Faces. Costume Narrative Breakdown

Faces is a multi-narrative feature film set across four storylines that follow a group of characters as their lives begin to unravel.
Aisha is in a marriage that has become stale. When her wish to get pregnant finally becomes reality, she receives some very unexpected news. Louie and Gaspard are a gay couple who are happily in love but when Louie's female fiance suddenly shows up in the picture, all that they hold dear begins to fall apart. Adam and Luke are best friends, but an attack on Adam at a party threatens to create a schism between them. Sindiso runs a charity for women to which she has dedicated herself. When the centre begins to have financial troubles with the real risk of closing, Sindiso has to question her fundamental motivations.

A character in the film furtherest from the cast in the project was played by actor Terry Pheto. Terry plays a sheltered Muslim wife - her husband emotionally and psychically abusive. When designing her costumes I wanted her choice of head scarf and dress to mirror her naivety towards his behaviour, which visually evolves with her rage and frustration as the story develops. Moments of happiness, humiliation, hope and hurt are reflected in her colour palette.

Louie and Gaspard were the most emotionally connected couple & wore colours complimenting each other that echoed this sentiment. Terry often more naive Lavenders, florals and muted tones whilst her Husbands suspicious energy often captured with blacks, greys and browns, the pair quite regularly remain on opposite ends of the colour spectrum. As in my last film ‘A Moving Image’ - colour play and how these colours inform and reflect ones emotion is always at the core of my work.