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By Phil Bray for Netflix.
If youve ever wondered what 6,000 costumes (and 15,000 accessories) look like, tune into Netflixs Marco Polothe massive-scale, 10-episode historical drama that was filmed in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Venice for a reported $90 million. The sprawling 13th-century-set series relied on two costume designersTimmy Yip, who won an Oscar for the costumes in 2000s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Jo Korer (The Duchess, The Pacific)to outfit hundreds of actors in historically accurate garb that would appeal to modern viewers 800 years older than the characters being depicted. As if this was not enough of a challenge, Yip and Korer had to be cognizant of different cultures styles to cater to the Venetian Marco Polo and the Yuan dynastys sprawling empire in Mongolia and China, where Polo was deposited by his father in exchange for gaining access to the Silk Road.
Yips research of 13th-century Italy was exhaustivewith the designer pouring over museums, history books, and films; picking the brains of his Italian friends about styles; and even visiting Venice and working closely with local tailors to fine-tune the cuts of his costumes. (Yip was helped by an Italian assistant whose father, ironically, worked on the 1982 Marco Polo miniseries.) Ultimately, Yip decided to dress star Lorenzo Richelmy, who plays the famed merchant traveller, with a youthful edge in hopes of linking him to younger viewers, and stocked Polos closet accordingly with pieces that telegraphed his personal evolution.
The story begins with Marco at the age of 17 living in Venice,Koren explains, so his costumes reflect both his age and the country in which he resides. Then as he travels, three years on the boat, then one year crossing the desert and travelling the Silk Road, he matures. His transformation is influenced by his stay with the Yuan dynastys charismatic leader Kublai Khan, his battle experience, his combat training, and his romantic pursuitsand is paralleled with an evolving wardrobe that includes more mature pieces (coats and armor) and textiles (leather). He may not have the flashiest or most exciting wardrobe, or even a distinct color palette (like the rest of the characters in the series), but this was by design. His wardrobe color changes when meeting different people,Yip explains. And his character is less of a focal point than a looking-glass that audiences use to see into the Yuan Dynasty and all of its sartorial richness.
The most striking palette and wardrobe pieces belong to the Kublai Khan (Benedict Wong), the leader of the dynasty who happens to be a bit of a clothes horse. His signature color on the series is gold and when viewers first see him on the show he is sitting in a gold throne, wearing gold silk pajamas with intricate gold embroidery, and covered in rich furs. In addition to the metallic shade denoting Khans position at the top of his dynasty, his gold clothes ensured that, as the central character of the supporting cast, he is the focal point of every scene in which he appears.
Khans costumes were steeped in Chinese historical cues even though, Yip says, researching the Yuan dynasty proved difficult. I had talked with some specialists [in the] Yuan dynasty and found that there are not many scholars who did research on this dynasty, he said. [It] is not an easy period to study [since its so] different from the Tang or Han dynasty [and] there is a big difference between Western and Chinese culture on understanding the Yuan period.
Yip and Koren went to painstaking lengths to differentiate their costumes for each individual actor on set, even in large crowd scenes, accessorizing with thousands of necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, belts, and hats. They used at least seven different animal skins to make sure that characters had furs that fit their own color palette. (Yip says that cowhide, calfskin, wolf skin, goat skin, rabbit fur, raw fox skin, and raccoon fur were all used.) Each of the soldiers have different designs and styles of armor and helmets. Says Koren, The armor on the show is historically correct. The different designs depict the different ranks or tasks each solider would have i.e. foot solider, mounted horse guard, elite solider, interior Khan private guard, general imperial guard, etc.
And while it might be overwhelming to see so many characters in the first episode, Yip and Koren carefully used costume cues to denote each characters place in society. For example, The fabrics the wealthy would wear [were] silks, wools, furs whilst the poor wore mainly rough cotton. The wealthy would often wear fabric with intricate designs, sometimes depicting a story or legend. As strange as it might seem, the length and drop of a sleeve all signified a certain status. Chinese fashion from this period was more simple and elegant in cut than Mongolian fashion. And the Chinese flouted their social status from literal head to toe.
The hair on the Chinese was also very important, Koren said. The higher the bun sat, the more evolved [that person was], the more strength [they had]. As for the toes: Within the Chinese culture there was the horrific tradition of foot binding, which would stunt the growth of the feet of any young girl that wished to try to prove to any future suitor that they came from good stock. [They were trying to prove] that their family were indeed wealthy enough to not have to have a daughter that had to work, or even walk!
It took over eight months for the costume design team to outfit all of the characters in this TV series of gargantuan scalea feat even more impressive when you realize the challenges they faced. Working abroad within different cultures can be a challenge, Korer said, referring to the crew (most of whom had never worked in Hollywood before, and thusly did not understand the production system), the hot and humid production conditions, the scarcity of fabrics and modern equipment in Kazakhstan, and the fact that the costume department was working constantly to adapt to changing story lines. Yip, meanwhile, cites the lines they had to toe during this project as the most difficult. It [was] a challenge of [creating a] historical yet romantic adventure that was realistic yet trendy feeling, classical yet avant-garde.
Most importantly though, Yip says, It had to be totally different from any other depiction of Marco Polo in pop culture.
Marco Polo premieres on Netflix today.
Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/12/marco-polo-netflix-costumes
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