What Makes A Good Fantasy Costume? (And Why The Wheel of Time Is Not It) - Costume Review

[@Hannah-rx8fk]

My favourite bit of the Witcher costuming was Jaskier and Yennefer running around being all furtive in BRIGHT PURPLE CLOTHING which would have been so unbelievably dumb, but I just didn't care because it fits so well with how goddamn extra they both are

[@margaretkaraba8161]

If you want a reference for cheap fantasy, go check out the 2008 series Merlin by the BBC. It was shot in Eastern Europe because it was within budget and they re-used stored costumes.

[@mr8029]

Sorry - was Merlin not shot in Wales and France? what Eastern Europe countries do you mean?

[@RebeccaCatan]

Spoilers for the wheel of time as you asked: The setting (3rd Age) is technically but only depicted through lore inference a post apocalyptic setting, and actual Earth. "We" are the 1st age, sci-fi future that made people magic was the 2nd age, the show does depict some of that with a cold open with space ships in the background, but unless they go massively off book the characters will never go in one.

[@AshLG]

Thank you for doing the good work

[@vampiressrina]

So for the Dune thing - there are non-rusting magnets, aka ceramic magnets! They are actually the lowest-cost magnets currently available. It would be interesting if however they make clothes in that universe makes it easier to have those magnets sandwiched in there rather than doing button or zipper steps.

[@lieslr147]

I regularly think about how much I love the Shadow and Bone costumes because of how evocative they are. (Also Jesper and Wylan forever)

[@azteclady]

I just now realized that Episode 1 came out before Firefly, with all it's sino-appropriation and fuckery. Explains a lot, actually. Any-hoodle, love the video, a lot to think about, and that tumblr post is everything that makes the internet worthwhile. Thank you!

[@lizzyrbits1283]

THAT'S WHERE THE DRESS IS FROM? MONGOLIA? Episode 1 why... This is a DELIGHT! Also yes Joey Batey our collective platonic love. Have you seen his attempt to pretend to make a cake? It is Manic and the only thing on his youtube channel. You're welcome!

[@AleriaCarventus]

True story, the behind-the-scenes of LoTR are what got me into costuming as a young, fantasy loving kid/pre-teen

[@merrianoliver-weymouth5265]

Thanks for a very interesting circuit of costume in the fantasy media of our times and how they are used to tell by showing the story and to create context. So glad to have discovered your channel. I read the first 6 books of WoT before noping out. I am oldish, so was reading them contemporaneous with their initial publication and stopped because I couldn't help feeling like the author didn't really like women... a not uncommon feeling when reading a lot of 20thC SF and fantasy. Also that was a great shout out to Lud In The Mist and how our notions about the way things should be, are formed. I've been thinking of novels that are still read that were contemporary 'modern' stories at their point of publication but now read as fantasy stories because they are missing a shared context between reader and story.

[@eivor9097]

All I'm hearing is that you have to read Tamora Pierce XP. It's all middle grade but damn does the lady go into the clothes and textile industry deliciously thoroughly (and half the idioms are textile-related too!)

[@AshLG]

She’s been hard/unpredictable to find in the UK until relatively recently, so I have a lot of catching up to do!

[@nikkicafeina]

Tortall is the best of all fantasy universes, full stop. Tamora Pierce is also very good at taking real-world cultural inspiration but actually being both respectful and creative with it

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

I would invite you to parties!!! Sadly I don’t have parties anymore but if I did I would invite you!

[@stevezytveld6585]

If you're looking for an amazing world to fall into (that hasn't - yet - been made into cinema) may I recommend the Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gabriel Kay. He survived being the sacrificial grad student working as assistant to Tolkien Jr. as they compiled The Similarian together. He then started his writing career with a trilogy. Some of it's set in Canada. What's not to love... If parties are ever a thing again, you are hereby invited to ours. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

[@RobinT346]

dying laughing at "the sacrificial grad student"

[@RobinT346]

one of my costume pieces for Empire when I played in Urizon closed with magnets and it added such a lovely subtle element.

[@fannyduvillage]

Finally someone who read the worm ouroboros... besides I like your views on the costumes especially on Yennefer. My favourite crow (besides Jesper, who is a f ... ups no spoilers for those who did not read the books) is Nina. Oh and feel welcome to come to my parties.

[@mxheathcliff]

I had to do a little research into The Wheel of Time's costuming/attempting to identify a historical time period it drew from (and ended up down a rabbit hole of AOL interviews from the 90s), and I feel like its problem is largely symptomatic of Robert Jordan's method of cherry-picking from many cultures' mythos etc. to create something that felt familiar but global. I guess they applied the same logic to the costumes for whatever reason, so you've really hit the nail on the head when you've said that that ignores inter-cultural relationships because of proximity and so on. Maybe there's a very clever, well-thought through line of reasoning behind the choices that they've made, but a few things were definitely a bit 🤷

[@Rowan.Evander]

UHM YES excuse me I would invite you to so many parties specifically so we can spiral off on tangents exactly like these. Come discuss the differences between Noldorin and Telerin dress with me, and the subtle (or not so subtle) differences in embellishments in Himring vs in Gondolin, please, I have so many feelings about this--- In all seriousness, this is the video I wish I could make and I'm so very thankful you did. 💙 Keep up the absolutely stellar work.

[@Mongoly8]

Your commentary is as fabulous as always! I'd love to see you talk about fantasy bounding for everyday wear and any tips you might have.

[@epluribusunum1460]

Wow, I’m hooked on your channel. This is the first video I’ve watched and it is excellent. A gentle nod: the little light circles (from your camera?) are reflecting in your glasses and for some of us out here, that can be distracting. Best to you and thank you for your hard work. You are obviously well educated, experienced, curious and witty. 😊🙏

[@BYBabbra]

I read the Lord Of The Rings long before it was a film, so my idea of fantasy costume is utterly different from anything I have ever seen. Love the cat broach, it's brilliant. Oh and I'd love to turn your curtains into a cloth bag they have a lovely print.

[@hollybwn5481]

If you stick with the show I wonder what you will think of the clothes in the white tower. I personally love Moraine's shoulders and overall silhouette of the dress.

[@kikidevine694]

Th Lion Witch and The Wardrobe was amazing when it came to the costumes; the sequel(s) were not as high budget

[@BallerinaValkyrie]

This is an excellent set of points and ideas, and I love how you explain everything!!! This is such a cool video, and I love it. (And this could just be ignorance, but my read on Episode ones Naboo fashion was less 'exotic' and more 'how many complicated layers can we add to give a visual representation of the power/pressure in on the shoulders of a young girl'. But, you are right that using hand-wavy "asian" clothing wasn't the best way to do it)

[@NiobiumThyme]

How historical is, "check your velvet nap regularly?"

[@nikkicafeina]

I'm always here for people reiterating that it's fine, totally rad even, to take real world inspiration for your fantasy costumes/peoples/settings but they have to make sense! And also not just use marginalized cultures as "exotic flavor enhancers".

[@Wirrn]

Regarding Wheel of Time: There is no colony ship. :P Also while it is *teeeeeeeechnically* our world, that never affects the plot and almost never comes up beyond a handful of very warped myths and such. You had modern day, the an advanced magical utopia Age which is what those skyscrapers are from, then an apocalypse and the Age of the story 3000 years alter. Thats really important to it, but the modern day 1st age stuff isn't. I'm.....not certain I agree with saying that you should overly focus on matching up actors of specific ethnicities with fashion influences from the same cultures. You *should* hire more of those actors absolutely, but if you're only hiring them so you can use that clothing all you're doing is reinforcing the idea that 'those people have to dress like this'. It feels othering and also basically reduces your fantasy setting to historical cultures again, just this time not white. Edit: I'm not insisting I;m correcton this, it just...doesn't sit comfortably with me (WoT actually does mix this up - the desert nomads are ethnically celtic with pale skin and red or fair hair, the bookwise the Sea People are ethnically the darkest skinned - beyond that physical ethnicity is basically never mentioned in the books) For everyone in between Robert Jordan did go with historical influences on national dress and put a lot of stuff into each nation having its distinct cultural clothing, and these are probably more interconnected than the show though its also a lot more European for most of it. The show has gone for completely different influences for a bunch of it which gets you more variety but makes it more of a melange I would agree.

[@unoseyepatch1574]

The costuming on the Wheel of Time is exactly in line with the books, as it is not a fantasy series but a post apocalyptic future fantasy sci fi based tens of 1000s of years in Earths future, with influences from our age.

[@tamaraelfkin]

not so, it is not meant to be earth, just a world with some parallels. The world of the age of legends is a world with one power based magic technology, not our science. We certainly dont have Ogiers and sung architecture and the ways etc. I also do not agree that the costumes are done well as the books describe everything in alot of detail, all of the clothing has very well rooted traditions and styles based on where the person is from in the very vast world filled with many different cultures across it wear, none of this is followed in the show.

[@sveamoomin2987]

"The Books which shall not be named"... That sold me on your entire channel.. despite being sure you are going to go off on the costumes of WoT, which is my favorite book series in the whole wide world... Buut.. alas it might be the real world all along.. there's NO colony ship. Yet in the books, Nyneave finds a Mercedes Star displayed as an "unknown ter'angreal" in Book three.. also there's a historic text detailing something that might be a reference to the Cold War going hot and Russia sending nukes around the globe. Which places the world in some sort of post-apocalyptic-late-renaissance when it comes to industry. As to your points in regards to Wheel of Time.. I agree absolutely when it comes to the problem of regarding different cultures in a vacuum, solely focusing on the clothes. Alas.. in the end, this leads to an insanely complex system you have to create and consider, which I perosnally try to do with my own fantasy world.. but is a lot of effort.. and as I am sure, ppl are not paid for going that extra mile, I respect why they don't do it.. Which doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.. just that the responsibility, imho can't be laden on the costume designers, if a studio doesn't think it necessary to provide them with ways in going that extra mile (eg. hiring more staff) In the end, Wheel of Time as a book series does have a way of accounting for the way different styles are all over the place, namely the Breaking of the World. Given it has happened around 3000 years before the beginning of the series, one miiight argue, it's more than enough time for fashions to change. But... with the breaking of the world, lots and lots of cultures were uprooted and moved all over the place, witch East Asian ethnicities mostly settled to the north and north-west of Randland, irish people in the Aiel Waste and so on.. (It has cause huge debates within the community, so I am not going to go deeper into it..) My point is, this might explain, while it seems very stitched together and with less thought than one might wish for, but may explain that impression, especially, since the effects of the Breaking of the World, are not really explained in the first season. Also as you mentioned China/Japan.. (about which's portayal in S1 I was really happy.. not so much S2 x_x), which according to the costume designers, inspired the more french-coded Cairhien. What absolutely isn't mention AT all in the show, is that Cairhien, was the only Nation in Randland, that traded with the eastern reaches of the continent, where sericulture was a prominent part of local industry. In fact Cairhien & the Sea-Folk where the only one's trading in silk from the east, which might might explain the fabrics being reminiscent of chinese in style, while the rest is not. Alas as this video is 2 years old and S2 is out, maybe your opinion has changed! In any case I loved hearing your point of view none the less, even if I don't agree fully

[@juliabreckner2759]

Really liked your video and analysis. I just got over excited and wrote a whole paragraph... lol I've just started reading the Wheel of Time books (I've finished the first 2). And it's.... different.... than the show.... (I like most of the books so far, other chapters are horrible and need to be trashed.) I have watched 2 episodes of the show. So far, it's like telling the same story but using the ~Cliff Notes-lite~ version of the books. The only thing that I was looking forwards to in the show was that they hired POC actors to play POC characters, it made me so happy. In the first two books, there isn't any "it was all the future all along" kind of stuff, just acknowledgment of previous eras, unsure if this will change in later books. If feels like a good mixture of Book! Lord of the Rings and all the books it inspired (or books that blatantly stole from LOTR), along with some really good "I didn't think of that but I like it" moments and some "why is this here, why do you hate these people and give them that much trauma" moments. I told my mom "If you liked the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, etc) then you'll like the first book of Wheel of Time" because Literally all of my favorite things from Inheritance Cycle were directly stollen from Wheel of Time (Eye of the World is book one, and oh boy did Eragon's author steal lots of things from it.)

[@Wirrn]

The first couple of episodes o the show are VERY much a cliffnotes version, it felt....shallow. It successfully gets some depth as it goes on though, even if its in the bits where its diverging from the books :D

[@GreenMartha]

I officially invite you to my parties, this was excellent !

[@rabbitazteca23]

Do u have a similar video but for season 2? What did u think of the Seanchan costumes?

[@lisafish1449]

I read the whole horrible bolus of Wheel of Time. God's teeth, that man needed a better editor, and maybe a course in Women's Studies.

[@JoannaPiancastelli]

So Wheel of Time is my jam at the moment, mostly because of how the showrunner seems to share my disdain for the books and is having a whale of a time diverting from the "this one straight white guy saves the day while lots of women applaud" plot in a way that's making the fans for whom that is a selling point cry deliciously. Stick it out to episode 6 and you'll see what I mean. But ugh. The costumes. There are a few I love (definitely Lan's, and Moiraine's travelling outfit with the trousers and shirt and suspenders because when do female fantasy characters get that?), but you're spot on with the cultural grab bag approach being very hit and miss, and... well, I don't know how they went back through the entire history and culture of the world for inspiration and ended up putting two of their principles in coats that I'm absolutely certain I could have bought in New Look in the early noughties.

[@AshLG]

I am deeply torn between "yes medieval fantasy should absolutely have knitting" and "that jumper tho, whyyyyyy"

[@JoannaPiancastelli]

That jumper is so very ugly 😂

[@Wirrn]

@@AshLG That jumper is COSY! :D

[@deana7310]

Time is a Wheel, ages come and go. There is no colony ship.

[@abigailswallow6259]

Amazing!!!!!!

[@axeldiegofernandes6317]

how to make fantasy costume mixed with our tadition costume like asian our country Timor leste.plese answer me 🙏

[@Spelaea]

The costuming from the Wheel of Time draws really heavily from the cultures as they are depicted in the books, and yes, it is a post-apocalyptic melting pot. Not really sure why you're singling it out as terrible in the title, when you admit it actually did some good stuff? (There is no colony ship though, if that helps)

[@amymason5713]

And it is fairly explicitly not post-apoc of our world, but of a world that had tech and magic. Also the cultures in a wrong place from their closely influenced cultures (eg China and Japan) is somewhat justified by the breaking lifting up whole cities 1000 years ago and moving them to other parts of the world. So have places with shared history and then enforced seperation.

[@michellecornum5856]

That explains a lot.

[@catherinejustcatherine1778]

Having nothing on topic to say: Hail the algorithm Gods Lest we miss an interesting post, Or some such In support of compassionate fantasy, An Observer

[@tamaraelfkin]

Do not judge The Wheel of Time books by the show, it is a mess and does no justice to the story.

[@AshLG]

Oh don’t worry I have spent many years judging the books on their own and they’re not for me