Costume sketches for film characters
Monday, May 18, 2020 at 12:00PM Costume Designer Daniel Orlandi is guest-blogging all day!
I thought I'd share a few random sketches from past movies and TV specials.
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Busty Rusty in Flawless
Director Joel Schumacher was a former costume designer. So he was great to work with. He gave me a lot of confidence as a designer. Robert DeNiro recommended me for the job...
Tom Hanks as Walt Disney in Saving Mister Banks / Tom Hanks as Langdon in Angels & Demons
Almost none of Walt Disney's actual wardrobe was saved. His widow donated the bulk of his clothing to the Salvation Army when he died. We used the Smoke Tree Ranch logo from his home in Palm Springs. Angels and Demons was a huge job. We had to manufacture the Vatican costumes including 200 Cardinals. Bishops, Priests, Nuns the Swiss Guard uniforms. I met Tom Hanks when I was the associate designer on Apollo 13 and was lucky to work with this amazingly nice man as and actor and as producer later on Angels and Demons. We finally dressed Langdon as Dan Brown had written, with the character in a tweed sport coat.
The Evil Queen from a pilot, Knight Life
I did this one for Fox. Linda Thorson was so hilariously delicious in the part but unfortunately it wasn't picked up.
Matt Damon as Caroll Shelby in Ford V Ferarri
I was excited to work with one of my favorite actors.
A dancer for a David Copperfield special.
This was my first job in TV or film. The costumes had to hold up to the rigors of his extensive tour. I was surprised when I was nominated and won an Emmy for my costumes -- it was such a small show. Maybe 25 costumes total.
Helen Mirren as "Hedda Hopper" in Trumbo
The amazing Helen Mirren. She came in two days before she started filming for her one and only marathon fitting for 25 costumes. Fitting, matching hats, accessorizing jewelry. She turned to me halfway through the fitting. "I feel like I'm your Christmas tree and you just keep decorating!". She sent me a beautiful thank you note afterwards and signed it "The Christmas Tree"
Laura Dern in The Founder
Laura came in as a favor to our director to play Ethel. She is a real actor. We made this dress for a country club scene out of some beautiful vintage silk brocade. Unfortunately we only see her sitting through the scene. It was a lovely dress though.
Ruth Wilson in "Saving Mr Banks" as an Australian County Fair
Working on Saving Mr Banks was like making two separate films: 1917 Australia and 1962 Los Angeles. The amazing Colin Farrell gave a party before filming where the two casts and crew could get together. He screened Mary Poppins. I had some little touches in the costumes that mostly go unnoticed except for by the cast themselves. For example, Emma wears her fathers ring which you'll see on Colin in the flashbacks.
Hope you enjoyed these.
Reader Comments (8)
Helen Mirren's costumes in Trumbo are AMAZING. And there are so many pieces: dresses, suits, jackets, hats, fascinators, pins, earrings, gloves, shoes, stockings, necklaces, watches, purses, bracelets, etc. It's a good thing I didn't live in that era since I crave simplicity, but it's great to look at.
Are you going to have a Down with Love post? I love the movie and its costumes.
While I didn't like Trumbo all that much, the costumes were a spectacular highlight.
Helen Mirren's wardrobe as Hedda Hopper was particularly wonderful, glamorous but almost oppressive in its midcentury opulence. More than a Christmas Tree (what a great anecdote!) she felt like a magnificent carnivorous plant on screen, a beautiful flower that's as colorful as she is dangerous.
Cal -- Yes. DOWN WITH LOVE is getting its own post.
Well these anecdotes made me like Mirren and Farrell more (than I did already). Thanks for sharing!
In the words of Aretha Franklin "great gowns, beautiful gowns..."
Thank you for sharing your work and the anecdotes that go with it!
The Helen Mirren anecdote is everything. QUEEN.
I haven't read about these sketches before. I'm a fashion lover and Cools customer so this is a very interesting theme for me. I'm gonna add a few sketches to my collection.