Leonardo's Butterfly

Jenny Beavan (born 1950 in London, England) is an English costume designer. She has won an Academy Award and has been nominated eight times, most recently for The King's Speech. Beavan also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Costume Design for the play Private Lives.
She is a graduate of the London-based Central School of Art and Design.

This time I would like to particularly discuss Beavan's work in the film "Ever After, A Cinderella Story". This movie is to this day my favorite adaptation of the Cinderella Fairy Tail.



I will start by talking about my favorite costume in the movie. This dress, most commonly named "Breathe" is simply one of the most beautiful creations. The details in the bodice and the sleeves are extremely intricate , yet the shape of the dress to me remains very simple and elegant.

I found a website that talks in particular detail about the construction and embroidery that was used for the dress. This images show some of the impressive hand sewing techniques that were used to create this impressive work of art.

The movie itself tries to be a portrayal of the "true" Cinderella story, that being not having a fairy god mother that uses magic, but this dress looks indeed very magical and helps bring that element of magic to the film without departing from its intentions.

The dress and the makeup bring about a very feminine look, but to me the wings are what showcases some of that inner strength that Danielle shows throughout the film. The wings arent angel or really butterfly looking, they have all these pointy ends that to me look sorta devilish. So even there in that flamboyant detail, the dress is balanced and really shows the true identity of the character.










In direct contrast to this dress we have Danielle's everyday, or work clothes. I love the fabric that they used for this, it looks so rough and cheap. A perfect fit for someone who is working as a servant.







The last costume I will talk about is her courtier costume. These are supposed to be clothes from Danielle's mother fit for a day in the Royal Court. Because of this, the outfit should be something that sort of doesnt really look like her, but that she is still able to wear and look beautiful on.

This dress looks very appropriate for the time and it flows beautifully. This image shows some other costumes wore by extras and minor characters. The time setting in the movie is that of Medieval France and I think that the costumes remain loyal to the time setting throughout the entire movie.