Costume Research -> 18th Century -> Marie-Antoinette

The costumes in Marie-Antoinette were designed by Milena Canonero. Here is an interview with her.

Listen to the Frock Flicks podcast discussing the costumes of this movie here!

Kendra from Demode, has a great tutorial on how to make a tall 18th century wig. I really want to try it now! You can check it out here! Thanks to Vivien for this 18th Century hair tutorial!
http://www.vivcore.com/fancygirl/rococo_puff.html

I wrote up a page on 18th century terms and styles and a few links to tutorials, that may be helpful to refer to when researching 18th century movie costumes.

Kirsten said on Entertainment Tonight that she had 60 gowns! Let's count!


1. "Intro"
2. Austrian 1
3. Austrian 2
4. Blue Tricorn
5.Wedding
6. Pink Bows
7. Pink Dinner

8. Garden
9. Hunting
10. Peach
11. Church
12. Pink
13. Cards
14. Letter

15. Yellow
16. Pale Blue
17. Pink
18. Dressing Gown
19. Ermine Collar
20. Dressmaking
21. Peach stripe

22. Pale Blue
23. Roses
24. Letter


25. Yellow
26. Shopping 1
27. Shopping 2
28. Masquerade

29. Carriage
30. Dressing Gown
31. Coronation
32. Coronation 2
33. Birthday
34. Hangover
35. Trees

36. Piano
37. Roses
38. Trianon
39. Serenade
40. Blue Stripe
41. Trianon 1
42. Trianon 2

43. Trianon 3
44. Trianon 4
45. Trianon 5
46. Milkmaid
47. Trianon 6
48. Wreathe
49. Trianon Party
50. Evening

51-52. Affair
53. Breakfast
54. Pale Green
55. Blue w/ Belt
56. Striped
57. Mourning 1
58. Mourning 2

59. Mourning 3
60. Mourning 4
61. Portrait
62. Mauve
62. Coat dress
63. Pink
64. Riot Robe
65. Goodbye

Misc, Unidentified, or Cut Costumes


Let them eat cake
Vogue
Cut Scene
Cut Scene
Cut Scene
Nightgowns

Polignac
Lamballe
Misc. Others
Accessories
Exhibit Pics

Vogue:

These are the photos from the lovely Vogue shoot by Annie Liebovitz. There is a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot here.


About the Costumes

From The London Times Magazine: "At the start of pre-production, Coppola handed Canonero a box of pastel-coloured macaroons from the Laduree pastry house. "She told me, 'These are the colours I love'," recalls Canonero. "I used them as a palette. Sofia was clear about the colouration, but left the rest to me. We squeezed the essence of the period, without reproducing it. Even if you think you know a lot about it," she argues, "you always have to look for a new angle. I simplified the very heavy look of the 18th century. I wanted it to be believable, but more stylized."

"The biggest challenge facing Canonero was the sheer volume of costumes involved in staging three operas - Marie Antoinette was a keen and accomplished amateur performer - her wedding to the Dauphin, his coronation as Louis XVI, plus gambling and party scenes. "To dress and undress so many people is incredibly challenging. It's rare to make a movie these days that spans 20 years of a very grand life." The bulk of the clothes were made in ateliers in Rome's Cincecitta studios. "I started by throwing pieces of material of Kirsten to see what colours suited her best. I hardly used wigs, because they weren't right for her We thought that maybe we could have gone more crazy, but there was just not time."

"For Madame du Barry, "the rather vulgar mistress of the decadent King" (Louis XV, Marie Antoinette's grandfather-in-law), Canonero wanted a totally different look from that of Marie Antoinette. "I dressed her like an exotic bird, in contrast to the rather naive, innocent queen-in-waiting."

From this interview:

CB Did you use original pieces or did you redesign everything yourself?

MC The cut of the clothes was perfectly correct. But the way we chose the color combinations and the hair was inventive. And of course you always look at something that exists in the past and then depart from there.

CB What kind of materials did you use?

MC Beautiful silks, taffeta, and satin. But for Marie Antoinette I used original lace from the 18th century and I also used original waistcoats for the men, and the jewelry and accessories were sometimes used in a freer way. In those days all the ladies in the court would be covered in lace because it was the way to show how rich you were. They had much more jewelry than I used. I preferred the decorations of the dresses to be more graphic than lacy. Even though I used beautiful period lace sometimes.

I wrote up a page on 18th century terms and styles that may be helpful to refer to when researching 18th century movie costumes.

Other Resources:

Books & DVDs of Possible Interest

Custom Search

You can also support the site by making your purchases on Amazon using the search box.

All original work is protected by intellectual property laws. No copyright infringement is intended - copyrighted images are being used for costume study and research and is (hopefully) covered under the fair use clause of copyright law. Site design, graphics, and content are copyright © Maggie. Exhibit images are the property of their owners. Note that this site does not sell costumes and is not for profit. Ad content is only to support the costs of maintaining the site. It is a costume research site only. I reserve the right to add to or subtract content from the site at my sole discretion.