Variety: The costumes that the “Charlie’s Angels” trio have worn over the years have always been functional but fashionable. In the TV show starring Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson, which ran from 1976 to 1981, and then in the movie franchise of the early 2000s with Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore, the functionality always fit the fashion of the time.
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I really love how the costume designer put functionality up there in her designers. The characters in this movie are women of action. From the trailer, they seem to be going on missions, and of course, performing stunts. While their costume designs remain stylish and fashionable, they are still practical. I feel like often in these action type films, women are always designed to wear clothing that is not functional at all. The costumes are only supposed to make them look feminine and sexy, but the ability to be active in their costumes is completely neglected. It reminds me of how armory is designed for women in films. More often than not, their metal armors are designed for “protection” but they still emphasize the features of the female body. I feel encouraged that the industry is taking a step towards designing sensible clothes for strong and active female characters.
I always love hearing designers of remakes and sequels talk about their process because I feel like it can be a little daunting, especially if the piece has a name as big as Charlie's Angels. They are designing for a storyline that is known by many, and they're designing on top of the ideas of pre-existing designs. A popular phrase I've heard used is the placement of "easter eggs" in designs, or subtle hints to the works before. In high school this was something I liked to do in my designs, since most of the shows at my school were works that had been done before. For example, when I designed Mary Poppins, I included the large bowtie that Julie Andrews wears, except I changed the color and made it a part of her coat. I also lined her coat with a similar pinstripe pattern that she wears in one of the scenes of the movie. I think it adds depth to the character to call upon the character's past that may not actually be mentioned in the current script you're working with. On that note, one of my favorite costume designers, Sandy Powell, designed the Mary Poppins Returns costumes. Genius, I just have to say it. She added an "easter egg" by putting a robin on Emily Blunt's hat. This calls upon the line in "Spoonful of Sugar" where Mary talks about a robin.
It is always so interesting to see how costume designers handle the costumes for remakes of movies. I like how Kym Barrett gave Charlie’s Angels a new more modern look with the costumes, especially when it can be scary to design such an iconic story. I also really like how she gave Kristen Stewart’s character has a bit more of an androgynous look with funky pants suits and matching leopard print shirt and pants sets. Kym also talks about how she put a lot of thought and effort into the meaning behind the character’s costumes. I like how she decided to give each Angel two different styles to reflect both sides of their personalities. The article highlights how many of the costumes were constructed from scratch since they had to travel so much that it was difficult to pull costumes from stock. The costumes that they built were built in a traveling caravan which is so impressive!!
It is always a treat to read interviews and articles about designers for film. Especially the Charlie’s Angels remake. Truthfully, I never watched the original television show form the 70s, and I do not think I ever saw the entirety of the film from the early 2000s, however the remake by Elizabeth Banks looks amazing. Reading Kym Barrett’s interview here is also piquing my interest as well. I appreciate that she wanted to create strong characters, she wanted them to stand out on their own, and she also wanted them to make sense as a group when they were all on screen together. With this remake and the originals, it always seems to be about form and function! They can wear the high heels, but still kick you right in the teeth and not lose balance. I found the small paragraph at the end of the article also interesting. I love the idea of having different sides to the characters and creating looks for them based off of those sides.
It is always wonderful to see women performers whose roles require them to move be put in actually functioning garments (that are not just spandex body suits). It is very interesting, too, to see what direction designers choose to go towards when re-designing a show (be it for a remake or just a production done elsewhere). I think that the fact that Kym Barrett stayed true to the intent of previous costume designers in bringing “Charlie’s Angels” into the present day (whenever that may have been, depending on when the piece came out). I also think it’s lovely that each of the characters have been payed such close attention. They each have their own personalities and styles that reflect their capabilities and talents while still looking like a cohesive (but not matchy matchy) group. I’m also very impressed by the fact that most of this new movie was created on the go.
This is pretty cool! I haven’t seen the film yet but its information like this that will make me want to go see Charlie’s Angels just that much more. It is often fascinating what a designer stems their ideas from. In Black Panther, the costumes were primarily derived from varying tribes in Africa. The main clothing items then became designed but served the same functions and looked more fitting for the world that came to be. This designer took a whole other approach, looking at the edited take on the franchise and using the idea of previous films in conjunction with this new take to create characters from the clothing. I especially love this idea of there being two sides to the character in the clothing, one of hidden and inconspicuous and the other popping out from the crowd. Based on the trailers I have seen; this is pretty accurate feel for what I am receiving about these characters for this film and world they exist in.
I think this article was very interesting. I don’t know how much I like the remake/sequel-heavy world we live in, but I do think that anytime a remake is made, the directors and designers need to acknowledge the fact that it is a remake in some way. I think the costume designer pulling inspiration and historical silhouettes and such from the originals is a really great approach to this idea. Remakes do not work without some nod or acknowledgement of there being an original. They are adding to the world of the original story and not creating a brand new world. For a film like Charlie’s Angels, the costumes play a very important role. This film and entire storyline is about the power within femininity so the functionality is a huge part, but making the actress look good in a way that is empowering rather than making their dress about impressing someone else would be a huge challenge, and I hope they do it right.
I feel like every time I hop onto Newsweek I find an article about a remake of something. That's fine, but I am literally begging the world for original content at this point. Either way, I am glad that in this remake they are putting effort into making it a complex show of itself. I never saw the original Charlie's Angels, however I do know how iconic everything in it is. I think it is a brave endeavor to costume design a remake of a movie that is already iconic. I also love how this designer didn't try to change the vibe just to be able to say they did something profound or new. They just let the original ideas breathe, and modernized them for a new audience. I am excited for this movie to see how everything in it is, and I am certainly more excited after reading this article.
As iconic of a series as it is there is an innate need to follow a certain badass but newly time period tone. The stress of creating functional and attractive and character-defining costumes is one that this new show has to grapple with. These women are fierce and individualistic and active. In many ways, it's like shows like Nikita where the character's outfits have to both feel sexy and feminine as well as moveable and non-constraining enough for spy stuff to go on. It is no small feat and it's always good to see a designer try and stay true to the classic look. I can't say I'm particularly excited or unexcited for this movie but it's nice to see people that so clearly care about creating a genuine feeling for these characters and a wardrobe that reflects their historical outfits into a modern statement. Hats off to them for tackling that challenge.
The costumes in this film look wonderful. They aren’t like particular culturally-specific outfits like some spy movies have done, but at the same time they embrace the characters and their personalities overall. I’ve only seen the trailers for this film so far and the older film rendition, but the author is not wrong about the cast needing to perform insanely impressive stunts throughout the course of the film, regardless of outfit. Heck, an angel could be doing backflips, leg swipes, and headlocks all while wearing high heels to match the disguise they need to sneak into a party. I think this could be a particularly difficult part of the costuming, too, because as much as talent as a stunt person can have, heels aren’t the strongest and most efficient shoes to wear when taking names and kicking butt. I’m sure that the costumer experienced a lot of difficulty working around this particular obstacle of shoe strength, but based on the action just demonstrated in the trailers, the designer seems to have done a wonderful job overall, and I’m excited to see this socially and stylistically updated franchise once I get the chance.
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