The Costume Screen: 2015

Bond Girl Style

14:34

Scream Queens: Fashion to Kill For

23:52

Teen movies are a world of their own, specially when talking about costume design. As many other genres, they're mostly cut from the same cloth: just as a sci-fi movie might have the heroes dressed in bright angelical tones and the baddies dressed all in black, high school and college stories also follow similar patterns to differentiate the cool kids and the outsiders.

It's not difficult to find such differences. From Heathers to Mean Girls, from Clueless to Beverly Hills 90210, My So-Called Life and so on, rich posh kids have dressed like Barbies and misfits like Kurt Cobain. It's an effective narrative tool, one that allows the audience to identify easily which side each character is in and gives them a personality at first sight. It may also even allow to twist cliches when use imaginatively.

Ryan Murphy is not strange to any of this, having previously created another two deliciously teen TV shows, Popular and Glee. Both of them made use of costumes to show both sides of the "popularity fence". His new show, created alongside Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, Scream Queens, goes back to some common places, but this time on a college campus and inside de Greek system. A mix between gory horror, over-the-top dark comedy and soap opera-ish buffonery, Scream Queens follows the crimes committed by a masqueraded serial killer on a college campus and the lives of the Kappa Kappa Tau, the coolest, evilest sorority in it.

The focus of the show is divided between KKT's leaders, The Chanels, and their pledges, a group of mostly weird girls. The Chanels (named that way because they're called Chanel #1, Chanel #2, Chanel #3 and Chanel #5, duh) follow other infamous fictional cliques like The Plastics and The Heathers not only in their mean antics but also in their style. Pastel colors and matching outfits are their trademark, bringing back the sweet but deadly narrative, the Lolitas with a taste for murder, the indivisible sisterhood of crime. Because homogeneity seems a basic characteristic of the popular group in this kind of production, belonging is the most important, and so their costumes become uniforms in contrast to the more individual style of the supposed weirdos. As the show's costume designer Lou Eyrich (AHS: Coven, AHS:Freak Show) explains, "the costumes are not based on reality, clearly, but help to separate the in crowd from the out crowd".

As you may have noticed, Eyrich has given each Chanel its own personal touch, like Chanel #1's (Emma Roberts) taste for feathers or Chanel #3's (Billie Lourd) earmuffs (fun fact: Lourd's mother is also an actress and this accessory is inspired by one of her characters, a very very famous princess. Can you guess who?)

On the other hand, KKT's pledges, the "losers", have all very different looks. But that doesn't mean they can't be fashionable, as Grace (Skyler Samuels) and Zayday (Keke Palmer) prove. Headscarves, berets, oversize jackets, baggy pants... Their style could have easily came out of a fashion blog, while keeping its uniqueness.

So, if you want to take a look inside Scream Queens' amazing wardrobe do not miss the following video, as Emma Roberts says: "It's every girl's dream!"

Crimson Peak

Video of the Day: The Costumes of 'Crimson Peak'

13:01

.Film

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

18:28

Documentary

Video Of The Day: The Costume Designer

20:53

.Fashion

Wes Anderson Inspired Fashion: Fall 2015

16:10

Max Dalton Illustration for "The Wes Anderson Collection".

When talking about filmmakers with a distinguished personal style, the first name that comes to my mind it's probably Wes Anderson. The director's trademark techniques include tracking shots, an obsession with symmetry, stories about dysfunctional families and polished settings, and costume design takes a central role in creating Anderson's original and unique aesthetic. He has worked with many costume designers, from Karen Patch (Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums), to Kasia Walicka-Maimone (Moonrise Kingdom), to legendary costume designer Milena Canonero, who won an Academy Award for her work in Anderson's latest movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel. But Anderson's connection with the fashion world doesn't end up here, as he has collaborated with italian fashion house Prada many times, directing short films and spots for them and has also built a theme bar at Fondazione Prada, in Milan.

This season many designers have taken inspiration from Anderson's quirky aesthetic, like Miuccia Prada herself, whose Miu Miu fall collection evokes the nostalgic and childlike vibes of Moonrise Kingdom with bright colors, mini-skirts and retro coats.

Miu Miu Fall 2015

But it's Anderson's 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums who wins this season, and we can find echoes of it in Bally, Gucci and Lacoste. Margot's fur coat and Richie's tennis headband are the most iconic pieces among them. Bally's version gravitates towards lavish realms, while Lacoste combines the extravagant with the sporty. Gucci, with its new creative director Alessandro Michele, chooses to present us a series of geek girls with layered outfits and big glasses.

Bally Fall 2015

Lacoste Fall 2015

Gucci Fall 2015

But what if I, myself, want to become a Wes Anderson heroine? Worry not! I have prepared for you a selection of the most Wes Anderson-esque items available in our favorite high-street and online shops. So expect berets, retro feels and a nerdy touch.