Articles

The self-destructive artist is a common trope assigned to creative types who have become so fixated with their form of expression that it consumes them. However, artists work by various degrees of intensity and those truly devoted to their craft can range from simply well-disciplined to being unhinged. There is a polarity artists struggle with:…

Before the 1950s, there were no teenagers in the movies, at least not in any way we understand the teenage years today. There were adults and children, and that awkward age in between was largely seen as, well, that awkward period in between. You had kids on the cusp, troubled young adults and juvenile delinquents,…

The list of great costume designer and movie star partnerships is a long one. From Adrian and Crawford to Travilla and Marilyn, there have been so many unforgettable costumes and characters immortalized on film. Within this list is a select few who not only created great looks on film, but who extended their partnership to…

The very purpose of a costume is to help create a character. Whether it’s something obvious, like the Wicked Witch of the West versus Glinda the Good Witch or something more subtle, we can instantly tell so much about a character by how they are dressed.Throughout film history, a particularly interesting use of costume design…

Costumes and decor add so much to the visual spectacle of film. How a costume designer dresses the actors and how a production designer styles the interiors can alter a story’s tone and mood. These designs can range from understated to provocative and they ultimately aid the filmmakers in creating a world that an audience…

“Follow the Thread,” TCM’s expansive spotlight on the importance of fashion in film, continues on HBO Max with one of the most fashion-forward, important and influential genres—the dystopian film. TCM’s Alicia Malone hosts this excursion featuring six films: Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 A Clockwork Orange, Michael Anderson’s 1976 Logan’s Run, George Miller’s 1981 The Road Warrior,…

The colors were bold, the platform shoes were high, and bell sleeves were in. The 1970s fashions had a wide range of looks, from prairie to party. Films of the 1970s serve as a time capsule of showing off these looks, but often the styles were also woven into the storylines. Fashions distinguished the attitudes,…

Actresses have been at the forefront of fashion trends since the early days of cinema. Incorporating menswear into their wardrobes was a revolutionary idea, one that defied gender norms and gave women more freedom of expression. The 20th century saw radical changes in womenswear often influenced by what movie stars were wearing on screen. Women…

Marlene Dietrich and Audrey Hepburn. Few Hollywood legends are more associated with style than these leading ladies. So many of the iconic images that shade their legacies are intrinsically connected to their wardrobes. In Morocco (1930), Dietrich’s top hat and tails makes an indelible impression, helping to transform the actress into a dominant presence that…

Although some movies treat fashion as mere spectacle or window dressing, film scholars have long noted the key role clothing and costume play in defining and communicating a character’s identity and in connecting character to narrative. In our own day-to-day lives, the way we dress can, consciously or not, communicate a sense of who we…