Vivian Luo
Integrative Studio 2: Fashion Bridge 3
March 4th, 2020
A film I wanted to explore was the 2012 adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. The novel has been recreated on Broadway and on film many times, but this particular adaptation was Oscar nominated for its costume design, seeing as it was so effective and essential to the film overall. How does the costume design for Les Misérables as a period piece portray the suffering and class stratification during the French June Rebellion of 1832 and its effects on character development? In Les Misérables, despite the class stratification as an effect of the extensive political turmoil during the French Revolution, the costume design of the film managed to emulate a unity between the characters stemming from polarizing ends of the class system on the basis of the strive to fight for liberty for the people by displaying symbolic colors of the revolution throughout, manipulating clothing to represent universal suffering, and conveying character development through a broad range of status. The film is based on the novel by Victor Hugo, written shortly after the setting of the storyline, so historical accuracy of the class stratification and political technicalities isn’t much of a concern, but the question lies in how well the costume design captures the time period and conveys the struggle of the common French people. Since the plot stretches over a long period of time and follows the many characters through their lives, many to their deaths, the design also has to emulate the character development over time as the revolution charges on and the political environment changes. For many, the costume is a signifier of their conviction as they rebel against the government and for the liberty of the people. For others, it is solely a visual representation of their suffering and struggle to survive during the time of war. For every character, though, the clothing signifies their social class and position as a French citizen. Based on my current knowledge, the clothing is historically accurate and is helpful developing the audience’s understanding of the characters without much context. The plot was written in such a way that all of the characters in the story are interconnected very intricately, so the audience can get an idea of how people from extremely different upbringings and backgrounds during the revolution can be seen fighting for similar beliefs and for the people as a result of long-term suffering. I want to show an interconnectedness between characters of very different social classes and standings in this way with my design. I intend to ultimately combine into a garment/sculpture the elements from the costumes of a few of the main characters who developed relationships throughout the story while striving for freedom and liberty. This could include uniting symbolic colors of the war, elements relating to the construct of money and political power, and symbols of the three principles of the French Revolution, liberty, equality, and fraternity. I will need to do further research on the individual designs and symbolic elements within the film to later develop a concrete visual representation.
