About a month ago we got our first peek at the official look of the new Pennywise the Clown in the upcoming movie adaptation of Stephen King‘s horror novel It.
Now a new image has been released of Pennywise, this time showing the evil entity who feeds on fear from head to toe, and the costume might not be what you were expecting.
You can see how it looks in the image below.
As you can see, Pennywise has sort of got a Shakespearean thing going on. Or, if you’re of a similar mind to my own, you’re getting a bit of a puffy shirt vibe. It’s clear they’re doing everything possible to make this Pennywise, who’s being played by Bill Skarsgard, different from Tim Curry’s untouchable portrayal in the 1990 TV movie adaptation, where the clown appeared wearing the more familiar brightly colored suit you’d find at birthday parties, the circus, and so on.
The costume was designed by Emmy Award winner Janie Bryant (Deadwood, Mad Men), who was inspired by Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, and Victorian eras. In a chat with EW, Bryant spoke in depth about the costume and why it was designed the way it was:
“The costume definitely incorporates all these otherworldly past lives, if you will. He is definitely a clown from a different time.”…
“That pleating is actually Fortuny pleating, which gives it almost a crepe-like effect. It’s a different technique than what the Elizabethans would do. It’s more organic, it’s more sheer. It has a whimsical, floppy quality to it. It’s not a direct translation of a ruff or a whisk, which were two of the collars popular during the Elizabethan period.”
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“There is almost a doll-like quality to the costume. The pants being short, the high waistline of the jacket, and the fit of the costume is a very important element. It gives the character a child-like quality.”
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“If you look at the sleeves, there are the two puffs off the shoulder and biceps and again on the bloomers, I wanted it to have an organic, gourd or pumpkin kind of effect.
It helps exaggerate certain parts of the body. The costume is very nipped in the waist and with the peplum and bloomers it has an expansive silhouette.”
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“The pompoms are orange, and then with the trim around the cuffs and the ankles, it’s basically a ball fringe that’s a combination of orange, red, and cinnamon. It’s almost like Pennywise fades into his environment. But there are accents to pull out the definition of the gray silk.”
As you can see, an incredible amount of thought went into designing the costume, and Bryant deserves a lot of praise for her work. Whether or not the look will work for the character in the movie, on the other hand, remains to be seen.
The movie is set to be released in just a little over a year on September 8, 2017, when we’ll see if director Andy Muschietti (Mama) was able to deliver a successful adaptation.
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