Friday, October 22, 2021
How the ‘Dune’ Stillsuit Costumes Transformed the Cast Into ‘Karate Masters’
www.thewrap.com: The sad truth about some of the coolest movie costumes is that for as great as they look on screen, they can be a bear for an actor to actually perform in. Not so with the costumes from “Dune” though, as the film’s costume designers boasted that the film’s stillsuit outfits gave the cast a confidence and swagger that set the tone for the whole movie.
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I love reading about this! Everything I have been seeing about Dune has been so amazing and I can’t wait to actually watch it myself. I have the movie downloaded on my iPad from HBO Max to watch on my flight to Boston. It is really cool to read how the costumes actually gave confidence to the actors that allowed them to perform much better. I never really considered that, but that makes so much sense in both the context of the theatre and film industries. I could see how the actors being comfortable in what they are wearing enables much more confidence and overall quality of performance to be improved. This is probably something that costume designers consider all of the time when there are more intense movement sequences or intense acting moments. I love how much attention to detail is put into film with the very high budgets and large amounts of available resources.
So excited to see this movie. Dune is a classic, and was one of my favorites for many years, and from everything I’ve heard, the new movie is a very good production. Some of the most interesting things in the book were the little details of how the world worked: the religious and political systems, the stillsuits and the traditions and techniques that people had adopted to survive in their environments. I’m encouraged because it looks like those details have really been prized and fleshed out. The stillsuits seem really well designed, and it’s great that they were so easy to use and accessible for the cast and their acting. That will probably go a long way to helping the performances really pop. I love that the team designed 200 different models and only then pared back to the actual cast they had. That makes a lot of sense when creating a realistic world.
I’ve seen the trailers for ‘Dune’ and it looks very interesting. I think West and Morgan have created very unique costumes that fit both the setting of the story and the characters’ backgrounds. To learn that West and Morgan have gone through a long process of designing and creating the costumes really speaks to me. They mentioned that the costumes have altered the behaviours of the actors and connected them with the characters even more, which I think is the key to a successful costume. I believe that a good costume must help tell the story, connect actors to their characters and, at the same time, be comfortable. I feel that the costumes in ‘Dune’ have obviously achieved all three elements, again showing how expert West and Morgan are at designing.
Part of me is very curious how much they spent on these costumes and how much time was spent making them, from what I read it seems like it would be a pretty substantial process. For me I’m now thinking along the lines of figuring out how to talk to the actors into the design process. How much does this happen with costume design, I imagine it should happen but that is not a field that I have really worked in at all before this point? Does communication go through designers, stage managers or someone else? The last part of the article confused me, and now I want to watch the movie, but the part where they talked about not wanting to make a sci-fi or steampunk movie, I’m curious where they categorized it if not within the sci-fi genre, considering that is what I envisioned and understood when I read the book.
I have heard so much about Dune since its original announcement and I cannot wait to get a chance to watch it myself. I have been intrigued by it since I saw the initial posters of it, based on the costumes alone. With little more than the poster to go on, the costumes have really drawn me in, as it really seems like the type of films that I would enjoy. I also very much enjoy learning about the behind the scenes and inner workings of films, and this article give a unique insight into the creation of the costumes which drew me in in the first place. I appreciate that the designers took the time to create pieces which would not restrict the movement of action of the actors. I have seen many an extravagant, intricate, bold costume in films and TV alike which I can’t imagine to be all that comfortable to wear and work in. I also appreciate that the detail and design of the costumes fits into the show in such a way that it helps the actors get into character and immerse them even moreso in the built world than normal. I hope I can find the free time (haha what even is free time these days) to watch Dune soon.
SUCH cool costumes. Dune has been on my "to read" list for so many years that I've downloaded it on my nook since reading this article because screw it, it's time.
In an age of special effects and too much CGI, I'm glad to hear such a success for a costume department. Truly there can be no greater compliment to one's work than seeing the performer more easily and beautifully embody their role as a result of their interactions with your work. I really just can't get over how damn cool that cast looks in the still-suits.
It had never occurred to me that like, actor comfort isn't at the forefront of the mind of the designer when designing a costume for an actor. While it does make sense that the costume dong the job it's supposed to do is more important, it seems like a silly oversight for a designer to not consider that ergonomics is something that the maker of a prop or article of clothing within a fictional world would consider.
“I always think that’s the measure of a good costume: it’s the bridge between the actor and the character.” What an insightful statement. I really agree with it as with any good costume, the value and impact lies in how it is utilized and presented hand in hand with the performer. I first heard of the Dune film a few years ago because I follow many of its lead actors who had all announced their involvement in the movie. I remember already thinking back then that the costumes featured in film’s teasers and trailers looked very unique and fascinating; they helped tell a part of the story themselves. Additionally, I found the points on how the costumes led to a change in the actors’ demeanor emphasized in the beginning of the article to be interesting. I imagine that all of them had done preparation to get into character prior to shooting with the costumes, but it’s still a compelling idea to consider.
I really need to see “Dune”! I’ve already seen the trailer and the level of detail put into the costumes blew me away. Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan did an incredible job in capturing a new and unique look that is still grounded in some substance of reality. It was also really interesting reading about how the costumes impacted the characters acting. I always felt that costumes are undervalued in the sense that they don’t only make a character look the part, but they can impact how that actor will play that character. Costumes can impact everything from the physical posture created by the garment to and actor holds themselves within it and how they walk around. A good example of this is comparing how a garment from “Dune” makes actors feel and hold themselves vs garment from “Star Trek”. While both films are Sci-Fi films the garments influence how they inhabit the world around them, everything from their posture to the way they walk is highly impacted. This is because “Star Trek” employs garments that have more of a modern cut and structure while “Dune” uses much more draping and flowing fabric for the garments.
I saw the movie and I thought that the suits were actually very impressively designed. I thought that they were exactly what the director was quoted saying at the end. They were strong and futuristic but not sci-fi or cartoony. I love the amount of details that were put into something that could have been so simple. However, the suits are so important because many characters were wearing them during the whole movie. I thought that all of the quotes from costume designers were a little funny because they were describing how the actors felt in their costumes and I would have loved to hear those perspectives quoted from the actor’s themselves. I do agree with them that a costume can help complete the connection between the actor and their character. It is amazing they were able to have one design suit all of the actors and their characters so well.
While I haven’t seen Dune yet, seeing these costumes makes me even more excited to watch it. They have a beautiful level of distress to them and I really love the different pieces and details added to emphasize the differences between the characters, and it makes sense that these suits made the actors change their performances. Zendaya’s pulled-back hair and pale scarf draped across the front of the suit gives her a sense of openness, while Timothee’s cape paired with his hair styling makes him look dramatic and moody. Each suit looks expertly crafted and the material strikes a nice balance between a natural and synthetic look, making it seem more futuristic. The small details and complex shapes show how much thought and attention was paid into the look of the costume and the feeling they are meant to convey. They have a distinct look and definitely don’t read as steampunk, which they mention wanting to stay away from.
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