Now most of our team has watched Dune, we felt like it was the right time to do a feature on it – and what better feature than an entirely Dune-inspired shopping guide. The fashion in the smash hit sci-fi movie has gained a lot of attention, and not only because recently proclaimed fashion icon Zendaya and Gen-Z poster boy Timothée Chalamet were included in the movie.
The costumes were produced by the extraordinary duo Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan, who have an impressive portfolio of film costume design under their belts. And, although it’s a sci-fi, the pair were not only inspired by the future: West and Morgan looked to a hybridisation of past and future to craft a totally different aesthetic – self-described as “mod-eval,” a blend of modern and medieval.
Instead of drawing references from the worlds of previous space films, they looked to Renaissance art, tarot cards, medieval imagery of nuns, 14th-century Avignon popes, and paintings by Francisco Goya. Speaking about the huge undertaking, West explained “It takes place in the future on worlds far away. … we realised this is not a movie about spaceships and aliens. We were making this historical epic adventure that took place in a different world.”
The characters have a variation of styles and outfits. Protagonist Paul Atreides (played by Chalamet) progresses from a military-inspired house uniform, to a gold hardware suit for battle, to the iconic Dune ‘stillsuit’. His mother, played by Rebecca Ferguson, wears intricate beading and tulle hoods and veils that scream Balenciaga couture. Her medieval-inspired gown is thought to be one of, if not the, most expensive film-costume ever made. Zendaya, part of the Fremen group, makes cameos in billowing neutral scarves, linen and the Dune stillsuit: adapted to survive the harsh desert conditions.
It seems that fashion and Dune go hand-in-hand, with the SS22 runways giving Dune fashion in Loewe’s draped hoods, Botter’s scuba-masks and Rick Owens’ hooded, deconstructed knits. We’ve compiled some products inspired by key looks in the movie, ranging from a simple black scarf to a £15,000 Moncler puffer dress – just in case you wanted to dress as the sand worm (but make it fashion). Alongside this are some picks that we would wear in the alien deserts, and a large selection of footwear to start you off. Happy shopping!
BENE GESSIRIT
PAUL ATREIDES’ GOLD ARMOUR
LADY JESSICA
‘STILLSUIT’
VLADIMIR HARKONNEN
SAND WORM
FREMEN
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI BEIGE CASHMERE SCARF – £590 / US $894 (APPROX.)
Or just pick one up from your local market!
FOOTWEAR
More on CULTED
See also: WHAT’S UP WITH YE?
See also: SHIN MURAYAMA’S GIVENCHY MASKS ARE PERFECT FOR HALLOWEEN