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Posts Tagged ‘FIDM’

Jacqueline Durran Speaks About the Costumes in the Film, Spencer

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 1, 2022| 1 Comment »

Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in the film, Spencer.

Last month I attended a virtual talk with FIDM Museum curator Kevin Jones and Ms. Jacqueline Durran, costumer for the film Spencer. She spoke about the challenges of costuming this production during the pandemic. They had one nine hour fitting with Ms. Stewart before she flew to Germany where the film was shot. Ms. Durran stayed in London and worked from there.

The story is set vaguely in the early 1990s over three days during Christmas. The decision was made by both Ms. Durran and the film’s director Pablo Larrain, that the costuming for Diana would not be anything precise, but instead an essence of her style. They didn’t want the story to be pinned to any particular time because ultimately it’s a work of imagination.

Ms. Durran looked over photographs of Diana at official visits from 1988-1992. Most of the costumes in the main story were built for the film, except for some loans from Chanel and costumes for the flashbacks were bought or rented. For the famous wedding dress, they didn’t try to recreate it, but simply bought an 80s dress and added sleeves and a neckline.

The film opens with Diana in a wool plaid jacket and for that Ms. Durran had a hard time finding the right bold plaid, but finally she found just three yards in Cyprus.

I love this jacket! Wouldn’t it be great to see more structured fashions hit the streets?

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Fashionable Quote of the Week by Jacqueline Durran

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2022| 1 Comment »

Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in the film, Spencer. Costumes by Jacqueline Durran.

There were much more exciting things going on in 80s fashion than the things she wore. When she first started in the early 80s, she really didn’t have a handle on what her potential was in fashion, because it was all so new and she was so young. She discovered it as she grew older.

Jacqueline Durran, British costume designer.

Ms. Durran created the costumes for the 2021 film, Spencer, staring Kristen Stewart, who is up for the Best Actress Oscar, as Princess Diana.

Come on back to ODFL tomorrow for my post on the virtual talk I attended with Ms. Durran and Kevin Jones, curator at FIDM Museum.

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A Conversation with Bridgerton Costumer Ellen Mirojnick

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , on February 17, 2021| 1 Comment »

Last week Nick Verreos, FIDM, Design co-chair, and Kevin Jones, FIDM Museum Curator, hosted a Zoom talk with Ellen Mirojnick, costume designer of the period drama television show, Bridgerton.

This Netflix production is based on the Regency romance novels by Julia Quinn. I haven’t read the books or seen the series, although I did watch enough on YouTube to get the idea. It was my general interest in the costuming that prompted me to tune into the discussion.

Ms. Mirojnick was quick to say that they never intended the costumes to be period accurate, but that Bridgerton “needed to be a bonnet-less world.” The ethos of the production was a “heightened reality.” I gather that there has been a lot of criticism, including quite a bit popping up on Zoom Chat during the talk.

In the first season there were 6000 costumes, all custom-made by the staff of 230. Every character, even background characters, wore bespoke costumes created in the UK. Ms. Mirojnick commented that Americans sadly just don’t have the hand crafting/sewing skills needed for a project like this.

She used the empire silhouette common in the Regency era for women, but she designed fuller gowns allowing for fluidity and ease of movement. She favored layering with lace and embroidered light fabrics. The colors are vivid pinks and purples accented with sparkly jewels. It’s all intentionally over-the-top, like thick gobs of frosting on a sheet cake. The Regency era was more subtle with only touches of embroidery and lace and small pieces of jewelry, if any.

Ms. Mirojnick said that getting the jewels was the biggest challenge. Every piece was hand crafted for each character. “The jewelry was meant to be the period at the end of the sentence of who the character was.” The corsets were handmade by corset master Mr. Pearl and the actresses weren’t too keen on having to wear them.

Although not period accurate, the costumes are still interesting and I enjoyed hearing some of the inside scoop on how they’re created.

Thank you FIDM!

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Chatting with Fashion Star Contestant Lisa Hunter

Posted in Events, Fashion, Vintage, tagged , , , , on March 23, 2012| 5 Comments »

Designer and Fashion Star contestant Lisa Hunter shopping at the Vintage Fashion Expo in San Francisco.

The Vintage Fashion Expo last weekend was, as always, great fun and a shopping success. I found a Joseph Magnin 1970s patent leather handbag and a fantastic pair of navy and white leather gloves with ah … slits in the wrists. Really! I’ve never seen anything like them. But my real find was Lisa Hunter, contestant on the new fashion reality show Fashion Star.

I spotted Lisa conversing with another attendee and introduced myself. Friendly and ready to talk vintage fashions, Lisa agreed to take a break from her shopping and chat.

Lisa told me she got into vintage when she was studying fashion design at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. One day she picked up a copy of the school’s newsletter and saw a help wanted ad for someone to work the Vintage Fashion Expo. She got the job and when she showed up on that first day, she was blown away by all the beautiful vintage clothing.  “I felt like I died and went to heaven,” explained Lisa sporting a retro curly bob hairstyle and a green plaid dress from her own line.

Although she had grown up watching old movies with her mother and loved glamour, vintage fashions were not on her radar. At FIDM she was thinking of designing clothes for tweens. But after working the Expo for three years surrounded by the best in vintage clothing, her whole fashion focus shifted.

Lisa says she came to appreciate all that vintage has to offer. “It’s classic and beautiful and it never goes out of style.”

After she graduated from FIDM in 2004 Lisa started her own line – Vian Hunter.  She now lives in Seattle, Washington and has a store where she features her own vintage-inspired designs as well as a selection of vintage clothing. The late 50s to early 60s is her favorite period.

At the Expo that day Lisa shopped for coats, suits, and fitted jackets for fall as well as dressy dresses. Seattle is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Space Needle and many of Lisa’s customers are attending the big 1960s themed party.

I asked Lisa what’s inspiring her these days. “The new longer skirt lengths I find oddly refreshing,” she says, “and eight inch hems.” Back in the day, skirts and dresses had big hems and Lisa is pondering that as a design element.

Hmmm … I like that idea.

For those of you watching Fashion Star you know that Lisa is a contestant and she was a winner on this week’s episode with Macy’s picking up her sleeveless pleated empire waist dress.

Congratulations Lisa and a big thank you for taking time to speak with Over Dressed for Life.

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