Hamlet movie costume review (Group 10)
Anjali Parmeshwaram- Research and Compilation
Saira Shirke- Research and Writing
Sakshi Wadgaye- Research and Editing
Facts about movie:
● Year Hamlet was set in- 1300’s
● What was that period called- Early Gothic
● Movie name- Hamlet
● Director - Franco Zeffirelli
● Year of release- 1990
● Costume Designer- Maurizio Millenoti
CONTENTS:
● Introduction
● Fashion History of Early Gothic Era
● Costume Analysis
● Compare the costume
● Conclusion
● Credits
● References
Main Characters:
● Prince Hamlet
● Queen Gertrude
● Claudius
● King Hamlet
● Horatio
● Ophelia
Overview of the movie:
Prince Hamlet's father has recently died, leaving his brother, Claudius, to take the
throne after a very short courtship with Hamlet's widow, Gertrude, whom he has now
married. He inherits a country that is perpetually near war with neighboring Norway;
King Hamlet had killed King Fortinbras in a battle some years previously and his
sickly brother inherited the throne, but his poor health is no comfort to the Danes
who still fear that an invasion may occur any moment.
Based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name, Zeffirelli's version doesn't
alter much from the plot of Shakespeare's play. Fundamentally, Hamlet tells the story
of the eponymous Prince Hamlet, who is involved in a power struggle in his country
of Denmark with his uncle, who had just murdered Hamlet's brother to seize the
throne and take control of the kingdom. After a strange encounter, Hamlet decides to
fake madness and plot revenge on his uncle. Hamlet is set in medieval Denmark. In
terms of fashion history, we could call this the early gothic period. In the movie
however the stylist has drawn inspiration from other eras as well, such as the
Byzantine and Burgundian, pulling together a surprisingly cohesive look.
The Early Gothic Fashion:
The Gothic time dress is usually divided into two periods, Early Gothic period
(1200-1350) and Late Gothic period (1350-1450). The outfits in the Early Gothic
period were more sophisticated, graceful and simpler in cut than the Romanesque
period. Sleeves used to be tight and the forearms were given more importance.
Minimal trimmings on the Gothic clothing were also a feature of the Early Gothic
period. The Gothic dresses were usually longer and the necklines were deep. Styles
changed quickly during the Late Gothic period. The period moved from the earlier
flowing draperies that metamorphosed, into fabrics that kept on becoming more and
stiffer with the passage of time.
In the Early Gothic period, men wore hair at a sensible length often in a bob to the
jaw line with a bang across the forehead. Men often bleached their hair as blond hair
was popular.
Prince Hamlet:
However the costumes in Gibson’s Hamlet did not come to the same level as Early
Gothic’s , as can be seen mainly during the wedding of Gertrude and Claudius. In
Gibson’s version everyone attending the wedding, newlyweds included, were
dressed in dark greens, blues and reds. This allows Hamlet to easily blend in,
wearing all black, as he continues to mourn the loss of his father. The costumes
allow everyone to look similar to one another, not only in colour but in style - long
and unshapely. Although this may work for the peasants, it does not work for the
royalty.
He mostly wore black on black , and while quite a lot of effort appears to have gone
into making them visually interesting, they’re still, at the end of the day, black tunics.
Queen Gertrude:
According to the sumptuary laws the amount of fur you wore depended on your
social status with royalty wearing the most fur. This aspect has been properly
portrayed in the movie. Apart from King Claudius, only Queen Gertrude is seen
wearing fur, that too on rare occasions.
Buttons had just come in during the middle ages, however it is not evident in any of
the costumes of the movie, nor is mi parti.
Although the long slits for sleeves are spot on as seen in the image on the left, they
are not specific to the early gothic period.
In all, Queen Gertrude’s outfits were not era specific. Inspiration had been taken
from Early Christian and even early renaissance with the extensive intricate
embroidery. One thing however i didn’t get to see was the surcoat which was a little
disappointing. I personally feel they could have taken a good amount of creative
liberty with a surcoat as a base, giving it a little bit of fantasy along with grounded
historical facts.
Another one I really like is this simple red tunic, which she wears during the scene
where Ophelia goes mad and distributes “flowers'' to everyone. Gertrude is mostly in
the background here so the gown is never shown clearly on film, which is a shame,
since it's one of the more historically accurate gowns she wears.
The fillet and barbette and
loose-fitting sideless gown are
both elements seen in the
illustrations of the
ManesseCodex.
Manesse Codex, c. 1300-1340.
http://www.frockflicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/manesse_bible1.jpg
One of Gertrude’s outfits is this 12th century bliaut with the knotted sleeves. For
such a simple outfit, look at the insane amount of embellishment around the neck
and the different textures of the over-gown and undergown. It’s simple yet stunning.
Though the costume was from one/two century prior to hamlet’s actual setting the
embroidery work made it fit with its character i.e. Queen Gertrude.
Claudius:
Claudius' costumes were spot on according to the time period mentioned. His
costumes looked royal as compared to Prince Hamlet's who's the king's son.
=>Long tunics, Belts syncing the waist, Hose and also a cape .
His tunics also had Gold ribbon work going on with embroidery and buttons which
definitely portrayed his royalty. Claudius' hair was sort of inspired by the gothic era in
the 1200s where men would curl their hair (known as ' Dorlet' Fringe).
He had a ringlet on as a headdress which they possibly thought to show as a crown.
As no other character had it on.
King Hamlet:
King Hamlet dies in the beginning. He appears only as a ghost in the rest of the movie.
Therefore his costume was basic and did not show much of royalty except the buttons on
his tunic.
Horatio:
Horatio was Prince Hamlet's loyal friend but wasn't considered a noble. He was a
courtier therefore his costume was like a soldier . Simple and sturdy and era
appropriate.
Tunics with fitted sleeves based on the 1200s doublet with fitted sleeves and a
sturdy cote-hardie.His hair was too based on the 13th century curled/'DORLET'
fringes.
While the headdress was accurate for a courtier in the 13th century with the sturdy
coif.
Ophelia:
The character Ophelia mostly wore a white gown which was kind of evident to the
14th century style. Her gowns were simple, elegant and more sophisticated. Mostly
the early gothic dresses are long and have deep necklines while the dresses she
wore didn't have deep necklines. What I liked about the gown were the embroidery
on the necklines. She wore a floor-length, long-sleeve v-neck tunic dress with lace
front closure. Embellished with gold bouillon threaded detail and pearls. She also
wore a kirtle with a surcoat but in the 14th century the surcoats were usually wider
and sideless. The surcoats were not tied up like shown in the movie.
In the 14th century, women tied up their long hair and plaited it with linen tape which
were worn coiled or looped on either side of the head. Once tied up they were
secured by the fillet of line tied at the back of the head. As shown in the movie, the
actress just had her hair plaited and tied with white handkerchief.
INTERPRETATION FROM THE PLAY:
From the interpretation of the
play, the youthful characters
will put on clothes that will
reflect their youthful nature.
Hamlet is dressed in tight
jeans, a T-shirt top, a heavy
jacket, boots, and a scarf. The
texture of the clothes portrays
the mood of the scene. His
attire portrays him as a
rebellious youth who is ready
to avenge the death of his
father. Ophelia is dressed in a
tight skinny trouser, a heavy
jacket, and boots.
Conclusion:
What we observed was a combination of costumes from different eras brought
together to complete the look of this movie. Hamlet, being heavy on its concept and
language, needed to have comparatively subtle costumes. That is quite evident from
the showcase. Majorly, only Queen Gertrude's and sometimes the King's costumes
were on the more extravagant side. Hamlet, although being a prince and main
character, was seen in simple attire similar to his friends who were a class below
him. This could have been consciously done, in order for the clothes to not steal the
spotlight from the actual scene. To do this, taking creative liberty and extracting
inspiration from other eras was only natural.
References
1] TBT: Rethinking Zeffirelli’s Hamlet (1990), By Sarah Lorraine on March 3, 2016,
http://www.frockflicks.com/hamlet-1990/ ,27/8/2021
2] StudyCorgi. (2020, April 4). Hamlet’s Costume Design. Retrieved from
https://studycorgi.com/hamlets-costume-design/ , 27/8/2021
3] Era of Gothic DressCulture, by the goth code on October 2010,
https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/5253/era-of-gothic-dress-culture , 27/8/2021
4] Comparison of costumes with the play and era portrayed by Nikita Roy
https://www.scribd.com/document/128612776/IB-Hamlet-Costumes-IOP-Script , 27/8/2021
5] The Gothic Period(Medieval), by Lauren M Lowell
https://lowelldesigns.com/the-gothic-period-medieval/, 27/08/2021
