Following Frankenstein’s debut on Netflix this week, costume designer Kate Hawley has revealed which music icons inspired Victor Frankenstein’s (Oscar Isaac) eclectic wardrobe in the film.
Speaking with Variety, Hawley, who previously collaborated with director Guillermo del Toro on Crimson Peak (2015), explained their references for the character.
“There were a lot that we discussed,” Hawley began. “There were the more contemporary references of David Bowie, and Oscar, who mentioned Prince.”
Clarifying that del Toro was uninterested in making a historical film with “lots of black top hats”, Hawley added: “I want a modern sensibility, which is very much what was happening during the war in terms of technology and the time.”
Reflecting on Victor’s place in society, Hawley also noted that the surgeon’s collection of velvet pieces has a deeper meaning, too.
“The velvets are old and worn. There’s a story being told of someone who’s sort of run out of money at this point, but he still has these lovely garments left over,” she said.
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Based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein follows Baron Victor Frankenstein (Isaacs), an arrogant and down-on-his-luck scientist determined to push the boundaries of life and death. After creating a strange monster, known as The Creature (Jacob Elordi), in his lab, Frankenstein is confronted by the dangerous consequences of his actions.
The film boasts a star-studded cast – Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz and Charles Dance, Ralph Ineson, Burn Gorman and David Bradley also appear in supporting roles.
Speaking about his enduring fascination with Shelley’s Gothic novel, del Toro told Tudum why he was so passionate about adapting the novel. “I’ve lived with Mary Shelley’s creation all my life,” the filmmaker began.
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“For me, it’s the Bible. But I wanted to make it my own, to sing it back in a different key with a different emotion.
“Mary Shelley’s masterpiece is rife with questions that burn brightly in my soul: existential, tender, savage, doomed questions that only burn in a young mind and only adults and institutions believe they can answer,” del Toro continued. “For me, only monsters hold the secrets I long for.”
Frankenstein is now available to stream on Netflix.
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