Michele Clapton

Michele Clapton Instagram – Polly’s costumes. I loved designing these! For the most part her costumes are relatively understated but the cut was key and I was lucky enough to have the genius Mel Carter as her cutter. Gemma Arterton is wonderful to collaborate with and has such great posture and awareness of character. In the first fitting we discussed Polly and both agreed that we loved the idea of laced knee high boots being her signature item. They worked perfectly for the ‘action outfit’ but also gave the character a certain hidden strength even when dressed as staff. I wanted them to be in supple leather and to follow the line of the leg closely. I also wanted an elegant narrow cut to the toe, I wanted them to subtly elevate her station…The first look here with leather jacket and jodhpurs we actually see very late in the film, it’s a sort of revelation! I wanted it to be created out of period correct items but maybe worn in a quite racy way for women of the time, yet to be effortlessly stylish and practical. We had to make many copies of this outfit because of the cheese explosion scene..The next look here is Polly’s staff look. I didn’t want it too traditional yet it’s style would influence all of the other staff’s costumes so I had to be a little careful. I chose the colour palate of blues and pale grey which softened the usual black and white, and I dispensed with any frills, it seemed to be in keeping with my sense of Oxford and his late wife’s character. In photo five we put together looks on stands to experiment as to how we might dress other members of staff within the same palate. The funeral suit ( fitting stage here) is very utilitarian with its bound edged patched pockets but beautifully cut. I adore the blue wool fabric and brown binding together here. Finally I designed the green overall to delineate Polly’s different roles, so that when Conrad is finally shown the secret room we find Polly looking unlike her usual self..I thought this visually underlined his up till then exclusion.. assistant designer @sophie__oneill boots @jitterbug.boy | Posted on 02/Jan/2022 15:35:24