Fashion in Film: Dressing the Part
Sometimes Clothes Do Make the Man…or the Woman

By Andrea Ajemian

Contemporary Costume Designers tell stories about film characters by carefully designing their wardrobes to be reflective of society; at the same time, they influence fashion designers and therefore people throughout the world by creating and shedding light on new trends. They create relatable, believable characters about whom we as an audience learn intimate details before dialogue even comes into play.

Many films recognized for their costume design are epics or period pieces that require extensive research. While it may not take as much time or money to dress the cast of a film like Hustle and Flow, set in current day Memphis, fashion is equally important in establishing the background ~ including where they live, their class, and their personal style/outlook ~ of these characters. Rather then dressing Terrence Howard’s character D-Jay in the stereotypical big pimp hats and flashy colored suits, Costume Designer Paul Simmons creates a raw and truthful look at a struggling modern day pimp by creating a style of simple white tank tops, jeans, and cheap short sleeved cotton button down shirts. The fashion in this film does not glorify or become a caricature of the life of a pimp, instead focusing on portraying D-Jay’s status and the humidity of the South. A simple pendant given to rapper-wannabe D-Jay by his favorite hooker is the perfect punctuating accessory for his character.

In the well-cast In Her Shoes, Cameron Diaz wears short, tight dresses, designer jeans, and white Casadei stilettos. Call it stereotyping or just simply a reflection of our culture, but Cameron’s character Maggie happens to be a party girl who’s not afraid to go home with a different guy every Friday night. The moment we see Cam in one of Maggie’s trademark outfits, we can’t help but “know” the kind of girl she is. Costume Designer Sophie de Rakoff dresses Toni Collette’s character Rose in custom-made business suits and frumpy casual clothes. Again, one look at the way Rose dresses herself is more than enough to tell us what kind of person she is ~ uptight and unhappy with her body ~ and to set up the contrast in personality between these two main female characters.

With such creative influence over how characters look, never mind over fashion trends, contemporary Costume Designers wield quite a bit of power in the grand scheme of a film’s visuals. In Shopgirl, Mirabelle (portrayed gracefully by Claire Danes) is a small town girl working at a Los Angeles Saks Fifth Avenue couture department. When older, successful Ray (Steve Martin) begins courting her, he first approaches the vintage-styled Mirabelle by purchasing an expensive pair of satin gloves for her. These elegant gloves and subsequent dresses that Costume Designer Nancy Steiner chooses for Ray to buy as courtship gifts not only capture Mirabelle’s initial style, but also add a level of class to it, signifying the change that Ray brings about in Mirabelle’s life.

Overall, the fashions we see in film are tremendously powerful for several reasons: Often our first introduction to a character, they establish our first impression of who that character is, what he or she “is about,” even before we hear dialogue or are privy to a film’s plot. They also reflect current styles and begin new trends and can certainly be wonderful advertising for a particular fashion designer’s work. Costume Designers, through the characters they dress and style, help us to escape our own reality and enter the wonderful world of filmmaking.

Hustle and Flow, In Her Shoes, and Shopgirl are all currently available on DVD.

Andrea’s Indie Interviews

This month, Pulse film insider Andrea Ajemian talks with Noah Segan, star of Brick, winner of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision, and gets his take on what role his character’s wardrobe played in the film.

But first, a little background on Brick: In a modern day SoCal neighborhood, outsider Brendan Frye (Joseph Gorden-Levitt) becomes consumed with finding his ex-girlfriend, who reached out to him and then vanished. In what quickly becomes a dangerous investigation involving teenagers from different social circles, Brendan uncovers hard truths about himself, his ex-girlfriend, and the suspects in her disappearance.

AA: Noah, tell me about your introduction to your character Dode in Brick.
NS: His introduction in the script was literally written as “Dode appears from behind a dumpster, dusty in black.” From a writing standpoint, it’s a beautiful little piece of prose, isn’t it? It also let’s one’s imagination go a little nuts.

AA: What came to mind for Dode’s style?
NS: I immediately got an image of a sort of Punk Rock Cowboy; black jeans, T-shirt, old black leather jacket and boots. With the help of our amazing Costume Designer Michelle Posch, we got to work on it. I went and found my own vintage motorcycle jacket that I lived in for weeks leading up to the shoot.

AA: How did the leather jacket contribute to your portrayal of the character?
NS:Dode’s jacket was his identifying characteristic. It made me Dode, and the action of moving in the jacket as opposed to out of the jacket became very distinct to me. The act of simply putting it on or hearing the leather move was immediately galvanizing.

AA: Were designer clothing lines promoted in Brick?
NS: Yes, Michelle got small, hip and thoughtful designers to add one piece to each of the characters’ wardrobes. Not only did this allow for some nice clothes to be in a low-budget picture, but it also had the prospect for some later publicity on both ends.

AA: What clothing line was featured with your character?
NS: I wore a piece from a rock/skate-influenced designer called Destroy. Just by coincidence, their logo is a big “D” (also for “Dode”) and they made a beautiful, big belt buckle. It’s definitely
the most obvious way I’ve ever “endorsed” a brand on screen, and yet probably the most appropriate, seeing as how Dode walks around looking like even more of a Punk Rock Cowboy with his enormous “D-for-Destroy” buckle hanging down over his crotch!”!

Brick opens on March 31st in NY and L.A, with a wider release on April 7th, so be sure to look for it ~ and Noah! ~ in a theatre near you!

The Worcester Connection: Uncovered Productions, headed by Georgia Menides, a former Worcesterite and Doherty High School graduate, and Doug Lloyd, a Clark University graduate (the two met at Worcester Cable Access TV while working on their show “Video Jam Uncovered”), is currently producing Still Green, an independent film starring Noah Segan!

Andrea also talked to Mike Pena, Daniel in Crash, winner of Best Picture at the 2006 Academy Awards, about how costume design influences an actor’s performance in a film:

“I work closely with the costume designers. I usually have a clear idea of how the characters move and live. Where they live is important. But most important is their history. Someone who grew up in Seattle in the 90s and goes on to work on Wall Street might wear a suit during the day but when he gets home might have a grungy style about him. He sits back and listens to Nirvana, in what he thinks is comfortable, while doing his office work. You can imagine what he was like before he started working on Wall Street. I like those details concerning the character. They tell you so much even before he opens his mouth. People can relate to or associate themselves to different characters by the way they dress. People do this on the street in everyday life. I think they do it at the movies as well.”