Fashion Designers Inspired by Momma Mia

From a seven-year stint designing fantastical Westerosian vesture forGames of Thrones to two seasons of costumes fit for a Queen inThe Crown, costume designer Michele Clapton is adding another genre to her repertoire. Costuming the star-filled, seventies-inspired Abba-musical sequelMamma Mia! Hither Nosotros Become Again,which opens July 20, proved to be both rewarding, challenging and a chance to do something dissimilar.

Going dorsum and forth in time, the moving-picture show tells the story of how a immature Donna (Downton Abbey'due south Lily James) formed the Dynamos, met her iii suitors and opened a hotel in the idyllic Greek isle of Kalokairi. RecentlyTheHollywood Reporter talked with the iv-time Emmy Accolade-winning designer on designing the characters' "earlier and after" looks, coaxing Colin Firth into Lycra and what it was similar to work with an icon who is no stranger to the '70s.

While ensuring continuity is a gene in designing the costumes for a sequel, what were some of the other challenges and what was your artistic process?

Naturally, I looked at the original equally it was important as we were taking the characters forward and (needed) to understand what the characters were about and changing them to their earlier selves. It was likewise a process of looking at the start picture and matching the younger grapheme with the older character. Hopefully, shapes, hats and things would relate backward and frontwards.

And since this was a musical, the challenges in designing the "performance" outfits were the hardest and really "full on!" Suddenly yous have all these hugely respectable actors and actresses and yous have to get them into these Lycra costumes and inevitably they take great fun as it'south a release for them. But it was daunting to apparel an player like Colin Firth inLycra! He was in great spirits about information technology, but it was still a challenge — fortunately, the cast was strangely agreeable later having done it once before. To me it was also quite daunting following Ann Roth [the film's original costume designer] and very prissy to step into her very large shoes.

Obviously the seventies provided a wealth of inspiration. Who and what sort of things influenced your styles from this pattern-rich time in history?

I was inspired by the '70s looks of Jane Birkin for the immature Donna as I thought it was such a absurd wait. The costumes were meant to exist fun pieces and tried to take real references when serious but when I designed the operation pieces, I wanted them to be handmade copies of what they thought the operation would be. For example, in the first scene for the song "I Kissed the Teacher," I found a great picture of someone in a pantsuit and it reminded me of my ain mother'due south defunction. We designed the curtains in the girl'south flat in brown, yellow and creme, gave them to the art department and told them nosotros were going to cut out the shapes of the designs from the curtains. It was very muchGone With the Wind! No matter what I do, I want there to be a narrative and accept it brand a sort of strange sense.

Color often plays a large part of the design narrative, what tin can you tell me almost the palette?

The film goes from the early days of Oxford to Paris to Greece, so I was clear in my palette when I was lining the costumes up. Paris was tan and mauve and muddied pinks and more sophisticated colors while Oxford was nighttime blue, green, browns and very Laura Ashley. I chose vivid colors for Greece — make clean Mediterranean blues, whites and oranges. I always retrieve it looks better on the prototype when there is a coherency with the color palette.

Since time was of the essence with a quick x-week schedule, did yous wait to vintage in sourcing the costumes?

For Lily, I went to Los Angeles and looked at a lot of vintage shops and found really key pieces, only considering we needed doubles for dancing and stand-ins, we had things fabricated. I found all these old '70s prints and it'south like twenty colors and very expensive to duplicate.

What were your favorite costumes and what near those ruffled dungarees?

The designs for the Waterloo Waiters were ane of my favorites. They had to wait like waiters but the apparel had to stretch for their moves — somersaults, cartwheels, etc. I just love the stylized part of information technology and wish I could have done more to it. The fabrics were made of i-way stretch fabric and had to (give the appearance on) picture show similar it was a proper outfit.

Ruffles are featured quite a lot for both the younger characters' '70s looks and I tried to conduct information technology through for later then there was some sort of link. I found a great fashion shot in a mag of a cracking guy in immensely paired ruffled trousers and I idea permit's really go for it for the performance looks. They must move well when the characters are dancing and brand this lovely epitome when they are moving and stamping their anxiety.

And what was it like designing for Cher who was conspicuously the affiche child of '70s style?

Information technology'due south funny, when I started, I used to practice promos and met her 20 years agone and haven't seen her since. She is fantastic, who wouldn't want to design for her? She is smart, funny and has swell taste and opinions but was pretty open — she is exceptional. She adored these squiggly rings a friend was making and has already put them on her website and wore them in every scene. She loves supporting people who are artistic. She was really into white suits and came upwardly with other ideas for costumes — information technology was a collaboration. We but had ii weeks to work on her costumes.

Despite the accolades and accomplishment of your high-contour work onGame of Thrones andThe Crown, was this process creatively different?

I am ever scared of being pigeonholed later vii years ofGOT and and soThe Crown as people will simply call back I practice medieval or fantasy. Every bit designers, we design whatever we are asked to do, and our task is to make if interesting.

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