#kym barrett

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Costume design for Speed Racer by Kym Barrett taken from The Art of Speed Racer (2008)

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COSTUME DESIGN FOR SPEED RACER BY KYM BARRETT (2008)

[giuliettaluce]

14 Fashion Facts From The 1996 Film 'Romeo + Juliet'

Costume Designer Kym Barrett shares all of the details with 14 fun fashion facts about the '90s film, from hidden messages in Claire Danes'

This interesting article speaks of the fashion facts around the costumes worn by the actors of the 1996 Romeo and Juliet as well as some Easter eggs even I did not know. 🤯

Out of 14 facts shown there, I'll post here only 4 that I find them interesting, to read the full list, click on the article above!

DANES’ ANGEL DRESS HAD A SECRET MESSAGE EMBROIDERED ON IT.

After reading the play, Barrett decided that Romeo and Juliet’s costumes should directly reference them as being an “angel” and a “knight,” respectively. But she also incorporated the “angel” line in a Phantom Thread-type of moment. “On Juliet’s dress, which I don’t think you can see, I printed written lines from the script in white. Romeo says in the script, ‘Oh, speak again, bright angel,’ which is why I dressed her as an angel, but I also printed that dialogue from that scene into her dress with white print,” explains Barrett. “I tried to do things for the actors that only they could see or have as their own thing. I thought that it would be an important kind of touchstone for them to have, things like pieces of jewelry and writing engraved on their guns, and in the Capulets’ case, it’s scriptures.”

THE HAWAIIAN SHIRTS HAD REFERENCES AND FORESHADOWING.

“We were trying to think what the Montagues would dress like. They’re just as religious [as the Capulets], but they’re also a different gang. I wanted them to feel like Miami Beach, like they probably surfed, they went to the beach, they wore Hawaiian shirts, they maybe could have gone into the military,” says Barrett. The result was a complete juxtaposition of the Capulets’ Latin cowboy style.

Barrett put the Montague dudes in brightly colored Hawaiian shirts, accessorized with dog tags and lots of jewelry. She also found the blue Japanese blossom-printed shirt that Romeo borrows from Father Laurence and wears through the end of the film at a shop in Miami, but everything else was hand-painted by Barrett’s team. The boys have references to Verona Beach, such as palm trees, the enormous Jesus statue, and other religious icons. However, Romeo’s shirt has other illustrations, such as the flaming heart (one of the movie’s recurring symbols) and lilies, which foreshadowed the movie’s tragic ending as the final scene shows Juliet holding the flowers when Romeo finds her seemingly dead in the church.

THE PARTY WAS A BIG OL’ SHAKESPEAREAN EASTER EGG.

Many of the party looks also paid homage to The Bard. While Lord and Lady Capulet were dressed as Shakespearean characters, so were many of the extras, giving sort of a meta nod to the scene. “I tried to populate the party with characters from Shakespeare’s plays,” explains Barrett. “If you look at the party guests, you’ll see that most of them were A Midsummer Night’s Dream characters. But I think in those days, we didn’t call them Easter eggs, right? It was just part of what we did; it wasn’t intentionally planting Easter eggs. But when I did Us, Jordan wanted to plant Easter eggs, that was a fun part of the process for him them, whereas when we did Romeo + Juliet, it was just part of what we felt would strengthen the visual story.” (During the fish tank scene, you can see a man at the urinal dressed in Renaissance wear, which is supposed to be William Shakespeare.)

MERCUTIO’S SHEER SHIRT WAS SYMBOLIC.

With his unforgettable drag performance singing “Wild Hearts” at the costume party, Mercutio’s look was one of the best in the film. But aside from his sequined costumes, his sheer shirt stood apart and had a special meaning, according to Barrett. “Harold is, of course, a beautiful person, as well as a great actor, and I wanted you to see how vulnerable he was, so I used sheer fabric a lot of the time with him,” she explains. “It was like a veil; we could relate to him and he didn’t wear any armor, and that’s why he in the end was one of the strongest and the most heroic characters in the show, because he let his true self out.” For Mercutio, Barrett forwent the typical Hawaiian shirt in order to make him stand out from his Montague brethren. “He was different, and he embodied the better traits of both of those groups, but he was unfortunately sacrificed,” she says.

[lokiadmirer]

Costumes worn by Simu Liu and Michelle Yeoh in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings found at the mopop museum of pop culture in Seattle!

[theartofcostume]

Free your mind. The Art of Costume Blogcast is kicking off our annual sci-fi month with a deep dive into the iconic costume design of The Matrix. Join Elizabeth and Spencer as they explore the creative vision of costume designer Kym Barrett, who brought to life the futuristic world of The Matrix with her unique blend of cyberpunk, film noir, and 90s fashion. Our hosts discuss the sleek black trench coats and custom-built sunglasses of the main characters, favorite moments from the film, and reflect on the legacy of The Matrix's style, which has influenced countless sci-fi and action movies since its release in 1999.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3PDC44IqkxdhuEYTvY7XXb?si=2d697671624149b9

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-matrix/id1573412874?i=1000608348548

YouTube: https://youtu.be/WCYkmyswH0g

[shakespearenews]

25 Years Later, the ‘Romeo + Juliet’ Costumes Are as Magical as Ever

The film’s costume designer, Kym Barrett, looks back on outfitting Baz Luhrmann’s Shakesperean epic.

What was the story behind the Capulet party costumes? I feel like all of them give a little backstory to each of the characters.

In the script, [Romeo] says, “Oh bright, bright, angel,” and I knew Catherine wanted Claire to be on the balcony, backlit and silhouetted with the twinkling fairy lights that look like stars. So I knew straight away what that was going to be. And then with Leonardo, he’s like Lancelot. He’s driven away from his own people, from everything he holds dear to him. It’s an echo of the knight in shining armor, only in this case, it doesn’t work out, of course. I wanted to have that duality of it being one of the greatest romances in the world, but also one of the most tragic. I didn’t want to bang people over the head with didactic imagery, but I did want there to be a subconscious connection to stories and myths. The ballroom party is populated with characters from Shakespeare: Lord Capulet is a Roman emperor and Lady Capulet is Cleopatra. Then Paul Rudd as Paris is a bit on the outside, and a bit of a space cadet, so an astronaut felt right. I always thought of him as floating out a bit beyond reality.

[costumeloverz71]

Li (Fala Chen) Green outfit.. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).. Costume by Kym Barrett.

[edithhead]

“[Adelaide] had to appear to be completely normal... It’s all about a neutral palette. What she chooses is really generic, and anyone can project onto it whatever they want to see... I wanted her to be the lantern that led her family... Along the way, that light is continually flickering … She’s getting more and more and more covered in blood. The idea was that [by the film’s end], she’s almost as red as Red.” — Kym Barrett, costume designer for Us (2019) dir. Jordan Peele