Sandy Powell, Paco Delgado, Jenny Beavan, and Jacqueline West reveal how they realized their visions.
to get to make her stand out, costume designer Sandy Powell kept things simple.
She has to walk into the ballroom and immediately look different from everybody else,Powell tells EW.
Focus Features; Disney; Kirsten Franson; Sandy Powell; Warner Bros. Pictures
She has the biggest dress in the room, but its also the simplest and it was deliberate.
Its good to be bad, especially when you look like Cate Blanchetts wicked stepmother.
Theres something really intimidating about somebody who is perfectly dressed.
Courtesy of Disney; Jonathan Olley/Disney
To convey that notion, Powell made sure to maintain a sense of glamour in the stepmothers structured pieces.
Powell also put Blanchett in darker shades, rather than having the villainous character dressed completely in black.
I wanted her colors to be strong and jewel-like tones, and attractive but cool, she notes.
Courtesy of Disney; Jonathan Olley/Disney
None of them have any warmth to them really.
Helena Bonham Carter appears as a beggar woman who is later transformed into a fairy godmother.
Though opposite in looks, Powell says she treated both outfits the same by giving each a sculptural feeling.
Courtesy of Disney; Jonathan Olley/Disney
As for the fairy godmothers wings, those were Carter’s idea.
I wouldnt have put wings on, Powell says, though she ultimately embraced the look.
I think it was very successful, and I will give her full credit for that.
Courtesy of Disney; Jonathan Olley/Disney
Because this is a fairy tale, Powell found it easy to have fun with her designs.
Powell took inspiration from bits of color seen in street photography of 1950s New York.
Powell calls Carols look above one of her favorites.
Courtesy of Disney; Jonathan Olley/Disney
Compared toCinderella, Powell saysCarolwas much more restrained.
There is nothing fantastical about it at all, she notes.
Its about real people in a real time in a real world.
Courtesy of Sandy Powell; Wilson Webb/The Weinstein Company
That real world of 1950s New York, Powell continues, is something Haynes really wanted to highlight.
Case in point, Therese is first seen with a more dressed down appearance.
Its sort of artsy, but unselfconscious.
Courtesy of Sandy Powell; Wilson Webb/The Weinstein Company
I think at that point in her life, clothes arent her priority.
Her art, her photography, is what shes interested in.
The more time Therese spends with Carol, however, the more she becomes drawn to style.
Courtesy of Sandy Powell; Wilson Webb/The Weinstein Company
Then we tried to make two complete opposite worlds.
As Lili transitions, Einars world slowly fades.
Eventually, Lili opts for items with a lot movement, in warmer shades and lighter fabrics like silk.
Courtesy of Sandy Powell; Wilson Webb/The Weinstein Company
But here, Lili wears a fitted, beige suit, straddling a masculine-feminine line.
Nicholas Holts War Boy Nux is a perfect example.
Hugh Keays-Byrnes tyrannical leader Immortan Joe has a look thats both elaborate and functional.
Courtesy of Sandy Powell; Wilson Webb/The Weinstein Company
We just had to give him that really frightening look, Beavan says.
West credits Inarritu as being a major inspiration on the film.
It all seemed so personal and so internal.
Courtesy of Sandy Powell; Wilson Webb/The Weinstein Company
Courtesy of Sandy Powell; Courtesy of The Weinstein Company
Courtesy of Focus Features
Courtesy of Focus Features
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures; Jasin Boland/ Warner Bros.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures; Jasin Boland/ Warner Bros.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures; Jasin Boland/ Warner Bros.
Kirsten Franson; Kimberley French
Kirsten Franson; Kimberley French
Kirsten Franson; Kimberley French
