Dressing the Story: How Costumes Style Character on Film

Costume design shapes character and story by using clothing to signal background, personality, status, and emotional tone while grounding a film’s time and place. In Hollywood’s studio era, vast wardrobe departments created glamorous, idealized looks that often influenced real-world fashion. As independent cinema grew, looks shifted toward realistic, character-driven choices. Working closely with actors and drawing on custom pieces or existing garments, designers help performers inhabit their roles, a process Nancy Friedland of Columbia University traces through American film history.