With awards season right around the corner, the movie geek in me has been catching up on all the films that are raking in the nominations. Among my favourites so far, is Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox. I love his insane attention to detail, from his obsession with Futura typeface in Royal Tenenbaums (which my graphic design wiz boyfriend recently broke down for me) to his whimsical costume treatments.
How many magazine editorial spreads and Halloween get-ups have we seen that reference Margot Tanenbaum's full-length fur or her brother Richie's trademark headband? How visually striking and cool were Team Steve Zissou's fluorescent orange tuques? And don't get me started on the safari animal graphics on the Marc Jacobs-designed suitcases in The Darjeeling Limited.
The standout wardrobe ideas in the stop-motion animated Fox is the suit and the autumnal colour palette, which includes burgundy, burnt orange and mustard. I read in the New Yorker that Anderson designed the costumes and then had his tailor produce the samples, which might explain why certain parts of Mr. Fox's wardrobe looked like they might have come straight from the director's closet. The little clay separates might not be the stuff of future Halloween costumes, but they made a memorable statement nonetheless.
