Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Costume Critique #4

Not known to many in 2013-2014 ABC's hit series "Once Upon a Time" spawned a spin off that was mainly focused in the characters from Alice in Wonderland and Aladdin. This new series titled "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" started and finished with a solid fan base, but did not reach much glory or appraisal. However for this critique I would like to examine one of the strongest elements of this series, that being its costume design.

Costume designer Eduardo Castro has been nominated for an Emmy in the costume design for a series category and has won in the past the Costume Designer Guilds Award in the same category. In the interview ahead Eduardo talks about what a designer needs to be aware of and how he adapted different styles into the show to really get the look the creators of the series wanted.

https://youtu.be/4w6Png7SqAM

Some of my favorite outfits in the show were deigned for the character of the Red Queen. In this case, the character still has her inherent anger and control issues, but she is presented in a way to make it noticeable that she uses her sexuality to extend her control and grasp more power.

 The plunging neck lines in these dresses along with the fitting shape of the outfits make this Red Queen not only look dangerous, but sexy as well. The fabric selection also seems to go wonderfully. In both outfits we can see the drop off the fabric accentuating the actress body, giving her more presence and power over the scene.

However, I do believe that sometimes this character suffers, from over accessorizing. In the last outfit shown here, the crown, high feather neck, the necklace and the black feather brooch are definitely too much. It was obvious from the beginning that the series was not one with a great budget, so the crown and necklaces never look too real, but when you add more and more next to them they start looking more and more like trinkets.

Alice also receives a complete makeover in this spin off. This time around, she spends a much longer period of time in Wonderland and fully transforms into a woman while being there. She also learns how to sword fight and survive from incredible dangers. Both of these situations, translate mainly into one thing for her wardrobe, no dresses.

Alice this time around is always ready to defend herself and her true love and that is quickly discerned by looking at her clothes. Using leather like materials for her jacket, vest and other accessories, give this Alice an adventurous edge.However, small details like the open jacket, the lace on the sleeves and fitting of the clothes still maintain a feminine look.

Neither of the actresses even though they are presented as powerful independent women are shown as tomboys in any way. This is a detail I very much appreciate, because it helps maintain an element of beauty that I particularly believe any fairy tail or magical adventure should have.