Christian Clifton took a trip to the museum and had his eyes opened to the importance and intricacy of costume design within films.
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This week I was finally able to make it to my local art museum (the Phoenix Art Museum) to see a phenomenal exhibition on tour that shines a new light on an often underrepresented part of film making; costume design. Hollywood Costume is a tour that has been making its way around the world and showcases some of the most memorable costumes from films such as Gladiator, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many more. The experience was certainly eye opening and showed me just how much goes into something that seems as simple as picking an outfit.
I will admit that as a guy there are moments when fashion is not at the forefront of my thinking process regarding clothing choice, in fact there are times when thinking does not happen at all and instead grabbing clothes that fit and are comfortable takes precedence. Partly because of this and partly because I tend to focus on other parts of a film I often miss out on the wonderful costumes and designs presented before me. I was astonished to learn just how much detail and importance is put on costume design by not only the designer and director but also the actors, cinematographers, and even set designers.
Seeing the costumes of some of my favorite characters was absolutely incredible. While camera technology has advanced substantially there are still details that I was unaware of until I was only inches away from the material. The particular folds, accessories, color palettes, and sizing considerations add complexity to characters and the movies they are in. I was baffled at the intricate work that it takes to bring ideas and sketches to life and give breath to characters with nothing more than fabric and a keen eye for design.
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One of the more memorable displays concerned Ridley Scott’s Avatar, a film that was largely CGI and in my mind had little in way of real world costume design. I was very wrong because as it turns out the majority of items worn by the CGI characters in the movie were actually designed and made by hand before being scanned and turned into their digital counterparts. It was incredible to realize that even with the advent of top of the line computer graphics that traditional costume designers are still an integral part of the movie making process.
Details for the exhibition tour are hard to come by, it seems that the dates are not posted anywhere, but keep an eye out as it has already made a few stops throughout the world. It might not seem anything most guys would care to check out, but it was very interesting if purely from a nostalgic trip back through some of my favorite films and characters. If you happen to be living in Arizona, or plan on visiting, it will be at the Phoenix Art Museum until July 6th. If you do not get the chance to see this exhibition, at least consider its goal; to bring to the forefront the painstaking task that is costume design. Some of the outfits on the silver screen take thousands of hours to prepare and, whether we realize it or not, can utterly make a character or scene.
Watch the video below for some highlights of the exhibit at The Phoenix Art Museum.
–Photo Credit: Christian Clifton
–Video Credit: Phoenix Art Museum