Catching Fire: Best Costume Design of the Year

          Until recently, I wasn't sold on the entire Hunger Games franchise. But through Trish Summerville's costume design in Catching Fire, I became intrigued. 

           The first movie, to me, was slow and overdone. There are so many dystopian books and movies today that the Hunger Games just felt like another regurgitated version. I wasn't planning on watching any more of the movies until buzz about Catching Fire rumored it was ten times better than The Hunger Games. So I saw it in theater a few days ago, and I was surprisingly impressed. Not only were the plot and acting better, but the costume design was taken to another level than any other movie I've seen this year. 

            Summerville, also the costume designer for the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, curated an entire world of costumes. She had to dress both the modest district dwellers and the extravegant Capitol citizens. Then there were the Hunger Games uniforms, more streamlined and modern than before, and the intimidating, Peacekeeper uniforms inspired by the praying mantis.

             She put a massive amount of detail into every key piece and gave the film a high fashion attitude. Her dark and edgy style made the previous film look like child's play. She used many pieces from Alexander McQueen (which made me squeal like an excited little girl), as well as handmade clothes from emerging designers. She was thoughtful enough to have a balance of labels and knew the importance of exposing lesser known talent.

               I've made this kind of prediction before (sadly, I was wrong last year),  but I stand behind Summerville to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Before I saw this movie, I was certain Catherine Martin would win for The Great Gatsby, but Summerville proved the Catching Fire wardrobe to be a much larger task.

Katniss 

                The very first garment you see in the film is Katniss' stunning cowl/scarf/shawl. No one really knows what to call it, but they all agree that it's too amazing for words. Designed by Maria Dora, this unique piece of knitwear is the talk of knitting bloggers and has inspired numerous DIY patterns. 

                  Every outfit that Katniss wears throughout the tribute tour is perfect. There's really no other way to put it! Summerville balanced the style of the Capitol, where Katniss was now a celebrity, with the down-to-earth style of her district. She wore a lot of leather, deep colors and blacks, and great knitwear. 

                   The biggest moment of her wardrobe, however, was her wedding gown. Designed by Tex Saverio, the dress had an intricate, metal bodice created with 3D printing. The full skirt was layer upon layer of cascading silk ruffles, weighing in at 25 pounds. 

Peeta

                   With Katniss' switch in style came a more sophisticated wardrobe for Peeta. He too donned more leather and darker colors. Most of the pieces were simple, but kept with current menswear trends. For his formal looks, Summerville gave him a gold neck piece similar to a bow tie, but worn tucked into his collar. 

Effie

                      As a Capitol fashion maven, Effie must have been an exciting character to dress. She maintained her over-the-top, couture dressing, but Summerville incorporated more McQueen and fewer puffy, 80s sleeves. Her pieces completely surpassed the previous movie in detail, materials, and styling. Her dresses had intriguing textures and colors, the McQueen one was made entirely out of feathers painted as monarch butterflies. Her shoes, hair pieces, and accessories were dynamic and added to, not distracted from, her ensembles. 

The Tributes

                   While a minor focus of the costume design, the tributes' clothing was equally innovative. Johanna's biggest look was her tree inspired gown made with cork at the neckline. Finnick had an interesting ensemble for his chariot outfit - a skirt made out of scales and a shiny, shell necklace - keeping with the detailed and textured aesthetic of the movie. 

Peacekeepers

                        Lastly, Summerville created an insect inspired costume for the peacekeepers. Half praying mantis and half stormtrooper, they were intimidating and breached the line between human and robot. 

Boston Fashion Week's Emerging Trends: Naomi Davidoff

           The next designer I met at BFW’s Emerging Trends press day was a young designer, who is launching her company to success, only months after graduation. Naomi Davidoff is a costume designer who has a way with fabrics and technique. She studied fiber with a concentration in experimental fashion at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Juggler - photo credit: Ron Davidoff

          Davidoff creates couture garments for performances and special events. “I am not only interested in fashion, but also wearable art, costume, and blurring the lines between the two and working with a lot of performers, dancers, circus artists, musicians, theater people, and actors,” she said.  

Madeline - photo credit: Ron Davidoff

          Part of her love for costume design is because of the people she works with. “They’re really half of what makes my work really special, I think, is working with them,” she said. She loves bringing her clients’ ideas to life. “That kind of leads me to want to work with different people and to want to make clothes for them and get inside their heads and think about who they are as personas and characters,” she said.

Siamese Twins - photo credit: Ron Davidoff

          Her most recent project is costume director for the Baltimore Rock Opera Society back home in Maryland. “We are a volunteer organization that’s a community theater and we are dedicated to making the most innovative, original, crazy rock opera you could ever imagine,” she said. For their last show, Murder Castle, the costumes were inspired by the Victorian era and The Chicago Worlds Fair. “They were experimenting with electricity and people putting that into garments,” she said. So she created glowing ballgowns with LEDs in the hoop skirts.

Mermaid - photo credit: Ron Davidoff

          Her collection this year, called “Phantasma,” is inspired by “surrealism, freakery and circus arts, and living nightmares.” She took a special interest in making a lot of the textiles in this collection. “So not only am I using found fabrics, I’m also using hand dyed, hand screen printed, over dyed, resisted fabrics, shibories, so experimenting with all different techniques,” she said.

Check out her SS13 collection video below!

Phantasma from Naomi Davidoff on Vimeo.

To see more about Davidoff and her collections, visit her website at www.naomidavidoff.com.

Colleen Atwood Nominated for Oscar

     "Snow White and the Huntsman" was yet another rendition of a classic fairy tale, so not much about the movie was exceptional. There were enough twists to keep it entertaining and the special effects added intrigue, but the performances were mediocre. The real accomplishment of this movie, however, was the costume design by Colleen Atwood. She has recently been named an Academy Award nominee for Best Costume Design and there is little doubt in my mind that she won't win it.

    All the nominees for this award coincidentally designed for a period film, one being the much lighter take on Snow White called, "Mirror Mirror." This means they will undoubtedly be judged on accuracy for the time period, in addition to the quality of the clothes and how the designs fit the characters. But what will set the winner apart is how the designer strayed from what was expected and took a hold of their own style.

     Colleen Atwood certainly accomplished this in her designs for "Snow White and the Huntsman." Her costumes for Queen Ariana alone took the movie from a typical, medieval set fairy tale to a dark, modernized battle against evil. The queen's clothing could almost be seen on royalty today because of the materials and techniques she used. One dress had a leather bodice with a peplum structured from embellishments that looked like wooden sticks, while the rest of the dress was made to look like armor with scales of metal. The wedding dress featured at the beginning of the movie had a simple corset bodice and slightly more dramatic pleated skirt, but what made it stunning were the large, intricate shoulders that looked like framework belonging to the walls of a building. A more gothic inspired, off-the-shoulder dress even has a neckline bordered with real bird skulls.  Of course, the queen's wardrobe wouldn't be complete without her now iconic feather cloak. It has a high, protruding collar, while the body of the garment has movement and body, created very thoughtfully with hundreds of feathers.

      Atwood clearly used every material possible to contribute to the immense drama her costumes provided the film. Her designs were so complex I can't imagine how long they took to make, and in my opinion are no match for the other Oscar contenders. In 2010, she won the same award for her designs in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland." Only having seen the movie and not knowing as much about her work, I predicted she would win the award based on the creativity and quirk of her costumes. Hopefully, she'll grab another award this year! 

My Halloween Costume!

     Just wanted to show you my Halloween costume! I was a lion! I used a tutorial by From Head to Toe to do my make-up, teased my hair a bit (it's naturally pretty big so it didn't need much), wore a dress my cousin Maddie lent me, and made a tail out of an orange boa. Pretty simple and fuss-free...I was just determined to be a lion this year because I've wanted to be one since I was little. Maddie dressed up as a Christmas elf...didn't she look cute? I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween!

PS-I've been super busy and haven't been able to post lately...but keep visiting because I plan on getting better at it! haha I still have a lot of ideas for posts and once I have a little spare time I'll be able to post at least twice a week.

     Ciao for now!