Mamma Mia Here We Go Again Dress

From a 7-yr stint designing fantastical Westerosian wearable forGames of Thrones to two seasons of costumes fit for a Queen inThe Crown, costume designer Michele Clapton is adding another genre to her repertoire. Costuming the star-filled, seventies-inspired Abba-musical sequelMamma Mia! Here We Go Again,which opens July xx, proved to exist both rewarding, challenging and a chance to exercise something dissimilar.

Going dorsum and forth in time, the movie tells the story of how a young Donna (Downton Abbey'southward Lily James) formed the Dynamos, met her three suitors and opened a hotel in the idyllic Greek isle of Kalokairi. RecentlyTheHollywood Reporter talked with the four-time Emmy Award-winning designer on designing the characters' "earlier and later" looks, coaxing Colin Firth into Lycra and what it was like to work with an icon who is no stranger to the '70s.

While ensuring continuity is a factor in designing the costumes for a sequel, what were some of the other challenges and what was your creative procedure?

Naturally, I looked at the original every bit information technology was important every bit we were taking the characters forwards and (needed) to understand what the characters were virtually and changing them to their earlier selves. It was also a process of looking at the first film and matching the younger grapheme with the older graphic symbol. Hopefully, shapes, hats and things would chronicle backward and forward.

And since this was a musical, the challenges in designing the "performance" outfits were the hardest and really "full on!" All of a sudden you have all these hugely respectable actors and actresses and you have to get them into these Lycra costumes and inevitably they have swell fun as information technology's a release for them. But information technology was daunting to dress an histrion similar Colin Firth inLycra! He was in great spirits about it, simply it was all the same a challenge — fortunately, the cast was strangely agreeable after having washed it in one case before. To me it was also quite daunting following Ann Roth [the film'due south original costume designer] and very nice to step into her very large shoes.

Obviously the seventies provided a wealth of inspiration. Who and what sort of things influenced your styles from this design-rich fourth dimension in history?

I was inspired by the '70s looks of Jane Birkin for the young Donna as I idea information technology was such a cool wait. The costumes were meant to be fun pieces and tried to have real references when serious but when I designed the performance pieces, I wanted them to be handmade copies of what they thought the performance would be. For example, in the start scene for the song "I Kissed the Teacher," I found a great pic of someone in a pantsuit and information technology reminded me of my ain mother's curtains. We designed the defunction in the girl'south apartment in brown, xanthous and creme, gave them to the art department and told them we were going to cutting out the shapes of the designs from the defunction. It was very muchGone With the Wind! No thing what I exercise, I want there to be a narrative and have it brand a sort of strange sense.

Color often plays a big part of the design narrative, what tin you tell me about the palette?

The picture show goes from the early on days of Oxford to Paris to Greece, so I was clear in my palette when I was lining the costumes upward. Paris was tan and mauve and dirty pinks and more sophisticated colors while Oxford was dark blue, greenish, browns and very Laura Ashley. I chose bright colors for Greece — clean Mediterranean blues, whites and oranges. I always think it looks better on the image when there is a coherency with the color palette.

Since time was of the essence with a quick 10-week schedule, did you look to vintage in sourcing the costumes?

For Lily, I went to Los Angeles and looked at a lot of vintage shops and establish really key pieces, but because we needed doubles for dancing and stand up-ins, we had things made. I found all these old '70s prints and it'south like twenty colors and very expensive to duplicate.

What were your favorite costumes and what about those ruffled dungarees?

The designs for the Waterloo Waiters were one of my favorites. They had to wait like waiters but the clothes had to stretch for their moves — somersaults, cartwheels, etc. I simply dearest the stylized part of information technology and wish I could have done more to it. The fabrics were fabricated of 1-way stretch material and had to (requite the appearance on) film like information technology was a proper outfit.

Ruffles are featured quite a lot for both the younger characters' '70s looks and I tried to carry information technology through for later then at that place was some sort of link. I found a great way shot in a magazine of a great guy in immensely paired ruffled trousers and I thought permit's actually get for it for the performance looks. They must motility well when the characters are dancing and make this lovely image when they are moving and stamping their anxiety.

And what was it similar designing for Cher who was clearly the poster child of '70s mode?

It'southward funny, when I started, I used to do promos and met her 20 years ago and haven't seen her since. She is fantastic, who wouldn't want to pattern for her? She is smart, funny and has corking taste and opinions simply was pretty open up — she is infrequent. She adored these squiggly rings a friend was making and has already put them on her website and wore them in every scene. She loves supporting people who are artistic. She was really into white suits and came up with other ideas for costumes — it was a collaboration. Nosotros only had ii weeks to work on her costumes.

Despite the accolades and accomplishment of your high-contour work onGame of Thrones andThe Crown, was this process creatively dissimilar?

I am e'er scared of being pigeonholed subsequently seven years ofGOT and thenThe Crown every bit people will just retrieve I do medieval or fantasy. As designers, we design any we are asked to do, and our job is to make if interesting.

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Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mamma-mia-here-we-go-again-costume-designer-dressing-cher-coaxing-colin-firth-lycra-1127337/

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