lights, camera, fashion
YOUTHFUL REBELLION A fashionable retelling of a classic tale BY IGOR SAMPAIO
B
AZ LUHRMANN DIRECTOR’S ROMEO AND JULIET MOVIE, IS A BRIDGE from the XVI century to the 90’s fashion looks. There’s so much to love about this movie—from Luhrmann’s kinetic style to Leonardo DiCaprio’s romantic, floppy, quintessentially haircut—but perhaps its greatest achievement is its fantastic fashion. Costumes are one of those quieter storytelling tools that, when given their due, can actually say a lot about a character in a short moment. And the costumes in this film put in a lot of hard work. We all know from our middle-school readings of Romeo and Juliet that the Capulets and the Montagues will never be bosom buds—but Luhrmann drives home the dueling families—differences right from the start by choosing two very different styles of dress for them. On one side, you have the Montagues—whom we meet first, and who look like total beach bums wearing bright colors. Given that, it should come as no surprise that the Capulet boys all favor red and black. The Montagues are into buttons; the Capulets generally prefer zippers. The list goes on and on.
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| AUGUST 2020
