As an aspiring Costume Designer I am often inspired by the things I see on television and in movies which inspire me to do little sketching projects on my own. This time I was inspired by a particular 1920's themed episode of the hit television show: The Vampire Diaries.
It was season three episode twelve when the roarin' twenties came to Mystic Falls. In this episode "Do Not go Gentle", the gang gets dressed to the nines for the school's 1920s decade dance.
 |
| And while the characters looked jovial and a little campy in their party tuxes and frocks; I couldn't help but wonder how these deadly and seductive vampires would have dressed had they actually been at an authentic jazz club during the 1920's instead of a themed high school function.  |
I was definitely inspired by the darkness and allure that comes with vampires especially with this show; I chose dark colors like black,dark turquoise, blood red and forest green to mirror that.
I decided to implement the image of crosses in my designs due to the connection of vampires and Christianity. On this show and any others, crosses are ineffective on vampires so I decided to place crosses randomly in my design not to mock this idea but to show the boldness of the characters. Rebekah Mikaelson and Katerina/Katherine Petrova (the two characters I had in mind) do not try to hide who they are. They live their "un-dead" lives not by merely fitting in unnoticed, but lavishly in the lime light.
Both Rebekah Mikaelson and Katherine Petrova are women who use their beauty and sensuality to their advantage; when they walk into a soiree you take notice! I wanted to capture that provocativeness in the clothing especially with the red velveteen mini dress. I choose the blood-red color and tantalizing cutouts to portray all this and evoke a feeling of confidence and desire right upon looking at the character.
I was also inspired by the animalistic nature of the vampires portrayed on the show so I decided to add different textures like leather, furs, and velveteen to the garments.
Thanks to this lovely website for helping me write this article; it has all the knowledge of everything Vamp Dies!
