Stripes and stitches
Went to see the Tim Burton exhibition last night, because I keep putting it off and putting it off and it closes this weekend.
It was magnificent -- Colleen Atwood's costumes are stunning to look at in-person, so much texture and interest in their make-up. All of the costumes on display were amazing, actually, I just single her stuff out for mention because I'm a big fan of her work generally (the Hannibal Lecter mask? Her design. The Black Parade uniforms? Her design. I could go on and on. If it's extremely pretty and a little bit creepy and made of cloth, it's likely Colleen Atwood had a hand in it).
The Edward Scissorhands costume was so utterly beautiful that I spent a long time in front of it. There's a throwaway line in book four of the Wolf House where Blake mentions that Rose used to write Edward Scissorhands fanfiction -- on one level, that line functions as an obscure in-joke to myself, because some of Rose's interests are modeled on Gerard Way's, and Gerard has been known to write Planet of the Apes fanfiction (there were costumes from that movie in the exhibition, too. Colleen Atwood you do such pretty, pretty, creepy work, I love yooou).
But on another level the Edward Scissorhands fanfiction line is about the Wolf House's constant riffs on the Frankenstein story -- by that point in the series, Bette and Rose essentially are the gothic monster and the ordinary girl with the star-crossed love, and so every attempt Rose makes to avoid a doomed fate for the pair of them is, in a sense, an Edward Scissorhands fanfiction.
That was really brought home to me when I was looking at the costume. I've always been conscious of some of Burton's visual tropes -- the stripes and curlicues being the obvious ones -- but the clear Frankenstein influences in even the tinest details of the Edward costume really brought that particular one to the fore for me.
And after I'd started noticing it, I saw just how prevalent it is. Catwoman and Sally the Ragdoll, their stitches clear where they've been pieced together. The child Willy Wonka's terrifying metal headpiece, like an inorganic part of his body. It's all beautiful and weird and brilliant.
Plus, the exhibition has the angora sweater from Ed Wood. Love love love.
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comments at the moment.
It was magnificent -- Colleen Atwood's costumes are stunning to look at in-person, so much texture and interest in their make-up. All of the costumes on display were amazing, actually, I just single her stuff out for mention because I'm a big fan of her work generally (the Hannibal Lecter mask? Her design. The Black Parade uniforms? Her design. I could go on and on. If it's extremely pretty and a little bit creepy and made of cloth, it's likely Colleen Atwood had a hand in it).
The Edward Scissorhands costume was so utterly beautiful that I spent a long time in front of it. There's a throwaway line in book four of the Wolf House where Blake mentions that Rose used to write Edward Scissorhands fanfiction -- on one level, that line functions as an obscure in-joke to myself, because some of Rose's interests are modeled on Gerard Way's, and Gerard has been known to write Planet of the Apes fanfiction (there were costumes from that movie in the exhibition, too. Colleen Atwood you do such pretty, pretty, creepy work, I love yooou).
But on another level the Edward Scissorhands fanfiction line is about the Wolf House's constant riffs on the Frankenstein story -- by that point in the series, Bette and Rose essentially are the gothic monster and the ordinary girl with the star-crossed love, and so every attempt Rose makes to avoid a doomed fate for the pair of them is, in a sense, an Edward Scissorhands fanfiction.
That was really brought home to me when I was looking at the costume. I've always been conscious of some of Burton's visual tropes -- the stripes and curlicues being the obvious ones -- but the clear Frankenstein influences in even the tinest details of the Edward costume really brought that particular one to the fore for me.
And after I'd started noticing it, I saw just how prevalent it is. Catwoman and Sally the Ragdoll, their stitches clear where they've been pieced together. The child Willy Wonka's terrifying metal headpiece, like an inorganic part of his body. It's all beautiful and weird and brilliant.
Plus, the exhibition has the angora sweater from Ed Wood. Love love love.
This entry was originally posted over here and has
comments at the moment.