The Hunger Games is massive. I first read the book on a plane home for PAX Prime back in 2011. I quickly devoured the trilogy and waited for the first movie. Honestly, I would not really say the book is about its fashion. Who is worried about looking good in Districts striken with poverty or deadly games pitting children against each other? The descriptions of the Capitol were there, but did not lend too much to the imagination. So when I saw how amazing the costume design was in the films I was floored. Even the drab clothing of District 12 was impeccably designed. Quickly, The Hunger Games series became one of my favorite movies for costumes.
Costume designer Trish Summerville was at the helm of bringing Panem fashion to the screen. She is responsible for The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo transformation of Rooney Mara. Now, she is designing for an entire, dystopic world. Not only did they have to come up with the elaborate wardrobe for the main cast, but there were thousands of extras that needed to be outfitted. Also, many of the looks were borrowed from top designers such as Alexander McQueen. Effie Trinket mostly wore McQueen wear because it was very fitting to the character that she is. Peeta was outfitted in Korean designer Juun J.
Another big costuming challenge was the arena looks. In the Quarter Quell games, the arena uniforms were going to have to fit a wide range of body types and age groups. They also look very sleek and functional for the athletic, deadly games. Personally, they look like really awesome wet suits – not exactly as I imagined in the books (where they are described as sheer blue jumpsuits), but definitely fit in seamlessly with this movie world.
Let’s not forget MY favorite dress out of the film: Katniss’ wedding dress. It is beautiful. Jaw dropping. I can not take my eyes off of it as I construct it mentally. When I first saw the dress I was immediately stunned. The book does not offer much description to how gorgeous the dress was meant to be so the movie goes above and beyond to the elaborate nuptial garb. Intricate and detailed, the dress was a colloboration between Summerville and Jakarta based designer Tex Saverio. It took two months to complete and has thousands of Swarovski crystals according to the designer.
For more information about the wonderful costumes from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, check out some interviews. The movie is out this friday, November 22nd.
B u t t e r f l y ƸӜƷ S a m u r a i 