Costume Inspiration

I was treated to a day out at Harry Potter World last week (birthday celebration and YES I got to open the doors! There were tears of joy!). I love Harry Potter and devoured the books and films the minute they were released. JK Rowling's imagination and creativity are awe inspiring.

The vast army of creatives who worked on the films are so very talented. Unsurprisingly, I spent most of my visit 'nerding out' over the costumes and wanted to share some of my favourites with you in this blog.

I was amazed to learn that up to 6 copies were made of each costume...sometimes because the costumes had to be 'clean' at the start of a scene and 'dirty' by the end or in subsequent scenes (see Harry and Voldemort costumes below). Lots of different techniques were employed to get the costumes looking suitably grubby or battle scarred.

The specially tailored suits for the Gringotts Bank workers took up to 7 fittings to get the right look (a Saville Row suit might only take up to 4). And all of the details were scaled perfectly.

A highlight for me was Hermione's ball dress from The Goblet of Fire - such a stunning creation and so tiny in real life. There were child's versions of this dress for sale in the shop - £70!

I was fascinated by things that I haven't noticed in the films - but are obviously part of the incredible attention to detail by the costume designers. Snape's cloak was intricately pleated at the back when gathers would have been enough just to get the general look. These pleats are so fine (I'm afraid my picture doesn't do them justice).

There was also a small section at the start of the tour showing costumes from the Fantastic Beasts films - I'm hoping that this will become a greater part of the studio tour in time. The white dots on Credence's jacket were all individual French knots!! And Newt's vintage tailoring was quite exquisite (and the colours quite on trend too!).

Finally - pictures of the toiling process for the Beaux Batons Academy dresses. It's great to see the development work in progress.

Whether you are a fan of Harry Potter or not - I highly recommend this day out if you are interested in how films are made. Everything is covered from set design, to special effects, make-up and the animals that were a key part of the cast. It is truly magical!

Happy Sewing, Jo xx