If most pop-culture portrayals are to be believed, wardrobes of the future will consist of abstract amalgamations of Jane Jetson and Lady Gaga's abandoned articles. (Seriously, EVERYONE in 2130 will be wearing bubble suits. Promise.) However, for the futuristic thriller, "In Time," Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood took a pleasantly restrained approach to dressing the gaggle of perpetual 25-year-olds portrayed in the film, headlined by Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.
"To me, when you look at really great imagery in fashion from all times, there's something—you can still look at stuff from the '30s and it looks incredibly modern. The design elements sort of have that feeling," Colleen explained. "With this, we were sort of going with that attitude—a sort of more minimal approach to it as opposed to getting a lot of bells and whistles for the future. My idea was that the near future there's always an element of classicism in design, and I sort of went with classic lines and sort of more futuristic surfaces."
If you're familiar with the plot of "In Time," you know the premise of the film is built on class structure. In this dystopia, each citizen's worth is based on the amount of time they "own" (for lack of a better term). If you don't replenish your clock, you'll die when you hit 26 years of age. Colleen told us the notion that society's most impoverished are literal clock-watchers greatly influenced her design details.
"I started to use gloves, which I'm a glove fan, and it was a perfect excuse. On the women, I used gloves to sort of show that they didn't have to worry about time, they never looked at their clock," she said. "But the poor people, they either had a zipper or an exposed timepiece, so they could constantly monitor how much time they were eating up."
Though Colleen relied on several designers' fashions to create the aesthetic she envisioned, she did favor one particular look: the specially made, full skirted dress Amanda wears while running away. "It's a good party dress that works throughout the movie," she said.
The designer's upcoming project will find her trading the future for the past, as she dresses Kristen Stewart for "Snow White and the Huntsman." Stayed tuned to Hollywood Crush as Colleen talks costuming the fairest of them all!
Related:
'In Time' Star Amanda Seyfried Explains Stunt Heels
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