Major Project: Costume Design

As the Director, one of the many things I have to think about is costume design.

COSTUME DESIGN

The costume design for each character plays an important part in the story, so nothing should just be chosen for the sake of it. I have thought carefully about each character and what they should wear, and I have backed this up with relevant research.

BOBBIE

Interestingly in this story, Bobbie is the Clyde. She is not the Bonnie, because she is leading Clive into the robbery, rather than the other way round, which is how it was with Bonnie & Clyde. Bonnie didn’t usually take part, she was just present.

So because of this, Bobbie will wear dark clothes, that highlight her professionalism (even though this is her first robbery), her leadership and her confidence. I have based the design on Lorraine Broughton, the lead character in the film ‘Atomic Blonde’ (2017). In the film, Lorraine is a spy who is sent to Berlin to retrieve something. I have chosen to base the costume design on her, because I feel it follows the conventions of a female spy costume, and because I feel there are similarities between Lorraine, and Bobbie. They are both strong female leads, with a male partner who helps them complete their mission.

I would also like to include an element of the Bonnie costume design from ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ (1967). To do this Bobbie with wear a necktie, similar to the one in the mood board below (top left corner).

Using all of this information, Bobbie’s costume will consist of:
- A black overcoat (possibly with a leather jacket underneath).
- Black jeans or leather trousers.
- Black ankle high boots
- A black t-shirt or shirt
- A dark necktie

- Tights over the face (in some scenes)

In terms of hair style, I am thinking black or brown and about shoulder length, if not tied up in a ponytail.

CLIVE

Clive is not as confident as Bobbie, in terms of stance and actions. He is also nothing like Clyde as he is not the leader in this situation. He is not very prepared for this robbery (Bobbie is still not the most prepared, but hides it). As well as this Clive has something to hide; he has set the robbery up to fail because he doesn’t want his wife to do something stupid. This will all be represented by his costume design.

Clive’s costume is more casual than Bobbie’s. It’s designed to look as though he has grabbed the first items of dark clothing he could find in his wardrobe. I have based the design on Douglas MacRay, a character from the film ‘The Town’ (2010). In the film Douglas falls in love with a witness of one of his bank robberies. Douglas has to hide this from his partners in crime because he is afraid they’ll kill her, thinking she will go to the police. Clive and Douglas have one thing in common, they are both trying to hide something from their partner in crime. As well as this, they are both amateurs at the task that they are carrying out.

Using this information, Clive’s costume will consist of:
- A black hoodie.
- A dark t-shirt under the hoodie.
- Dark jeans or chinos.
- White shoes (shows he’s an amateur because these will make him easier to see)
- Black or brown leather gloves
- Tights over the face (in some scenes)

In terms of hairstyle, I’m thinking black or brown, short and roughly styled, to show it was done in a rush.

SECURITY GUARD

The security guard is present during the robbery, but is quickly knocked down by Bobbie. Our characters forget about him, but he appears at the end to ruin their getaway, leaving our characters fate in the air. The character is your typical security guard, a strong man hired to protect something. His costume design is based on a basic security guard outfit, which is often the same across all film genres. The mood board below gives you a sense of what this is.

I have chosen to loosely base the design on that of Paul Blart from ‘Paul Blart Mall Cop’ (2009). I believe this is a good representation of what most people imagine a security guard looks like. Similar to our security guard, Paul Blart is underestimated by the audience but by the end of the film is the hero. It is questionable as to whether the audience of our film will see the security guard as a hero or not, but in the eyes of the law he definitely would be.

Using this information, the security guard’s costume will consist of:

- A white or light blue shirt, with a black tie.
- Black trousers.

- A security badge.

- A walkie talkie.
- Black shoes.

In terms of hair style, it can be anything but long hair. The security guard must look tidy and well presented because he is a professional.

I think these chosen costume designs will work well for the characters and film.