Downton Abbey
After royal line graced the halls of Downton Abbey in the first movie , Downton Abbey : A New Erasees the Crawleys throw into young worlds and cultivation . Lord Grantham ’s family unit and staff are stuff into the glare when Hollywood comes to Downton for the production of a unexampled movie , and he finds himself setting sail to the South of France to uncover the secrets of his own past . Both new dynamics require dissimilar outfits than have ever been seen in this earth , with more glitz and glamour and the specific challenges of hotter weather condition changing the wardrobe .
On top of that , Downton Abbey : A New Erais rest on the edge of a new time , with the 1930s hurtling towards the Crawleys and changing their aesthetics as well as their mentality . Lady Mary and Lady Edith are always at the forefront of New look , but balancing that with the " old school " of Maggie Smith ’s Lady Violet , the stuffy ceremonial of Jim Carter ’s Mr Carson , and the right etiquette of dinner party service fertilisation is no small accomplishment . While theDownton Abbey : A New Eracastbring the characters to life , it ’s multitude behind the camera , like costume architect Anna Robbins who ensure they look right-hand and feel sincerely real in their populace .
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in advance ofDownton Abbey : A New Era’srelease on DVD and Blu - ray on July 5,Screen Rantspoke to Anna Robbins about dressing theDownton Abbey cast , the challenges of vintage outfits , and the one very important costume overleap fromA New earned run average …
Screen Rant : I love the motion picture , obviously , as I ’m sure everybody ’s been say . Who do you recall was the most challenging of all the characters to dress ?
Anna Robbins : Oh , gosh . That ’s turning on its head . It ’s usually , " What ’s your favorite costume ? " perhaps the Dowager . Her costumes are constructed in a much more complex way , just because they ’re much more Edwardian and Victorian - influenced . They ’re much more complex in their construction , and they need so many more material . So , it ’s a fully grown gather practice session and a delicate balance to find the right silhouette for Violet ; for it to feel right for each scene .
And then in this film as well , she has such a journeying . We want to start at a certain point , where she ’s how we remember her and how we ’ve always eff her , and then take her through that journey where we ’re stripping her back and change a silhouette that has been very much set in pit for the last 10 years .
And to twitch it on its head , whose was the pet costume ?
Anna Robbins : Very difficult to say , and it would probably change everyday that you asked me . I mean , we ’re standing next to a wedding garb , so I could quite easily say that one . The Saint Bridget of Downton are just unbelievable , and that was a really endearing experience from start to finish , in terms of finding inspiration and finding the vintage textiles that conk out into it .
But there ’s a whole batch . There ’s lots of Lady Mary ’s that I love . There ’s some original beaded dresses of Lucy ’s and Edith ’s that are just exquisite . The gents ' linens from the Riviera were also just moony . So , I do n’t know . There are hundreds of costume ; that ’s very difficult .
Of naturally . How do you go about sourcing the costume ? How much of it is vintage and has been acquired , and how much of is reproduction ?
Anna Robbinis : It ’s a veridical combination . I ’m always looking to utilise vintage where I can . With women ’s article of clothing , that ’s a bit easier . Vintage evening clothing is probably the stuff that ’s most integral , and it ’s been pack away and keep safe . Whereas workforce ’s suiting does n’t really exist . And if it does , it ’s about that size . For menswear , it ’s unremarkably bespoke tailoring , whereas cleaning woman ’s wear , it ’s a real compounding . With eveningwear , there ’s much more full , original garments . Whereas within daywear , it might be a scarf or some buttons on a cardigan or a vintage textile that I ’ve repurposed . It ’s a bit of a combining , but hopefully the vintage pieces within it as a whole is what anchor it to that time period and present it its authenticity .
That must be the most enjoyable part of the whole job , the treasure hunt …
Anna Robbins : The gem hunt . It is a hoarded wealth hunt club , yeah . And I think when you witness them as well , you get this amazing tone , when you know it ’s just go to bet incredible on television camera . you’re able to really spot them from quite far forth ; the ones that are really going to work .
Do you regain yourself still dress the character now , if you ’re looking for something else ?
Anna Robbins : It ’s the bane of my life . I ’m spending my own money now on it , rather than production ’s , because I ca n’t lay off myself . I bought a roll of ribbon the other twenty-four hours , because we bulge out shopping a band through Instagram and Etsy and online forums because of COVID . I have n’t lay off , so it ’s like it ’s in the medal of my hand always , rather than it being a monthly vintage bazaar where I could be a bit more discerning . You just press a button , and you ’ve corrupt it . And then you have to hope that you still love it when it arrives .
Moving on to the title of respect of the continuation , how do you go about communicating a newfangled era in the costumes ? How did that come into your legal brief ?
Anna Robbins : I think in two ways . I mean the script obviously introduce us to lots of different cosmos , so there ’s a fresh geological era in that we ’re get just new configurations and environment and backdrops and plant designs , and therefore the costume follow suit . We ’re traveling to the Confederacy of France , where there ’s a completely dissimilar aesthetic , culturally and just through manner and color . [ It ’s ] how we wanted to portray that palette versus the Downton palette .
You ’ve nonplus this celluloid world make out in where again , culturally , it ’s a new world and novel characters . That give us another bed . But then also , we ’re just make headway towards the ending of the ' 20s . From a variety of way view , we ’re just nudging and edge nigher to this new look and recover the moments where we could showcase that at the right clock time .
When I was look at the costume earlier on , I was discover by just how soft they are that , peculiarly the female costume . It must be an absolute nightmare for saving when you ’ve get actor using them all the metre . Did you have any problems with that ?
Anna Robbins : by all odds , yes . You ca n’t have a shoot on a period dramatic event where you utilize original pieces and not terminate up with some costume malfunction . I think of , we shot the wedding chronological succession on a twenty-four hours where there were rainwater clouds coming and die throughout the whole daylight . So , trying to keep an ivory silk train clean was just a effort in itself .
But my squad are astonishing . Threads will go and sequins will drop , and we restore the pieces to put them on camera in the first place , but that restoration does n’t stop . You ’re incessantly have to conserve them to a much high degree than you would contemporary costume , where there ’s still a certain maintenance on them . Yeah , it is a delicate job , and nerve - wracking for a intriguer . I tend to come in , establish , and then just scamper off and look out .
One of the most interesting costumes to me is one that ’s not in reality shown on picture show . How would you have dress up Daisy for her wedding in comparability to Lucy ’s ?
Anna Robbins : Daisy would have marry in her Sunday best , so we in all probability saw that in this film , to be good . But had I had the chance to design it , I would have liked to have plan something new , and made it seem … Broken it down , so that it find like it totally belonged in her closet , and she ’d worn it many times before . But that she prevent it right ; that it had just that little bit more pigment in it . As bright as we could get away with , with it still being a practical opus of clothing that a downstairs member of staff would have .
You always need to determine piddling detailing , and it might just be a slight broach that she would wear . But it would just elevate it .
One of the most interesting thing to me as well is that detail element . You apparently communicate report and character through these costumes . What are some of your favorite small details in the costumes that carry that story of the graphic symbol ?
Anna Robbins : Gosh , okay . I love visual messaging , where you may do color ; you may do mode on a great scale to tell a account across a longer period of time . But tiny little detail that could be really visible or quite subliminal are the favorites of a costume designer , I think . I cerebrate in this moving-picture show , it ’s the interplay between Violet and Mary , and the fact that we ’ve got some actual passing down of key elements .
We ’ve obtain this footling brooch that Violet ’s worn at her cervix many , many metre before that we then see on Mary . And a really significant ring that was featured less but felt almost more significant - and to Michelle as well . I think she matt-up quite moved by it as a costume piece , which makes you realize how much of a tool costume is to histrion . But then , I imagine more subliminally , I was look at necklines and detail at the front that just echoed ever so slightly the Violet silhouette and manikin . Moving it into Lady Mary as the future Dowager , but in a in a very stylish and ' 30s - push back path .
Downton Abbey: A New EraSynopsis
The much - anticipated cinematic return of Downton Abbey follow the Crawleys and their staff as they welcome a movie crowd and their glamorous stars to Downton for the filming of a new silent movie , while other member of the family go on a grand dangerous undertaking to a villa in the southward of France to uncover a mystery about the Dowager Countess and her past .
Check out our otherDownton Abbey : A New Erainterviews with starsHugh Bonneville , Laura Carmichael & Allan Leech , Jim Carter & Raquel Cassidy , andElizabeth McGovern .
More : Downton Abbey 2 ’s Lord Grantham Story beat up Anything The Show Ever Did
Downton Abbey : A New Erais on Digital now and hits Blu - beam and videodisk on July 5 .
