Creating a definitive list of the most iconic costumes in the whole of film history is no small task. There will always be those who have different ideas of what constitutes a sensational look. However, there are some outfits that it can’t be denied deserve a place in the history books; these are the outfits that we’re going to be looking at today. So, whether you love them or loathe them, it must be said that the wardrobe department from these productions deserves our applause.
Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra in Cleopatra
The first costume is a little bit of a cheat, as it’s really the entire wardrobe of Elizabeth Taylor in her titular role as Cleopatra. This wardrobe was, and arguably still is, the most luxurious that film had ever seen. It included 65 outfit changes and cost close to $200,000. Whether you think the price of such a wardrobe is an extravagance too far, it certainly set the bar high for all other costume designers. There were dozens of iconic looks in Cleopatra, but maybe the most magnificent was the entirely gold outfit. Cleopatra wears a heavily adorned headdress, a shimmering golden cape that appears to be made of feathers, and a beautifully baroque dress.
It’s been such an inspiration to so many other film productions that its reach has extended into other areas too. For example, video game artists have certainly taken inspiration from the stunning golden number. One such game that has been inspired by the alluring outfits of Cleopatra is A Night With Cleo. This slot game allows players to get to know Queen Cleopatra a little more intimately than anyone has before, even seeing underneath the famous golden ensemble. As soon as you log in to Joe Fortune Online Casino to play it’s obvious that the opulent styling of Elizabeth Taylor has had a profound effect on the design team.
Marlon Brando as Johnny in The Wild One
Next in the line-up is Marlon Brando in The Wild One. So often men’s wardrobes fall flat when viewed next to their female counterparts’, but not so for The Wild One. This outfit was so iconic that it’s still being replicated to this day, despite the film being released almost 70 years ago. To begin with, it’s important to understand that this wasn’t a common look at the time, the wardrobe team invented this look specifically for the character of Johnny.
So, what’s the look? It’s a shockingly simple one; blue jeans, a white T-shirt, engineer boots, and a black leather jacket. The Levi 501s were an iconic part of the look because they flew in the face of everything that we accepted. At the time, jeans were for when you were working your manual job, trousers were worn all the rest of the time. In choosing jeans as part of his identity, Johnny was rallying against society’s standards. Combining this with the slim-fitting white t-shirt and the bad-boy leather jacket cemented him as a tearaway. Thankfully, combining this rebellious style with the good looks of Marlon Brando, made the character so much more palatable to the public. Put simply, boys wanted to be him, and girls wanted to be with him. Still to this day people recreate this look regularly and they’ve got The Wild One to thank for that.
Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz
For many of us The Wizard of Oz is the film that started our obsession with costume design. All of the characters were memorable for their looks in this film, not least Judy Garland as Dorothy. In her blue gingham pinafore, white blouse and matching bunches, she looked the picture of Southern innocence. She certainly paved the way for modest, sweet-as-sugar dressing, but the most spectacular part of her wardrobe was without a doubt the red slippers.
These shoes were so famous that references are regularly made to clicking your heels three times or putting on your red shoes in all kinds of other movies. In fact, the shoes were so fondly remembered by so many that they took the record for the most expensive shoes ever sold at auction. Of all the shoes in all the world, these were the priciest! They fetched a staggering $666,000 at Christie’s, New York, USA on 24 May 2000, entering them into the Guinness Book of World Records.
A little confusion arises though, when you learn that nobody is sure exactly how many pairs of red shoes featured in the Wizard of Oz. These ones were certified by MGM as being worn in the film by Judy Garland, though others have come up for sale before. In fact, in 2018 those same shoes were put up for sale for $6 million and though nobody has bought them yet, there’s still time for them to break their own record!
