Costume as Character: What the Met Gala Teaches Us About Visual Storytelling
If you’re a film student, you know that a character isn’t “real” until they put on their costume. Whether it’s the rugged leather of a post-apocalyptic survivor or the suffocating silk of a Victorian aristocrat, clothing is a silent screenplay. In cinema, the costume designer is the architect of the subtext. While the actors speak the dialogue, the fabric speaks to the character’s social standing, psychological state, and their future.
