Designing Costumes for Films

Sridevi’s blue sari from Mr. India or Madhuri Dixit’s purple one from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun have set trends in their days, and in the recent years almost all looks donned by actresses like Kareena Kapoor or Katrina Kaif in their movies have made fashion statements. 

                                

The world of cinema reaches wide taking fashion with it and though a fashion designer is the one creating the outfits, but the credit for the fabulous looks is also shared by a Costume Designer who puts the look of the character together.

A Costume Designer is someone who is responsible for designing costumes for theater or movies. There has always been a misconception that a Fashion Designer and a Costume Designer are one and the same profession. They may belong to the same domain, but they are far from being the same. A Fashion Designer solely creates for him/herself and a Costume Designer creates to define a character.

The job description of a Costume Designer entitles them to work closely with the director, writer and everyone involved creatively with the film. Their designs are based on the script of the film or drama. Here garments are adding and enhancing the character according to the story and a designer has to make sure that they get the costumes of the characters absolutely right because many a times the way a character is dressed defines their role. This is especially applicable for period movies as a culture of an era can be reflected in the clothes of that time for which a designer cannot commit an error. Indian movies are very colorful and of a wide range of genres. A single movie can represent the varied facets of our society and a designer has to create different looks that are associated with all those facets.   

    Neeta Lulla                           Manish Malhotra                         Xerxes Bhathena             

Neeta Lulla is an excellent role model for young costume designers. Manish Malhotra and Xerxes Bhathena are some of the names that have started their career as costume designers.

Any aspirant entering this line of work has to follow more or less the same career path as a Fashion Designer. The first step of which is of course formal education and from there the next step is making your portfolio and internship. A costume designer needs to have the talent of a fashion designer along with the creative sensibility to understand the character for which they are creating the look. Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion is one of the few fashion institutes which encompass these different aspects and gives a chance to explore boundaries.