Fashion in cinema.. Aesthetics of clothes between adornment and artistic value

Photography, plot and sound are, of course, vital to the success of films, but we cannot neglect another very necessary aspect in the film industry, which is costume design. Clothes are not just things that actors wear for their distinctive appearance, but it is one of the factors of the cinematic language that has many connotations and meanings used by filmmakers. All the while an important part through which they control the final image of their work.

Fashion design for cinema
The design of cinematic clothing is the creation of clothes for the characters of the film, the costume may carry a sign of the dressing style of a particular era, nation, or historical era in some cinematic genres, but even far from historical drama films – of which costume design is one of its main pillars – the clothes contribute to Shaping the visual world of film.

There are 4 basic types of costumes that are used in film productions; They are historical, fantasy, dance, and modern clothing.

The costumes help the cast become the characters we see on screen. Part of their incarnation is largely due to what they wear.

The importance of this costume appeared in the twenties of the last century, at the height of the success of silent cinema, and the beginning of the formation of different cinematic genres, as it provided an additional tool to enhance the aesthetics of cinema.

The way the actors dress also affects the audience’s perceptions on the emotional and intellectual levels during the receiving process, as it is considered a key through which the character can be read.
fashion design process

The costume design process includes many steps and although it differs from one cinematic genre to another; The most commonly used basic method is through the following steps:

Analysis: The first step is to analyze the text, music, choreography, etc. Initial costume ideas for the film are created and rough sketches drawn. The plot and genre of the film determine the appropriate costumes for each character, and whether it evolves with the character’s development or remains constant.

Collaboration of film elements for design: an important stage in the process, where all the designers meet with the director. At this stage, there must be an understanding of the nature and characteristics of the film, where the director presents his vision of the work, his message, the ideas he wants to present to the audience, and the role of fashion in this process.

Research before fashion design: Once the director has agreed with the fashion designers, the next step is the searches, especially if the events of the film take place in a specific historical era, in which case the designers use appropriate historical references.

Initial Sketching and Color Planning: Once they have enough information, the costume designers start creating the initial sketches. Starting with the very quick rough sketches they made in the first step, the costume designer then moves on to more detailed sketches and picks out the specific designs and colors for the character.

Final sketches: Once the costume designer and director agree on the sketches, the final sketches are drawn, which are painted in watercolor or acrylic, and the first versions of the costumes are also prepared for experimentation.
Aesthetics of cinematic fashion design

Film costumes are not just a shopping for film producers or heroines, but rather an artistic process with very distinctive characteristics, and it complements the rest of the cinematic language factors, and is no less important than choosing shooting angles, lighting or decorations.

Thus, cinematic costume design has its own aesthetics by which the entire work can be judged; For example, the clothes must correspond to the era in which the events take place, or with the conditions of the fictional world of fantasy films, as well as with the nature of the characters of each work and their age stages, in addition to their specificity in certain cinematic genres, such as musical films, or American Western films; Where it is considered one of its signs that must be dealt with carefully.

One of the major problems of fashion design in Arab cinema and series is the great separation between reality and attempts to impress the viewers. Recently, we have been finding artworks of the type of historical drama that do not adhere to either the accuracy of the designs or the consistency with the time in which the events take place.

This is in addition to the tendency of many stars to wear expensive clothes or famous brands that do not fit the characters that are performed on the screen, which creates a separation between the content and the image.

Fashion design is one of the categories deserving of awards, including the Oscars, which are evaluated separately from the rest of the elements of the cinematic image, whether photography, decorations, makeup and hair styling.
Source: Al Jazeera