Behind hits such as Game of Thrones and The Crown , British costume designer Michele Clapton explains the role of costumes in the scope of the characters.

L'OFFICIEL: What defines your aesthetic? MICHELE CLAPTON: I want the clothes to speak and tell their character, something that words can't always say. If I had to define my aesthetic, I would speak of &ldquo;belonging and astonishment&rdquo;, that is to say that the character adheres through his look to the era in which he finds himself, and that he is at the same time carrying a detail that turns things around.

L&#39;O: The evolution of costumes in Game of Thrones helped define the characters. Which one required the most attention? MC: It&#39;s hard to say, because they were all intriguing at different times. It is certain that the costumes worn by Daenerys reflect the different phases of the story: the geographical movements, the relationships with the other characters in the series, but also the progression of her psychological profile, from the innocent young girl to the mother of dragons.

L’O: An anecdote? MC: I remember Jaime Lannister&#39;s metal hand. Armor craftsman Giampaolo Grassi made it, then we beat the brass and engraved it. There were also Jon Snow&#39;s coats. My idea was that as his character became more powerful the cape got heavier because it represented the pressure and expectations that weighed on his shoulders.

L'O: Tell us about the wardrobe for the first season of The Crown .
MC: Very quickly, I felt nervous. I didn't want to simply reproduce the clothes etched in history. I wanted to explore the characters behind it. So while there was a perfect recreation of the story, we also wanted to show the vulnerability of the young queen, what she had to give up to gain the throne. And we also wanted to show through Margaret's clothes her lack of purpose, because nothing awaited her, unlike her sister. That's why she was obsessed with fashion and colours. When Elizabeth ascends the throne, the clothes are stiff, she is very young and intimidated. They are like armor that protects her, they are queen's clothes, &ldquo;work uniforms&rdquo;. After the coronation, the two sisters diverged, including in their style. Margaret is more theatrical, sexier, more frivolous: she smokes, she drinks, she wears pants, she wears French fashion. It gives an idea of ​​what is happening outside the palace. &Eacute;lisabeth wears more structured clothing, with corsets and belts, symbols of strength. I stuck with the lilac tones that the queen liked. We were able to use beautiful fabrics, decorate them, paint them, embroider them. An important tip, when you have a lot of work, focus on the top part of the garment first, where the camera is. Research began six months before filming, then I worked on it exclusively for twelve weeks. We created 300 costumes from sketches: 60 for the Queen and 40 for Margaret. Not forgetting the shoes, bags, jewellery, all reproduced. In total, there were 300 written roles, and 7,000 extras, who had between two and five outfits each. We did a lot of research and reused period clothing.

L&#39;O: Was it more fun to create Elizabeth&#39;s or Margaret&#39;s costumes? Or those of Wallis Simpson? MC: I think I had empathy for Margaret. Once I started designing her wardrobe, I learned to understand her. There was a sort of fusion between the two sisters, which helps you conceive of the two characters. Drawing Margaret without the Queen would not have been possible, they were two sides of the same coin. The same outfit worn by both was differentiated by accessories. While Elizabeth wore it with a somewhat maternal belt and a scarf, Margaret wore it with a narrow belt like a tie. With Wallis, I had fun. She wore Dior and Schiaparelli, she was one of the most influential style icons of her time. Also in this case, I did not want to copy the clothes, but to create my version. If I had to make a comparison with Game of Thrones, it can be even more empowering to be constrained by limits, to have a fixed space in which to unleash your creativity. I worked on Games of Thrones for two years because I was offered the opportunity to do other films at the same time. I would have liked to continue with The Crown, which continued to develop, proof that it would not necessarily have been easy...

L&#39;O: You have also worked on projects set in more recent times, such as Mamma Mia! What is the difference ? MC: In the case of Mamma Mia!, it was a musical, so the challenges of designing the stage outfits were the most difficult. You have actors and actresses who have to dance wearing lycra or spandex. Fortunately, the men were cooperative, first and foremost Colin Firth. Revisiting the 70s was great, and the film gave me the opportunity to work with Cher. Who wouldn&#39;t dream of it? I already knew her so it was easy for me to understand what I had to do with her character. She loved the wavy rings we created, she even promoted them.

L’O: What new projects are you working on? MC: I just did the pilot for Sam Mendes&#39; The Franchise, a series produced by HBO, which takes place in the world of movie-comic production. The other project is a Netflix series.

Meeting with Michele Clapton, cinema costume designer

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