Costumes in Les Miserables (1998) Directed by Bille August
1998's Les Miserables' costumes were designed by Academy Award-winning costume designer Gabriella Pescucci. Pescucci had previously won for The Age of Innocence and been nominated for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1993). While her work for Billie August's Les Mis would go unnominated for any major awards, the costumes are nonetheless on par with her previous work and reflect the authentic style and taste of early to mid-19th century France.
As Caterina Massuras reports for Vogue Italia, Pescucci's costumes are marked by "a cultured taste for invention, colors that are always perfect, and a pathological attention to every detail -- joined to an absolute ability to pick the right accessory." This high praise can be discerned in every choice of costume for the five main characters of August's Les Mis.
The five main characters or Javert, the relentless lawman out to jail Jean Valjean, the heroic Christ-figure, whose redemption in the beginning of the film brings about his conversion and turns him from a hardened criminal into a kind, warm, loving character who spreads goodness and mercy everywhere he goes. Then there is Fantine, the poor woman driven to madness through a life on the streets and her daughter Cosette, who grows up without a mother (after Fantine dies) and falls in love with the young, idealistic revolutionary Marius. The film spans years, and the costumes reflect this.
For instance, at the beginning of the film, Valjean is in rags, reflecting his impoverished state -- both physically and spiritually. His clothing is tattered, worn, brown as dirt. His overcoat has no lapels, signifying the informal nature of his position -- he has not yet been formed into a whole figure, therefore his clothing does...
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