Costume Blog
Welcome to FrockTalk, the web’s only costume-based movie review site. The goal of Frocktalk is to shed light on the magnificent artistry of costume design in motion pictures. Reviews on this site are written by working costume designers in the entertainment industry – people who know, better than anyone, what it takes to make it all happen.
The focus of FrockTalk is not to comment on the big flashy costume dramas, but to call attention to the seemingly ordinary costume design work in film that silently and persuasively moves the audience toward understanding the characters. Costume design for motion pictures is an art form that deserves more recognition than it usually gets. Fancy, pretty costumes do not always equal effective, appropriate costumes. The art of the costume is in letting the audience know who the character is, before the actor even has a chance to open his mouth. Read on, and enjoy.
** CAUTION: ALL REVIEWS CONTAIN SPOILERS! **
The Young Victoria
Frocktalk tipster Judith pointed out this lovely article from today’s LA Times. It features interviews with two Academy-Award-nominated costume designers, Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria) and Colleen Atwood (Nine). You can read it HERE!
– KMB
The delightful and talented costume designer April Ferry
by Sarah Schuessler, special correspondent to Frocktalk.com
It is illuminating to hear about any costume designer’s process, but it’s especially exciting when you are a fan of the project too. HBO’s Rome is a favorite of mine, and I had the privilege of chatting with its lovely designer, April Ferry, about her experience.
AF: Rome was not only my favorite project I’ve ever done, it is my favorite work I’ve ever done, actually. I’ve done more than forty movies. And even though I only mostly do features, Rome was just—because I got to do it from the ground up. We did the research; we did everything. We made every single costume.
Continue reading ‘April Ferry: A Positive Outlook Goes A Long Way’
Where the Wild Things Are
Oh, what a night!! Really, it was so amazing to see everyone, all the costumes, talk shop with some of the world’s best costume designers… I am at a loss for words. So instead, I will just show you some photos. As I may have mentioned earlier, there were SIX Frocktalk reporters there last night, so we have wall-to-wall coverage, and I will be posting periodically throughout the week. Here, for your review, are the first photos. Enjoy!
– KMB
Vacuuming the red carpet in advance of the 18th Annual FIDM Costume Design Event.
My feet hurt, my back hurts, and my throat is hoarse!! It was such a fun night. There were six of us Frocktalk reporters roaming the event, and we interviewed so many people. Look forward, in the week ahead, to interviews with Audrey Fisher (True Blood), Mona May (Enchanted), George Mitchell (The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson), April Ferry (Rome), Monique Prudhomme (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), Hope Hanafin (500 Days of Summer) and many, many more!
We will be posting pictures and interviews tomorrow and in the week ahead. It was a brilliant, awesome night, and big thanks to Shirley Wilson at FIDM for getting all of us in. It was an amazing event, and we all learned so much!!! Thank you!!!!
– KMB
Review Date: 2-5-10
Release Date: 7-25-03
Runtime: 114 min.
Period: Contemporary
Costume Designer: Dawn Weisberg
America seems to have renewed its love affair with the musical comedy genre. The success of TV’s Glee seems to make the point all by itself. It is with this love in mind that I bring you CAMP, a 2003 film that debuted at Sundance, and then fell largely under the radar. Honestly, I think it was ahead of its time. If you like Glee, you will love Camp.
Is it still "Blue Collar" if it's fur?
Eagle-Eyed Frocktalk tipster Lisa pointed this article out to me today. It’s from our friends over at Jezebel, who put their spin on this article from Slate. The Slate article complains about beautiful Hollywood stars trying (and failing) to look working class in movies. I must warn you, not all the content in the articles is particularly nice or flattering to costume designers, but I think it’s important that we read these articles and think about these issues. Slate went so far as to post a slideshow about the subject HERE. Clearly no one at Slate has designed costumes for a movie, because if they had, they certainly would know what it feels like to receive five pages of notes from studio executives asking to make the actress look “less schlumpy” and “more attractive”, even though she is working class, blue collar, to’ up from the flo’ up, and dirt poor. Of particular interest (to me anyway), are the comments on these articles. Check it out, and let the discussion begin!
** UPDATE!!! - I wrote a letter to Sadie Stein, the author of the Jezebel article! Read it after the jump! **
Continue reading ‘Working Class Costumes: Let the Debate Begin’
Good news! Good news! Here at Frocktalk, we just received the all-clear from FIDM to report on the 18th annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design opening. We will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of the festivities with several roving reporters and photographers, so if you see us coming, smile and say CHEESE! We are all really getting excited about this event. However, the big question remains: WHAT TO WEAR?!?! Stand by!
– KMB
Good morning, Frocktalkers! The Academy Award nominations have been announced, and the following films have been nominated for excellence in costume design:
Bright Star - Janet Patterson
Coco Before Chanel - Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - Monique Prudhomme
Nine - Colleen Atwood
The Young Victoria - Sandy Powell
Congratulations to the nominees! The Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 7, 2010. Stay tuned!
– KMB
Reason number one, of course, is that Internet Explorer is not compatible with many websites, including Frocktalk. Reason number two: remember that pesky little security problem Google was having in China? Their hack attack was made possible due to a flaw in INTERNET EXPLORER. That’s right. Microsoft has issued an emergency patch for IE users, but your best bet is to STOP using IE and switch to another web browser like Firefox (free download here), Safari (free download here), or Google Chrome (free download here).
Articles about the IE weakness leading to the hack of Google in China are HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. The patch, if you are still crazy enough to use Internet Explorer, is available HERE.
Browse safely, friends!
– KMB
It’s raining here in Los Angeles, and as such I thought you might like THIS POST from Fashionista. It is a six-page directive from the Pi Phi (Pi Beta Phi) chapter at Cornell University detailing what can and (more importantly) can NOT be worn by their members during sorority rush. We costume designers have to come up with similar guidelines when we talk with background casting - we generate a list of what kinds of garments background players should bring to work. Never - NEVER - have I seen even a costume list this comprehensive. I tell you, if this Cornell Pi Phi rush leader wants a job writing BG memos for me, she’s got it. Enjoy the rain and enjoy the article!
– KMB
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