The Costumes of Dune (2021) with Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan
- Nuwan Perera
- Jun 3, 2023
- 5 min read
When costume designer Jacqueline West was first approached by director Denis Villeneuve to work on his sci-fi epic, she initially turned it down. When we spoke to West, she said that it was her husband and daughter who finally convinced her to take on this daunting project. Due to the immense scale of the production requiring thousands of costumes to be made, she brought in her colleague, Robert Morgan as a co-designer on the project. We talked to them about designing the costumes of Dune (2021). This is what we found out.
The ‘Modieval’ Philosophy of Costume Design
Being an art historian at Berkely, West likes to quote famous art critic John Berger, “to see the future, you have to go to the past”. She calls this approach ‘Modieval’, since the designs borrow heavily from the past, but are meant for a future world that is starting over after an apocalypse. Medieval Italian painters like Giotto and Goya from the Spanish romantic era provided much of her inspiration.
Following this design philosophy, the Atreides battle armor was fashioned after the Templars from the Middle Ages, while the Avignon papacy was the inspiration for the Spacing Guild. Reverend Mother Mohiam and the Bene Gesserit costumes were a combination of the Queen of Wands and the High Empress from the Marseilles Tarot.
The black leather of Harkonnen designs came from medieval drawings of lizards and bug-like creatures. West’s favorite costume was the one made for Piter de Vries which she describes as a cross between a praying mantis and a human stiletto.
Getting the Analog Look of the Stillsuits
According to Bob Morgan, the costumes of Dune were made to have an analog feel to them. This is most evident in the Fremen stillsuits which needed to look like they functioned mechanically by pumping water through the suit using the body’s movements. While the stillsuits aren’t capable of recycling actual wastewater, they do contain multiple layers of micro sandwich fabric which can wick moisture away from the body. This made for a sweat-free costume that kept the actors cool during filming in the blazing hot Jordanian desert.
Interestingly, none of the costumes have visible buttons or zippers on them, opting instead for magnets to fasten clothing. West says this was done to reinforce the idea that Dune was taking place in a different time period, and seeing a modern zipper would’ve immediately destroyed this illusion. The idea to use rare-earth magnets had come from filmmaker Stephen Norrington (Blade, LXG) who is a friend of West.
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Bible as the Creative Guide
Regarding the process of working with Denis Villeneuve, both costume designers have nothing but praise for his collaborative style. Morgan describes how the Canadian filmmaker had a very distinct vision for this new adaptation. According to this vision, a sort of design bible was created which had all the guidelines that made it clear to everyone on the production team what Dune was and what it wasn’t. This gave the creatives enough freedom to explore their own ideas while sticking to an agreed framework.
West talks about how her experience working in the fashion industry helped when setting up costume displays for the director to approve. Mannequins were dressed in the Bene Gesserit costumes and a wind machine was set up to show off the silk clothing in motion. Even music was played to set the mood. West mentions how Villeneuve would have a very visceral reaction whenever he was deeply impressed with their work, which was a sure sign they were heading in a direction he approved.
Developing the Four Worlds of Dune
Whenever costume design must be done for multiple factions, West says that coming up with a narrative for each faction-planet helps. This narrative would explain why the clothing had a certain color palette and style. The Atreides uniforms were a deep bottle green, a reflection of their origins in the lush water world of Caladan. Their style brings to mind an old wealthy aristocracy like the Romanovs. This was useful since author Frank Herbert doesn’t fully describe much of the clothing in detail except for the stillsuits. What he does provide is a mood, which West tried to stick to.
Form Vs Function
When asked about form vs function, both costume designers agreed that function should be the top priority. Morgan stressed the importance of the costume needing to fit in with its environment. Concept artist Keith Christensen’s stone-grey colored stillsuits may seem like an odd fit for the desert planet of Arrakis. While this feels counterintuitive as camouflage, this color was best for showing off the sand clinging to the suit. Once the sand patina was applied to it, the wearers could really blend into their natural environment.
“The costume is the bridge from actor to character”, says West. She elaborates how the right costume can help an actor discover their role, changing their stance, movement, and even behavior to fit the character. She recalls how Timothée Chalamet’s naturally fluid movements gave way to a tougher desert-warrior stance after he put on the stillsuit for the first time. The costumes needed to look right without restricting the actor’s movements, while the ones worn by the stuntpeople needed to flex and retain their shape after filming action scenes.
Collaboration at an Epic Scale
Over 2,000 costumes were made for Dune, with different aspects handled by multiple teams on separate continents. The stillsuit prototypes were made by Jose Fernandez at Ironhead Studios in Los Angeles, while factories were set up in Budapest to manufacture the 250 suits needed for the shoot. This scale and complexity were what necessitated West to bring in her longtime collaborator to join the project.
Morgan goes on to say that their respect for each other’s creative process, being open to
changes, and communicating when either one had strong opinions were what allowed them to handle all the challenges that came their way. Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan’s work in Dune was nominated for Best Costume Design at the 94th Academy Awards, leaving no doubt regarding the success of their collaboration.
Getting the Experience for Costume Design
When asked about the skills needed to pull off the costumes of Dune successfully, the answers couldn’t have been more different. Jaqueline West coming from the fashion world with her own clothing line was an expert on fabrics. Her understanding of the touch of a fabric, and the way it drapes, falls, and lays on an actor’s body was incredibly useful during the design phase.
Bob Morgan on the other hand had done pretty much every job in the costume department, from sizing, painting, dying, and aging clothes as well as
working on set with actors. These skills were useful when supervising multiple teams that were building the costumes needed on set for filming.
What Good Costume Design Is All About
According to West, good costume design should reveal something about the character that’s wearing it. She believes that it helps costume designers to imagine taking the characters shopping for clothes in their own time period. And finally, West adds that if the audience leaves the movie theater remembering too much about the costumes, the designer has failed, since a costume is supposed to blend in with the mise-en-scène without drawing too much attention to itself.
It'll be interesting to see what new costume designs we can expect from Dune: Part Two which will bring in new characters and the Imperial faction into Arrakis. The film currently has a November 2023 release date. Watch our full interview with Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan, The Costumes of Dune only on Junkyard Theory.
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