Last week I had the privilege of experiencing Cut! Costume and the Cinema, a beautiful limited-time exhibition at the Glenbow Museum. The exhibition is home to 43 incredible costumes taken straight from period films including but not limited to Pirates of the Caribbean, The Duchess and Finding Neverland. And as a lover of fashion, the sheer effort and skill poured into the design and creation of the costumes was not lost on me.
Upon even the most critical inspection, the costumes were flawless and authentic-looking. The extravagant gowns that Keira Knightley wore in The Duchess, a film based on the life of the 18th century’s Duchess of Devonshire, looked as though they had time-travelled. With the beautiful detailing of the gowns, it was nearly impossible to remember that these garments were in fact costumes, and did not actually belong to the English royalty of centuries past. The most fascinating part of the exhibit was indeed reading the signs explaining the costume designers’ painstaking work at creating pieces that worked great on film but were also as true to the era’s fashion as possible. For example, the use of synthetic materials, such as nylon and acrylics, is almost taboo when it comes to creating period costumes; it all looks too new. Rich, true-of-the-time fabrics and detailing are at most times subtle in the overall appearance of the clothes, and most people probably do not pay high levels of consideration to the authenticity of the dress of characters on-screen. However, just like efforts are taken to perfect certain subtle aspects in any other facet of film, the attention to detail is what results in a seamless (excuse the pun) and agreeably accurate presentation of the time period depicted in the film.
Another point of interest lies in the effort needed to create the illusion of wear in the clothes. Often in films there is the continued wear of one article of clothing by a character through the passing of years and events as the movie goes on. This continued wear would cause aging in the garment in real life, and so the “aging” of clothing used in film is explained at Cut!. Costume designers use many techniques such as dyeing and distressing the garment, putting it through all levels of abuse to achieve an “over-worn” look. This artificial aging is a skill in itself, since costumers must be fact-oriented in this process: as was explained at the exhibition, falling in a lake would cause a much different kind of damage to clothing than getting soaked in the rain.
Overall, Cut! Costume and the Cinema was as technically enlightening as it was visually pleasing. The costumes are pieces of history in themselves, and the exhibition offered an enjoyable insight into the world of costume in film. So the next time you’re watching Pirates, remind yourself to think, “Wow, Jack Sparrow’s outfit is so cool. I wonder how hard it was to make that?”
Cut! Costume and the Cinema is on display at the Glenbow Museum until September 28, and it truly isn’t an experience to let pass you by. Discover the magic brought to film through costume while you still have the chance!
