THE INSANE DESIGN OF DUNE

This video is about the extremely based costume and set design of Dune by Denis Villeneuve and the architecture and fashion that inspired it.
Follow me on Instagram: karsten_kroening
karsten kroening.com
0:00 intro
0:52 How dune recontextualizes sci-fi aesthetics
4:03 the design of the harkonnens
7:47 the design of arrakis and the fremen
13:16 the design of the atreides, caladan, corrino
topics mention in this video: timothee chalamet, rick owens, Balenciaga, channel, issey miyake, costume design, brutalism, neo-futurism, interior design, set design, dune concept art, le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, hollyhock house, mayan revival, wabi-sabi, Japanese design, Chinese architecture, petra, austin butler, paul atredeides, Florence pugh, zendaya

[@AndyGalligan]

You've never met Harkonnens before, I have. They're not human, they're *BRUTALIST*

[@RLeVeriteArt]

HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAAHAH i will never unhear this xD

[@valdezlopez]

My mind also went there! BRRRRRUTALISTS!

[@AngiMP]

Hahaha PERFECT

[@clifb.3521]

LOLS

[@benbowland]

geigerian brutalism

[@connorodum6710]

How can a planet that is so dry have so much drip

[@abyrupus]

Desert architecture is very interesting. Check out Yazd, Iran or Santa Fe, US.

[@grandmasterautistwizard4291]

@@abyrupusSanta Fe is awful, that shit is awful.

[@Cityweaver]

​@@grandmasterautistwizard4291 I think they may be referring to, like, native architecture. Not downtown or suburban Santa Fe. Unless you got something against stucco, adobe, and the Pueblo houses on the sides of cliffs? 😂

[@grandmasterautistwizard4291]

@@Cityweaver No I just hate Santa Fe. It's full of old people that smell of patchoulli.

[@shahrukhkhan8307]

you never been to Middle east or North Africa it seems like.

[@verito98]

I kept getting lost with the storyline bc I was drooling over the set design and outfits. love your insights!

[@KnarfStein]

Like Will Neff in his reaction/review of the film, I was, and still am, BEGUILED by the EXTRA costume designs. Jacqueline West has overall outdone herself once again, but 3 instances really stand out for me: Margot's Belanciaga-inspired velvet LBD; the row of EXTRA ornamental scarab-like pillars that are the Fremen RMs to greet Paul when he does his ominous slow mo walk to the southern war council; and Irulan's EXTRA space witch chainmail couture. Did I mention the costumes are so EXTRA?

[@Karolina-su3do]

Same. ❤❤

[@gaschum681]

Dune fashion is crazy slept on, when I saw the chainmail dress in theaters I had to change my draws.

[@divideandmultiply]

Particularly the awning of the veil, which was made up of numerous blade or sword like fixtures.

[@poindextertunes]

so 🔥

[@aggghhhh1009]

​ 10:42 😅😅u 10:42 10:42 up to😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@simongervais9302]

how can you not mention HR Giger and actual Neogothic aestetics when speaking of the Harkonnen. Also you could mention that Denis was mostly inspired by the brutalist architecture of Montreal, including montreal's metro system. Very cool point about the light alignement, it's not unlike Mayan temples and the like. They actually filmed some scenes in Petra. Cool stuff about military designs.

[@salzburysteak]

Also good to mention how story informs architecture. No matter where you go the style is but and large brutalist which adds to the cold, detached culture of the world. Politics over passion. You can really feel how cold and isolating the environments are for Paul before he goes to the fremen

[@jancole6910]

Same, everything in the Dune universe feels vast, ancient, and unknowable. The humans are like the dust in the wind, mere flashes in the ages of time.

[@tutmosislll9063]

I'm pretty sure the Harkonnens were inspired by the 70s concept art for Jodorowskys attempt at Dune, which were made by swiss artist H. R. Giger

[@paullittle835]

Came here to say this, there's definitely Giger influence (which was also present in Lynch's version)

[@kmpw]

and I feel like the still suits are also Giger inspired. They pretty much look like Alien turned into clothing.

[@itsmeiish]

Tbh the bene gesserit clothing reminded me more of the orthodox garments giving it that religious context they have

[@elsienova4269]

The reason the Fremen arhitecture in the film is like that is a very good visual relation to the book. In the books we find out (mostly in the later books) that Fremen culture is a mix of pre islam culture and post islam culture, so it's a nice visual hint that the film has these rock cities.

[@ollie3427]

the designs are so cool, the fremens suit is so cool to me

[@abnerrufino3613]

I thought the visuals made for the Harkonnens were more inspired by the failed Jodorowsky's Dune made by HR Giger and comics from Metal Húrlant.

[@ISM_KITSUNE]

More videos like this please. I’ve seen dune 2 four times and I tell everyone how great the costumes were. This vid def informed and gave me a great lesson on the inspirations behind the design so I thank you!!! Great vid!!!

[@gringodile]

In the Dune universe, all computers and “thinking” machinery like A.I. were destroyed and are extremely illegal culturally, so all their tech is analog. This means things like clothing and buildings are probably made with more craftsmanship than automation and it shows in these films.

[@DocHelliday]

Dang, good job. Not a fashion person and came here for a brief overview. Such a good balance of deep dive and not going too far in the weeds with any particular house/subject

[@hvitekristesdod]

Paul is so based he’s the base of a pillar

[@starsanddaydreams81]

Arrakis inside is brutally reminds me of traditional USSR resorts designs and I can’t get rid of this feeling

[@mikeyng5215]

great job on the analysis! this is one of the movies you gotta watch again just to take it all in

[@brbrbrunoturunen275]

The inspiration for the Brutalist architecture in Dune is actually inspired by Brazilian Brutalist architecture, as Patrice Vermette, Dune's design director and art director, said in this interview with ArchPaper: “The inspiration came from ziggurat architecture, from bunkers. I looked at a lot of World War II bunkers,” mused Vermette when asked to name specific architectural references. “Obviously Brutalist architecture, but mostly Brazilian Brutalist architecture, because I find the lines interesting. I also found the massive structures of Superstudio from the ’60s and ’70s to be extremely inspiring. When you read the book, there’s the sense of scale, and when you look at the work of Superstudio, it’s [from] the same era. It’s the same psychedelic concepts.”

[@ThiagoSouza-ib6gj]

brazil mentioned

[@brbrbrunoturunen275]

@@ThiagoSouza-ib6gj PLEASE COME TO BRAZIL!!!11

[@darktyrannosaurus22]

Brasil reference 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@brbrbrunoturunen275]

@@darktyrannosaurus22 PLEASE COME TO BRAZIL

[@brbrbrunoturunen275]

@@ThiagoSouza-ib6gj PLEASE COME TO BRAZIL!!!!11

[@tomadams8816]

Dude this video is f*cking amazing. The contextualisation was great to see

[@alejandrosotres5791]

This is such a good video. Thanks!!!

[@krishiv.95]

Would love to see more videos like this

[@D4VIDFL4GS]

youtube unsubscribes me from your channel like once a week against my will but I keep coming back. love the videos, keep it up

[@lordvuul]

very interesting, thank you karsten.

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

1:55 that feels like a WAY over-simplification and generalisation that Star Trek and Star Wars and 50s retro sci-fi is 'the same style', wtf are you talking about? Isn't Star Wars infamous for how itself was groundbreaking and re-contextualising the sci-fi aesthetic, and specifically BECUZ it did not go along with trends of utopian futurism and clean/smooth/polished starships, it instead showed the world as lived-in, grimy, dirty, trashy, using kitbashing and showing half the vehicles as defunct, broken, falling-apart, like everything had a hundred years of wear-and-tear to it. That's not retro-futurism. I get it, Star Wars' aesthetic is now pretty much the default, but its pretty damn crucial that at the TIME, it was very much a new aesthetic that set itself apart. This feels like a Gen-Z retro-actively creating their two camps of sci-fi aesthetic becuz they've forgotten about the chronology of science fiction. I understand, you just want to quickly get to the point, but then don't act like that is the established way of thinking and how aesthetics are classed.

[@GarudaPSN]

the video felt a lot like trying to fit what he's seeing on screen, which has a variety of influences from architecture, to history, to biology, into the boxes that he knows (brutalism, rick owens).

[@KAMA_THE_ONE]

I ain't reading allat.

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

I agree. Star wars is much grittier than Trek. Star wars has the same used future aesthetic as stuff like alien, while trek is much slicker and cleaner.

[@andersolson7739]

Great video!!

[@Taliatekito]

First time watcher but I love this video and would like more. You’ve hit the nail on the head on some parts but other parts totally off but still I appreciate your analysis. In particular Patrice Vermette’s wife designed the bronze relief panels for the Dune palace. This actually referenced 60s Italian and Brazilian mid century brutalist interiors which I love is also kinda referencing the time period this sci-fi novel was written in. The same with Brion tomb built in late 60s-early 70s. Would love to watch a ‘making of Dune’ just for the production design alone.

[@Orbitinbloom19018]

My brutalism lil heart beat so fast this entire movie

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

The uniforms and costumes from this movie are great. They're exotic but also feel grounded, and even surprisingly low-tech for a futuristic setting when they need to be.

[@BoomKing72]

First time watching this channel. I perked up when I heard the Slint piano outro. Very nice.

[@adetayomichaelakinyemi]

I would really benefit from a Patreon or something, these videos are incredibly informational

[@gabrielmenoscal9911]

Thank you very much for covering Dune😎

[@abyrupus]

Love this video. About window-lattices, they reminded me of middle-eastern cultures where there is a strict gender division. Women's quarters often had these screens or lattices on windows and balconies, so that they can see the outside world, but without themselves being seen by outside men.

[@masonimman]

great video!

[@jaynixon6903]

great breakdown

[@THETALKseries]

Brilliant content

[@ij9uh09hu097]

The Harkonnens' planet is actually based on H.R. Giger work. Especially the dark, kinda industrial vibe

[@Ztram2]

Fantastic video! I got to ask, what is the fur blanket in the background? Anyone know?

[@jamesleonard2870]

Great video! Great info! You really know your stuff. It’s all very interesting, I say make another one, I’d watch it.

[@78pt23]

this was the first good video I’ve seen from you didn’t hear or even see much of it since I was making food and after that brushing my teeth while it was on, but the parts that I did see were really good. more videos like this pls

[@dalfaroux]

my favorite book of the series is God Emperor of Dune some days ago I asked on a JK stream if he thought people would begin to Dunemaxxing with their clothes but taking into consideration how trends impact fashion, even high fashion and avantgarde, I can totally see designers creating parkas simimlar to what Reverend Mothers from the Bene Gesserit wear and Travis Scott wearing fremens' armor I don't thinik brutalism is beautiful or gorgeous, the idea they want to convey is how stagnation, ceremony and rituals have made them evolve into a life of decadence and people getting into being a grey blank slate moldable to the upper eschelons needs, such huge arquitecture is the counterpart for Huge castles built on medieval times by slaves for monarchs who bleed citizens to be able to afford their decandent lifestyles

[@joshxip]

Love the piano rendition of Washer at the end

[@connorclevenger794]

Tomb Brion is one of my favorite works by architect, Carlo Scarpa, I highly recommend looking into his work more, he is one of the greats!

[@pavel2760]

defoo going there this summer, I go to Venice every year for the biennale but always miss the small detials that Scarpa made in the region and in Venice. Says alot about his work, details and craft etc

[@connorclevenger794]

@@pavel2760 Just got home from a trip to Italy, Scarpa is amazing, Brion was my favorite, but I loved Castel Vecchio too. His work is amazing because the details come from his meticulous craft of every part of his architecture.

[@dinodansaur]

insanely well researched video!!!! 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 SO GOOD

[@sentriku]

what shirt r u wearing in the video? looks so good

[@bosobot]

reminded of the time mass effect pmo modernist/brutalist architecture

[@popejaimie]

Have you heard of City? The art project in the Nevada desert? I saw the beginning of a recent video about it, then i got bored and googled it, and i saw a bunch of dune-like architecture, i was like "this has to have been an inspiration for the set design". Or maybe they were both inspired by the same kinds of other architecture.

[@superchromatical]

Excellent analysis through some cultural and historical lenses! You got the Bene Gesserit wrong tho, they are based on medieval nuns and the queen of swords tarot... the costume designer confirms this.

[@hizurumegumi5727]

Yhe space popes are members of the spacing guild, the people obessed with the spice, plus there helms are full of gaseous spice

[@johndavis3999]

Cool, cool, good fashion analysis... am I hearing things or is that piano outro from Slint's Spiderland?

[@karstenkroening]

Thank you! And yes I’m a big Slint fan

[@will506]

reference for the left pic at 4:51? and 6:36?

[@alinaanto]

Great video essay! I agree there’s great design, except for the sand worms and the spaceships.

[@SethNsades]

Really liked the video analysis, but kinda got distracted whenever you were looking down to read your script. Small nitpick ik, but just thought you could work on that as your videos have a high production and passion in them :)

[@isaacu.8899]

Kindly want to point out, there is some reference to the cyberpunk aesthetic in the Star Wars universe, mainly the Coruscant Underworld, and other areas in the “galaxy”

[@bendavis9035]

Love this type of video. Great idea. Did the costume designer confirm that they offically used rick pieces?

[@justmaj]

The still suits were from the DEMOBAZA collection.

[@DariusDevonKing]

Ok ima watch the movie now

[@RezaQin]

Just wait until Leto starts wearing sandtrout!

[@TheAmericanPrometheus]

I noticed a lot of aesthetic elements from Villeneuve's Dune are borrowed from his Blade 2049 movie, too.

[@JustifyTheseHeathens]

thumbnail made me do a double take. literally looked up if rick did the designs mid watch lmao

[@rekhyt8774]

Kanye Wests latest designs also look a lot like they are from Dune

[@jurri_7531]

Karsten maybe u get out of that fashion bubble once in a while cause I see myself watching your videos even though it’s not based around just fashion content. I really appreciate listening to u just talking about art in general. Anyways keep it up G greetings from Germany 🥳

[@BigMuff520]

Is there a connection between brutalism and fascism. That’s what I was getting from the Harkonnens. Joy Division were not fascists but the name came directly from fascism. Is there a link?

[@siamesetwin2996]

pretty interesting question never really thought of it like that before. Definitely seems to be a link between fascist’s, and their love for brutalism

[@kimbo5030]

How you get your money tree that big?

[@LeeWu-xg8kv]

missed oppurtunity to name it The Spicy Design of Dune lol

[@seanstrong7323]

Dean Blunt at 0:52 🙏

[@ToeKnife166]

Giedi Prime Supremacy ⚫️

[@DutchThriceman]

Oof with the tip cut off 💀

[@jaggidfire]

when you talk about the two eras of scifi design, I feel star wars acts as a bridge between the two.

[@ozymandiascakehole3586]

Music is a but distracting

[@default-pfp]

It’s too good

[@nocarrotjuststick3375]

The space popes are the spacing guild in control of interstellar navigation

[@grandmasterautistwizard4291]

what's good karsten?

[@poindextertunes]

I’m surprised no one in the comments have mentioned how similar the Harkonnens look to the “Strangers” in Dark City which is also a beautiful film. Check it out if you haven’t seen it!

[@ibnal-arabi]

4:19 In the book of Dune the Harkonen are redhead

[@0rurin]

I wouldn't include Star Wars in that category, it's a sort of rugged casette futurism, that is almost fully antithetical to something like the Jetsons. Obviously, I get what you mean, it's just a small bit that doesn't fit that much, in my opinion. I'd also say that the Harkonnens seem less like brutalism and more biomechanical. Very Gigeresque. Note the round, anatomical nature of the structure, as opposed to the structures of Arrakeen.

[@Metal_Maoist]

Kinda disagree on Star Wars belonging to the retro sci-fi aesthetic. I'm not sure what category I'd put it in, but that one definitely isn't it. It has some similarities to retro sci-fi aesthetics, but it is a lot grungier and down-to-earth design-wise. Not to the degree that I'd lump it in with cyberpunk, but still way more than something like Star Trek. Star Wars space ships are often more angular, more obviously mechanical. The guns especially are pretty much all just real-life weapons from WW2 with some bits stuck on. This reflects that story-wise, it's not really all that sci-fi - it's basically just a relatively standard fantasy story in space. So, since the story is largely contemporary/historical rather than futuristic, the design of the world follows suit.

[@randomchannel323]

Demobaza made a dune collection but they don't have a collection for dune 2 sadly

[@harshgarrett]

the first movie does not mostly take place in the palace imo.

[@JoeChill1990]

I’m sorry but saying Star Wars is anything similar to the “classic” scyfy look is crazy, especially the original movies. It’s mostly rugged and dirty, even the empire doesn’t necessarily stick to that original look. I think it’s unfair to say considering the look of Star Wars in general is quite unique and varied.

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

Not gonna lie, my first thought when seeing you was that you look a lot like Timothée.

[@andrefigueredo34]

The older i get the more i appreciate a quote from Marco Pierre White "Perfection is a lot of little things done right" the whole Villeneuve Dune is beautiful because it doesn't need to flaunt it's balanced, the music, screenwriting and setting are all well connected.

[@funnytastingmilk]

Look up Hamcus if you really wanna look fremen

[@niedzwiedz-8612]

😮

[@gamma9384]

This guy hasn't seen Star Wars. Although evidently different, it has very similar themes and architecture to Dune

[@P1MKdrunkpingu]

Fremen attire in the films are based on Berber culture (North Africa not Middle-East). You are right on the fact that this culture pre-dates islam as berbers have been colonized by the arabs during the expansion of Islam in the Middle Ages. You can find a lot of similarities between Fremen and Berbers, mostly Tuareg clothing and Kabyle, Zayane or Chaoui jewellery (You can see examples of those on lady Jessica during here arrival on Arrakis as you said).

[@porc1429]

I wished there were more variety in the designs though. Every place kinda looks the same

[@HellsMascot]

you absolutely nailed this

[@virtusvoid6310]

So you talked so much about Harkonnens desings but did't even mention obvious H.R.Giger's influence over all designers that created said Dune design. Bruh... But overall your video is good.

[@pimpamtrucutruku3873]

You meant Chalamalabingbong

[@essienukpe5353]

Did you study architecture

[@isaac7326]

Good job on the video. But I feel it’s unfair to the people who actually inspired house harkonnen . I love Rick and his work but let’s separate his models work to his work . Hannah and Steven from fecalmatter ( they are fashion designers themselves too) definitely inspired harkkonen citizens and even if Rick is one of the more famous brutalist furniture designers it’s not fair to give him all the credit just because he’s relevant and famous

[@lukek.5773]

so i'd say dune still looks cyberpunk. just with a focus on a more stony brutalism than on a dirty cityscape.

[@MrDukeSilverr]

Dude aren’t u that instagram meme page guy?

[@xobile.123]

UNDER THE BLUE SEA OR SOMETHING

[@cambodianz]

Star Wars is literally one of the first onscreen depictions of cyber punk. The tech is crude, weathered, unreliable and presents itself as an obstacle of humanity more than its liberator. Visually, Star Wars envelopes itself in WWII iconography which was retro even by mid 70’s standards. Learn what you’re talking about, dude:

[@rashancar]

You should watch Jodorowsky's dune :D... Designs for the new movies are kinda basic and not innovative, that's the problem of modern sci-fi they play it safe and by doing that they blend in with all the other sci-fi movies. Jodorowsky's dune maybe a failed project but people who worked on it went to become fathers of sci-fi :)

[@ryne1625]

From an architect, this was a very good analysis of architectural design, especially coming from you with a background in fashion

[@Pr0d3gi]

no it isnt

[@adityabhat2817]

@@Pr0d3gi why do you say so?

[@ryne1625]

​@@Pr0d3giWhy do you disagree? Yes he has some faults, but it's due to his education being different, and not from ignorance

[@anthraxboi]

fellas what the fuck is the outro song it sounds so familiar i can't put my finger on it

[@karstenkroening]

It’s a cover of Washer by Slint

[@arceustheo]

LISAN AL-GAIB

[@clifb.3521]

🌲🍄🌲 I love this breakdown & that shirt my dude 🌲🍄🌲 (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

[@AoKclan1000]

Nice explanation of the different influences of the movie but I wished you were more critical about the entire set design as your opinion is valuable but biased. Just praising a movie doesn't lead to any constructive development

[@eyespy3001]

If I took a shot every time you said aesthetic, design, or architecture, I would’ve had to have my stomach pumped two minutes into the video. Please, take this as constructive criticism: tighten up your scripts. While you’re at it, don’t _look_ at the script while you’re filming. Memorize it like you would if you’re giving a speech, and maybe keep an iPad or laptop at the same eye line of your camera with prompt words on a timed slide show. This will help guide you along and keep a good pace. As it is now, you’re racing nervously through your essay, saying the same things over and over again. Hope that helps

[@MrmerryPippin-tw6rv]

He's fine.