Alexandra Byme designed some very elaborate costumes for the 1998 box office hit “Elizabeth” starring Cate Blanchett. This movie was loosely based on the reign of royalty in the 1500’s. This movie was nominated the BAFTA for Best Costume Design, the Oscar award for Best Costume Design and was awarded the Golden Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture Costume Design. The costumes were a wonderful mix of historical influence, portrayal of character and artistic liberty.
The silhouettes in this time frame and movie are very drastic. For Men, necklines often almost disappear and breeches create a wide midsection contrasting the hoes that were tightly worn around the legs. For women, upper bodies were accentuated with corsets and square bust lines attached to large bell shapes expanding largely at the waist. This movie was set in the summer and autumn and this could be identified not only in the setting and the weather, but also in the costume.
The first character we are introduced to is Mary of Guise. Mary is the current queen and is sick with cancer. Mary does not approve of her sister as the new queen not only because of the situation she was born in but because of her protestant religion. Mary is a dark, sadistic and somewhat crazed queen and this is definitely reflected in her costume. Her hair is significantly covered in dark decorative pieces (except in moments of weakness) to reflect the senseless craze she experiences. She wears very dark colors in velvet fabrics which seem to be tightly bound and covering most of her body. Drenched in evil, Mary’s rigid dress is dark and stiff covering her chest, arms, legs and feet. The symbolism of the color green (with envy) seems to appropriately relay the jealousy Mary has for Elizabeth.
Robert Dudley is the romantic traitor in this film and his costume appropriately reflects the romance he emanates throughout the movie. Underneath he wears a white linen chemise with a frilled neckline which seems to be a trend for men’s shirts throughout this movie. Robert’s coats are often stiff or oversized and are beautifully lined with embellished or embroidered fabrics that you can see in the front or collar of his coats. With exception to the red velvet and dark leather coats, Robert generally wears light desaturated colors. He also wears short and full breeches which are unique to this character in this movie. This could perhaps be because this article of clothing was not popular until the 1600’s. The fullness of the breeches seems to be hiding Robert’s secrets in a soft affectionate pillow-like pant.
Like Mary, the Duke of Norfolk wore very structured and stiff attire. The fabrics he wore were mostly thick and some were made with metallic thread giving his garments a chainmail-like consistency. There is very little movement as the clothes seem to be tight and layered. The Duke is a bit of a mysterious character and I believe this is the reason the costume designer decided to equip him with black leather gloves to conceal his hands and a large pouch attached to his pants. Large Medallions and jewelry decorate the Duke’s and most other men’s costumes according to rank.
Elizabeth’s costumes followed her transition from rural isolated princess to strong dominating queen. Her character change was so drastic and the largely varying costumes clearly follow this character’s static nature. Elizabeth starts the movie wearing light and flowing tunics in washed out pastel colors. Her hair and clothing are as free as her nature. The large cloak placed on her when she visits her sister is symbolic of a large heavy male like presence weighing her down but also keeping her warm. A restriction and protection seem apparent in this single large dark brown hooded cloak.
Elizabeth begins to wear her hair up and dresses tighter once she becomes queen. The embroidery is bold and the bust lines square with bell dress bottoms enhancing her physical presence. The colors of her costume become more bold and dark as she takes on this political struggle.
Each time a moment of power, vulnerability and risk burdens Elizabeth, her attire almost always is red in hue. A dash of danger is depicted visually while still keeping delicate materials like velvet and silk. Elizabeth develops rigid shapes in her costumes such as the bum roll in the red printed collared dress she wears when challenging Robert.
The final dress Elizabeth wears is maybe the most significant and symbolic. Elizabeth has been forced to become something she wasn’t previously because of her queen hood and the war. She shaves her head and wears a short deep red wig raised a little to give her height. She wears the most makeup she’s worn throughout the movie, whitening her out, making her seem more ghostly than human. Her large white embellishes frill collar seems to enhance her face and head as well as restrict her throat. We’ve already noticed that this type of collar was a masculine trend. The puffed out sleeves taken in at the wrist seem to depict muscular strength even with the fine printed embroidery. The bows that drip down her corset and to the skirt hem keep a feminine feel to the dress and contrast the colorless fabric in a cold way. Finally the cloak worn at her shoulders drags behind her like a wedding dress. Elizabeth is being reborn and is symbolically marrying herself and her country in the end.
With all of this extravagant costume, obviously well thought out costume for each character and reflection of royalty, individualism and symbolism, these costumes can be historically accurate to a certain extent. Although Alexandra borrows from other close by time periods in her costumes, and the accuracy is enough to recognize, she finds a beautiful balance between history and artistic liberty.
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