Lights, camera, fashion!ย Steven Spielbergโs 2021 version of the classicย musical West Side Story is a magnificent explosion of dance, music, colour, and style. The story is timeless, but the spectacular fashion isย what captures your attention.ย Letโs take a look at how the costumes were brought to life in this beloved musical.
Award-winning costume designerย Paul Tazewell is the man responsible for the elaborate costumes. He previously teamed up with Lin-Manuel Miranda, workingย on the costumes for his hitย Broadway musical Hamilton.ย Forย West Side Story, Tazewellย wanted to use colours and styles that captured the rich and diverse cultures ofย the inhabitants of New York in the 1950s.
Every outfit can tell a story and giveย the character more personality. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they dress. Tazewellย made sure to carefully differentiate between the Jets and the Sharks who both comeย from different cultural and socialย backgrounds. For the Jets, Caucasiansย withย a toughย background,ย he made their clothing more casual and on the go;ย while the Puerto Rican Sharksย dressย with flair.
Paul Tazewell said everything was important when creating the outfits:ย from the fabric to the coloursย to the fit.ย Attention to detail was very important and the team worked carefully to make every outfit stand out. The dresses were designed to allow more freedom ofย movement for the dancers. Tazewell had several colour palettes and designs and Spielberg was quite involved in the process and had to give theย go-ahead on them.ย Fun fact: There were about 400 extras cast for the streetย dance scenes
Watch director Steven Spielberg and designer Paul Tazewell give more insight intoย the costume design for the movie.
Watch West Side Story on Sunday 20 November at 21:30ย on M-Net channel 101.ย
Watch the trailer here.