breaking down the wicked wardrobe of Narnia's ice queen

why the witch’s dresses are beautiful AND strategic ❄️ costume designed by Isis Mussenden, I’ve always loved the super structured, yet delicate dresses of Narnia’s ice queen, Jadis - and now I love them even more 🫶 hope you enjoy this wintery costume analysis for the holidays! ☃️
timestamps:
00:00 intro
01:03 the White Witch
01:39 costume conception
02:55 fantasy design
04:55 beauty
07:02 cruelty (fur)
11:27 power (colour & silhouette)
14:08 war
15:51 final thoughts // goodnight ♡
Find more analysis on my other socials:
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References:
Creatures of Narnia: White Witch | Narnia Behind the Scenes (thank you to Pajasek99 for uploading!): • Creatures of Narnia: W...
The witch and her wardrobe (Variety interview, 2006): variety.com/2006/film/awards/...
Interview with narniaweb.com (2005): costumes.narniaweb.com/mussend...
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (book), C.S. Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew (book), C.S. Lewis
thank you sm for watching!
i analyze the costume design of Jadis, the White Witch of Narnia (Tilda Swinton) from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Disney, 2005) adapted from the Chronicles of Narnia book written by C.S. Lewis.
#videoessay #Narnia #CostumeDesign

[@artatmidnight]

sort of unrelated - but doesn’t the CGI look so good in this movie?? It came out 2005! It looks better than a lot of movies today honestly

[@OpticalSorcerer]

It's all about proper application. New tech isn't always superior tech. BTW, can you do an analysis for 2008's "The Other Boleyn Girl" and 2009's "The Young Victoria"? Thpse are my favorite historical/historical fiction movies.

[@pigeonm1lk]

Better than aquaman 😭

[@bammy2684]

Would you ever consider doing a video on the 90s film jawbreaker? The costuming’s pretty important there and I feel like you’d have an interesting take on it :)))

[@EmyN]

King Kong also came out in 2005 and the CGI is incredible

[@clown-cult96]

That’s the Weta Workshop effect. You also see it in Lord of the Rings. Practical effects are top notch and pushed to be absolutely cutting edge so CGI is needed as sparingly as possible.

[@trinaq]

Tilda Swinton was fantastic in this movie. She was quietly calculating, making you feel as though you could trust her. Her costume really added to this notion, since we're conditioned to accept white as being good.

[@artatmidnight]

yes definitely!! Tilda was so good on this. the perfect white witch ❄️🩵🩵

[@AdamIshak01]

Honestly I know she is not her character, but she played the witch so well that sometimes I catch myself hating her *JUST* cause of this character lmao.

[@alexlazzerly3677]

Honestly, one of the best book-to-movie castings I've seen. Not sure how it can be topped in the remake.

[@helenaprudenciado4388]

She has proven that looks can be deceiving.

[@broadwaybibliophile1802]

Tilda Swinton was also perfectly cast! Like most actors playing great villainous roles, her sheer presence makes the film better

[@artatmidnight]

absolutely! i loved her in this so much! played the evil so well ❄️🩵

[@FariaManalRahman]

I absolutely loved this video. I never noticed that the crown was melting and the fact that Pokemon inspired the idea of her dress evolving is just magnificent.

[@artatmidnight]

thank you!! the pokémon reference was totally unexpected when i read that in the interview haha

[@JoyLuna]

Evolving?? More like de-volving 😭 she was perfect at the start. Then spring came...

[@chrystianaw8256]

​@@JoyLuna🙄

[@xiopaovid1215]

Finally. I always loved her costumes ESPECIALLY her war armor dress. Feminine & masculine. I just loved as Narnia got warmer, her dress turned grey and her crown melted smaller and smaller as she started losing power.

[@melonyrobinson9944]

The more grey dress and drippy-looking furs when she turns the fox to stone reminds me of melted-snow sludge too

[@creativewriter3887]

Yes.. I caught that too.. it goes from pristine ice, snow and flakes, to dirty mud, muck and mire..

[@kikilerer689]

do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. i was there when it was written.

[@artatmidnight]

the cultural significance of this line is wild

[@rachelslifnom]

​@@artatmidnight say more

[@spencerfrankclayton4348]

"Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation." ~Aslan to Susan and Lucy after resurrecting

[@k.285]

Her costumes have not left my mind since I watched this as a kid

[@artatmidnight]

no same

[@AUGHHHHHBBG]

Litterally I want to make a similar dress for myself cus it's so stunning

[@creativewriter3887]

I wasn't aware that she ACTUALLY wore Aslan's mane during the war. I thought she was just making a visual cue that Aslan had died. I didn't dawn on me that it really was Aslan's mane. No ONE could play the queen like Tilda Swinton! She emoted true coldness and cruelty while looking almost ethereal.

[@melonyrobinson9944]

The badger fur is even worse when you remember that she turned mr. Beaver's friend badger to stone

[@XxdextriousxX]

I also love the detail of her ice crown shrinking in size as she grows weaker and weather gets warmer

[@EliSutarday]

the witch's appearance is a perfect example of "don't judge a book by its cover" thanks for ofc another detailed and impressive video , happy holidays btw

[@artatmidnight]

totally! happy holidays to you too! 🩷

[@creativewriter3887]

or "not all angels ARE angelic". lol.

[@SeaSelka]

The feathers of the rooster in the decimation of Aslan (10:20) literally hint at the Gospel - the crowing of the rooster during the betrayal of Peter. All books about Narnia are the Gospel and Christian doctrine. I'm glad that the costume designer kept this reference in her mind.

[@dapwme1866]

It's honestly heartwarming how you dedicate yourself to analyze the costumes of these iconic movies, i feel like you're giving them justice in a way because I'd honestly wouldn't even know where to start to talk about this and thanks to you im enjoying it a lot😭💜

[@artatmidnight]

aw thank you 🫶 i love to do it & im glad you enjoy watching ! 🩵

[@eddyesdras]

🥺🥺🥺💜❤

[@patricksackett270]

I'm confident that Greta Gerwig's supposed Chronicles of Narnia film(s) that may be in production at Netflix will be good. Still, I can't deny that there is one significant element that any future adaptations of these books can ever match: the casting of Tilda Swinton. Arguably, these phenomenal costumes added many layers to the character and can't be reached, but she made this role feel lived in, and she is the thing that you remember most when looking back on the film. Maybe not, but for me, she is. As a kid, this movie was the coolest thing. A talking lion, centaurs, talking animals, battles, sword fights, magic, etc. I last saw this film over a decade ago. But, back then and even now, whenever I think of this film or parts of it, her level of screen presence and performance as the witch is the first thing that comes to mind.

[@Nonickname231]

They should re cast Tilda Swinton

[@thoughtsofaleo2916]

I LOVE the details in this video - I never realized she was wearing aslan's mane or the colors of the dress or the icicle crown. Awesome vid as always!! This movie will forever be one of the most early 2000s fantasy movies (yes it's not lord of the rings but it's still great on its own!)

[@artatmidnight]

thank you! 🫶 i feel like this is the kids version of LOTR (which i love dearly as well), and I love how a lot of it is still pretty high quality!

[@myragroenewegen5426]

Her costumes are incredibly elegant and regal. What I love about that is the trust put in the makeup team, actor and audience. On a well-chosen simply made-up model, these outfits would be power looks, but not evocative of cruelty. The first layer of change comes from makeup that makes her seem sickly, bloodless vampire pale, which then re-contextualizes her exaggerated height and slimness in the dresses as unnatural, suggestive of self-harm and lacking human warmth. The actor gives us the rest. A key unique aspects of this villain is that she is beautiful - a devil who is plausibly alluring and whose power fantasy makes some sense. Giving white a negative connotation and his devil figure a frozen hell to live in is one of the morenuanced and interesting things CS Lewis does and it's good that those adapting the work cared about that enough. Like a deranged clean freak, her white starkly freezes out life and colour, controlling through death like unrelenting extreme cold itself, but that has majesty and beauty in the same way a iceberg has beauty, even though and perhaps BECAUSE it's big and cold enough to kill us.

[@SynchronizorVideos]

I was real bummed that this film franchise petered out before we got Magician's Nephew. The scenes in Charn were some of the most vivid and striking in my young imagination when reading the books. I'll bet the art team and Tilda would have really hit that out of the park if they had the chance.

[@user-cs2zg4cs7y]

Tilda switon is such a great actress and the white witch is one of the most underated and ICONIQUE vilain i seen❤

[@MrTwentington]

Just as a note of more backstory because Jadis is banished to the north by a magic tree, fruit from that is brought to earth and planted and the magic wardrobe is made from that tree when it eventually falls.

[@coreynmarie]

Narnia is one of my favorites! So magical and full of wonder. Loved this analysis

[@Zelda_Thorn]

i've always loved that scene of jadis bare-handed tearing off an iron bar from a lamppost. really drives home her giant ancestry

[@henrisvoid2450]

Please make a video on Black Swan, I think you would do an amazing breakdown of it’s style.

[@artatmidnight]

black swan is definitely on my list to analyze at some point! 🩵🫶

[@henrisvoid2450]

@@artatmidnight thank u for the reply 🤍 I can’t wait !!

[@EliSutarday]

@@artatmidnight welll yes

[@adjadenisedoumbia9305]

​@@artatmidnightyeah do it pleasee💖

[@TheLittleDudeMarcoPolo]

That was an amazing video!!!! Maybe you could do the baroness from Cruella because her outfits show how she gets “weaker” throughout the movie.

[@artatmidnight]

ohh i'll have to add that to my list! the costumes were so fun in that movie

[@0deadx21]

Just like in Cinderella, you can tell about a character's personality just by looking at their outfit.

[@gaesimp__]

I am so glad someone is finally talking about the costumes for this movie. It is severely under appreciated

[@korkinalina]

I can see a similarity with Soviet's Union adaptation of The Snow Queen. They drew her as a literal ice with blue skin and ice stone hair. She looks magnificent and beautiful, chek it out

[@queenberuthiel5469]

I can see their similarity too.

[@the28thofjuly]

i didn't notice the crown until you pointed it out! great video :)

[@artatmidnight]

thank you!! ❄️🩵🫶

[@ElykRindon07]

Thank you for this video. As a Narnia fan since 2002, I only now noticed how the animal furs referenced the Pevensies. Such an awesome detail. This all-white portrayal is very ingenious for the film. They made the character look like an Aryan or white supremacist, which is timely in-universe-wise considering they were in the professor's countryside home because of the Nazis. Another one you missed though is how the sacrificial knife, like the cross, was used in Aslan's sacrifice became a somewhat holy relic in Aslan's Table at the last island of the Narnian world in the third film/book. But that detail delves more in the religious territory. What made me a fan of the series is a local musical adaptation in 2002. I wish Narnia gets a live action epic musical adaptation someday. She'd be classically evil in that version though, I'm certain.

[@haneulc.7244]

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the fifth book in the recent editions! I actually didn’t know it was originally published as the third until I searched it up today to fact check myself

[@ElykRindon07]

@@haneulc.7244 There's been a dispute about the reading order for decades: the publishing order and the chronological order. As much as HarperCollins, Narnia's official publisher since 1994, pushed the narrative that CSLewis told a young fan via letter that he prefers the chronological order that the fan and his mother proposed to him, they left out the part he said it doesnt matter which order they are since he never planned it as a series. But scholars and fans prefer publishing order because of how the narrator discovers Narnia with the audience. Especially since when Aslan was introduced in LWW, the narrator said "none of the children knew Aslan ANYMORE THAN YOU DO..." If someone reads the series in chronological order, that sentence, among many others like it, would be confusing.

[@haneulc.7244]

@@ElykRindon07 Ohhh I see!! I should try reading it in the published order. I think it’ll be interesting since I’ve only read it in the chronological order

[@gunstarheroine5173]

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this insightful, intelligent, perceptive commentary. I feel like you've understood the world of Narnia so deeply, and the way you explained it is both enjoyable and informative. I don't think people realise how much insight we can gain into worldbuilding and characters by looking at costume design. It must be hugely rewarding for the designers to see their symbolism picked up on and appreciated by viewers. I'm a longtime fan of Narnia and absolutely loved this film's unique and creative depiction of Jadis - but even I had missed that Jadis' dress/hairstyle is supposed to be organic, manifested. It makes so much sense. Tilda was an absolutely inspired choice for this role - she has the authority and presence to ensure that wacky as they are, the costumes do not overshadow her. She wears them; they don't wear her. With such unique designs, it could easily have been the other way around. Again, thank you so much for this video. I'm looking forward to see what other analyses you have.

[@salleedstrom9157]

9:24 "Badgers are are often seen as kind and friendly creatures" Honey badger: ... Are you sure about that?

[@glorytoukraine5524]

The narnia books were my favorite series for my entire childhood. I'm so happy to see a channel talk about its lore

[@nikoblack1272]

i love the description of her garb as something she manifests rather than something she wears ; it reminds me a bit of the witches in the Seventh Son movie, as their dresses melt into their bodies when they change into dragons - in a similar vein, i have always been a fan of Ravenna's outfits in Snow White & the Huntsman and The Huntsman: Winter's War, because they're not necessarily aspects of her but they do reflect her nature very clearly and fantastically ~

[@juliabioleydelacoste8677]

I always thought her costumes were bizarre but now I feel like I can appreciate their design and the attention to detail that makes it work so well with her character. Thanks for the video😊

[@nickculton4938]

Tilda was awesome in this role, totally made it her own. There is an appeal to her look obviously beautiful but almost other worldly or enchanted.

[@OpticalSorcerer]

I'm so mad Disney didn't take this book and make an iconic animated musical out of it! The live-action film is underrated.

[@PatrickTower-ln7oi]

So basically Jadis is what Elsa(Frozen 1&2) would have been if she turned evil

[@stardust948.]

I've been watching this movie for years and never noticed! Thanks for the video!

[@larenaabdon4473]

Omg I’m so glad there’s a video talking about the costuming of this movie! The costuming is amazing! Especially Janis’ style

[@PabloEmanuel96]

I gasped when you said that she's wearing Aslan's mane It makes so much sense but I had never realized

[@EmyN]

Damn, the costumes are freaking brilliant! Thank you for this!

[@mariebaudelaire]

amazing video! 💖✨ so many details that i haven't noticed before despite countless rewatches 🤭 like her icicle crown melting through the course of the movie, that was such an incredible detail that im shocked at how i never noticed that before,,, very informative video, happy to have found this channel! 💙❄️

[@artatmidnight]

thank you!! 🥰 i totally didn’t notice either til i rewatched it & was actively thinking about the costumes. i was kinda mind blown haha

[@isaijmartinez1671]

will always be my comfort/favorite movie of all time

[@StyleboyEsposito]

i literally watched this today and it was incredible and the costumes are so good 🤩

[@artatmidnight]

i also love the 1940s clothes of the Pevensies! especially Lucy’s little collared dresses 🩵

[@StyleboyEsposito]

@@artatmidnight YAASS SAAMEE, actually I was watching it and I was thinking that all the kids could also be the seasons: Lucy - spring, Peter - summer, Susan - autumn and Edmund - winter

[@someonemaybe7937]

honestly I could listen to you talk for hours. Your voice and manner of speaking is so satisfying to listen!

[@artatmidnight]

omg thank you! 🥹

[@pyroshayniac1090]

Her outfits slayed, I loved them as a kid!

[@ambience273]

It is one of the rare movies that I like more than the book. Great video.

[@lovefromwonderland]

bro bless you for pointing out how her icicles slowly melt as the movie goes on, that's actually so clever

[@Nejvyn]

Everything in this movie just looks so great. The costumes? The world? The creatures? The effects? Everything was outstanding then, and still holds up so well! I still think of Oreius when I try to imagine a centaur And the soundtrack and casting too, everything just works so well together

[@aeas09]

You are so good at picking movies and characters!!! You never miss and your commentary is amazing and insightful.!!

[@nessiemour4750]

It's so funny this video popped up for me. I watched the movie today after not seeing it for years. I love it as much as i did when i was a kid.

[@tikimillie]

Can we talk about how aslan looks much better than disney’s lion king? A movie with that style of cgi lion would have been pretty cool, but nay, had to sterilise it into an entirely lifeless realistic style.

[@haneulc.7244]

YESSSSS I’M SO HAPPY I FOUND THIS VIDEO, I CAN SLEEP PEACEFULLY AFTER WATCHING IT

[@jam8444]

i love the depth of analysis in this essay! i also love that you went so far as to research her origins and even quotes from the books.

[@LuizFelipe-ci3fr]

She's an Icon

[@jcrafthouse]

Its hard to be engrossed in those movies and the magic without reading the books. I actually read them in timeline order, which is different than their chronology. I recommend it. It was lovely.

[@MeredithHagan]

The curse that Jadis uses to destroy her own world - the Deplorable Word - was intended to be analogous to the atom bomb. Lewis wrote the Narnia books in the 1950s, when the world was still reeling from the atrocity that was the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

[@geckohunter123]

The casting is so perfect because Tilda physically has a cool skin undertone and calculating expression.

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Great breakdown the costume design in these films are great

[@Andrew.is.making.something]

I watched this movie for my mandatory Theology class before changing to fashion design and i cannot believe how many details i overlooked at that time! Tho it always amazed me that thick neckline that her dresses have!

[@manoelafvb]

I simply LOVED the behind the scenes details and love for the story and the character you've put in this video. Thank you so much for it 🩷🩷

[@troglodytee]

this is such a fantastic analysis

[@ChaiKitty7779]

The white witch’s look in this movie was good! Even though it wasn’t book accurate. In the book, her skin is white as salt, her lips are blood red, her crown is gold, and I don’t remember her hair color.

[@benbrown8258]

Fabulous analysis of the White Witch's clothing and its message. It is grim, Jadis's backstory illustrating how paradise in Charn was lost. Frightening and sobering to this adult.

[@saged1513]

The white witch has always been such a striking figure, in the story and the movie. I remember reading and being enchanted by her description and growingly horrified at the depths of her cruelty with the statues in her palace, just like Edmund. I think the movie did an incredible job depicting her, in casting and costume.

[@Victoria-_]

Narina is such a beloved book & movie series for me! I loved this analysis ❤

[@susanbones3381]

God this movie is still fantastic. If you ever decide to watch the other Narnia movies I would love to see your take on Miraz' wardrobe.

[@kitkat7615]

You always do SUCH great analyses, I feel like I learn every time I watch your videos :)

[@Jasmine-px6zc]

i somehow noticed the icicles on her head melting as a kid but i never noticed the dress symbolizes losing her power which is crazy because it's the most obvious of her appearance.

[@ignaciogs6500]

Fantastic analysis! Congratulations. And also the footage of how Jadis' dresses were made shows me they were designed and carefully manufactured... with love.

[@rooo358]

Not even finished watching this yet but I had to pause it and let you know how much I appreciate how well researched this is. I’ve always been fascinated by Jadis and her wardrobe, so thank you for making this video! :)

[@RainbowJemHxC]

Please keep posting. Seriously your channel is such a joy to watch and an inspiration! It's so girly yet soooo fun!!!

[@AchanCham_]

This was awesome to see! It is exactly the sort of thing that I enjoy, someone who is passionate shedding light that further improves my respect for something I like. Thank you for making this video and sharing it!

[@ellencoleman4604]

Excellent video, I never forgot her outfits and how magical she looked.

[@misslovely9727]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time and part of that reason why because of the Witch the acting, her costumes, the motive for why she does what she does it's all perfect. I loved this video ❤😊

[@bloomingssouls]

what an amazing video!! this reminds me i need to rewatch the entire series, and honestly also pick up the books!

[@AUGHHHHHBBG]

I love this movie so much I'm so happy ur doing a style/color analysis for this

[@chanterelle483]

Great video! I love Jadis as a character. Magician's Nephew used to be my favourite because she's such a great villain (and the book is great prequel). Now that I heard you explaining how she got Edmund, I realized that Diggory (main character of that book) is also enchanted by her beauty and that allows her to "hitch a ride" with him to Earth, making all the future events happen. Of course, we all know she's irredeemable villain as soon as that line about "her people" drops. Great story. Tilda Swinton is also awesome. I wish she could star in Gerwig's movie, too.

[@tux_duh]

The Janua character from the the book was always so fun!! I never understood why the first book (the magicians nephew, it explains where the witch comes from and narnias creation) was never made into a prequel movie its actually a fun story

[@palemoonlight96]

Wow what a beautiful idea for a video and what a great job you did presenting and analyzing this, fashion and narnia are both passions of mine and I hadn't thought about all these connections, thank you!

[@Ash-nh6li]

I always thought that shelf thing on the dress was so weird.

[@richmiola9158]

Great video! Always loved her war gear it’s so badass with the lions fur. Also she appears in cameos in the subsequent films and she is like in an ice chamber where she’s like made of ice it’s so cool.

[@redvli8746]

Ugh I used to crush on Edmund lol, I wanted the ice Witch to win

[@iva7092]

This movie is the reason I love costume design. I remember watching the BTS on the DVD and having my tiny mind blow hearing the designer talk about the symbolism. Thank you for dissecting it so thoughtfully ❤

[@ananya1721]

Loved this video!❄ Her costumes hadn't left my mind ever since I watched it as a child. Now I know why.

[@davidsmarrt4049]

I had no idea so much thought went into the witches wardrobe. This was an amazing video and narrated very well ❄️

[@gingerkatherina]

Oh, hiw I just looove and admire if people put thought and effort in things 😩🙌 I could listen to this for hours

[@robstein1313]

I loved this video. You have excellent narration skills

[@Cheezbuckets]

Something I’ve always noticed about her war costume is how much she seems to be visually emulating Aslan in his absence. Where her previous colour scheme was very cold and pale, she’s suddenly wearing a warm gold headpiece, the shape of which resembles fangs at her forehead; her loose hair almost matches the colour and texture of Aslan’s mane and melts together as if it is her mane; and her eye makeup is cat-like, specifically lion-like, with the exaggerated dark line extending past her tear ducts towards the bridge of her nose. To me, it’s like she’s not even wearing Aslan’s mane to show off as a trophy, it’s to say that, now that Aslan is gone, she IS Aslan, but only in his capacity as a ruler of ultimate power and benefactor of implicit, unquestioned loyalty. But, of course, because she is not Aslan, because she lacks his qualities of compassion and loyalty to his people, his arrival immediately ends the battle, she doesn’t even have a chance to try to fight back because, no matter what she thinks or how she presents herself, she is not Aslan.

[@nataliaairey8261]

wow this is such a fantastic video!

[@AmericanGirl7654]

This was such a fun video to watch!!!

[@artatmidnight]

yay!! I'm glad 🥰🥰

[@soursweaterboy3876]

this was so cool !

[@mayln163]

Great video. I learned a lot.

[@geovanniramos9112]

This is an amazing video thank you so much!

[@teresaw9668]

Jaydas wardrobe is entirely amazing 😍

[@Death_Dealer529]

I was third grade at school when i had my two year old crush on Jadis. I never was afraid of her, always had admired and "lusted" for her in a way a pre-teen year old girl lusts for her first crush. I always had adored her strength and power, going even so far as to wanting to be like her.

[@SuperNovaSirius]

Great video! Thank you so much.

[@sophierose8940]

great video on one of my favourite films 🥰

[@SNIPERjeffO_O]

We stan jadis

[@tovbyte]

It’s crazy how a channel which I initially followed because I like euphoria has turned out to be one of the best video essay channels on the site. Keep up what you’re doing! Your approach is very unique!

[@artatmidnight]

oh gosh thank you!! you made my day! 🫶