Critiquing Costumes

  Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland  is a remake of the classic tale Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  by Lewis Carroll. In a very Tim Burton style, the land of Wonderland is transformed into a deliciously wonderful whimsical world full of bright colours and amazing visuals.  Due to the sheer amount of costumes in this film, due to the large amount of characters in the film, I have decided only to critique the costumes of: Alice, The White Queen, and The Red Queen, . This is because not only are they the main characters of the film, but they are also main characters in the sequel. This means that we can look at the change of costumes over the films to see character development through clothing. (You can read the next review for Alice through the Looking Glass  here) Alice (Costumes in Chronological Order) (Alice's Day Dress from the "Real World" - Also used for promotional campaigns) This blue day dress is the first dress that we ...

 Costume Designer: Paul Tazewell Although Hamilton has been on Broadway since January of 2015, the show became available to most of the world through a subscription to Disney+ and was released on that platform in the summer of 2020 (hence that being the date in the title.) Hamilton: An American musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda showcases the life story of the American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Miranda was reportedly inspired to write the musical after reading the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Miranda describes the musical as “America then, as told by America now.” Due to the musical being set in a certain time and place, 18 th century America to be exact, it is obvious that I would choose to critique these costumes based on historical accuracy. But I also think it is important to remember that entirely historically accurate costumes would not be suited to a stage performance, as historically accurate gowns for the Schuyler Sisters and choral members ...

  Costume Designer: Catherine Martin The Great Gatsby was directed by Baz Luhrman, the film adaptation of the F. G. Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel of the same name. The styles utilised in the costume span the entire decade, and this creates a hyper-real fantasy of high-end couture and runway fashion of the time. This creates a link to the 1920s that Fitzgerald encompasses in his novel, as he highlights the themes of money, sex, and class. Daisy Buchanan To aid my review, I will give a character synopsis to highlight key points for them in the film as well as their personality. Originally from Kentucky, Daisy fell in love with Gatsby while he was stationed there during the war. He lies to her about his background, saying he comes from a rich family in an attempt to secure her. They fall in love and Gatsby must leave, and Daisy promises to wait for him. In 1919, however, she chooses to marry Tom Buchanan who came from a solid, aristocratic family. He was also supported by her parents. After...

Costume Designer: Sandy Powell This live-action remake of “Cinderella” by Disney takes the idea of timelessness and invokes it through the costumes portrayed. Because the film, like many others by Disney, is not time or region specific, the idea that the costumes for this film can be critiqued by historical accuracy or regional fashion goes out of the window. In most cases this timeless feel can go wrong, and it falls down to the design team to be imaginative and invoke cohesion between looks to neatly tie the film together. In Cinderella, this works perfectly! The costumes throughout this film are coherent and work together to create a functional wardrobe for each character whilst also drawing inspiration from every time period imaginable.  Cinderella (Cinderella's Day Dress) For most of Cinderella’s costumes, there is the running colour scheme of blue. Not only is this in-keeping with the original Disney’s Cinderella from 1950, but the choice of pastel blue lends itself to the pe...