared and how 2019 might shake out...

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