costumes more closely and interpret them on the
basis of our experiences. The same can be said of
makeup and hair design.
Although verisimilitude is a factor in costume
design, there are other factors—style, fit, condi-tion, patterns, and color of the clothing—that can
also define and differentiate characters. In Tim
Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990; costume
designer: Colleen Atwood; makeup designer: Ve
Neill), Edward’s (Johnny Depp) outsider status(^12)
3 4
Costume, makeup, and hairstyleCharlize Theron has
created a memorable list of characters, ranging from comic
and delightful to disturbing and tragic. No matter what role
she plays, she manages to personify the character largely
because of her acting talent, but also because of the artists
who helped create her screen image. [1] In Monster, she plays
Aileen Wuornos, a serial murderer, who is here driving
frantically away from the scene of a near-accident. For this
role, she put on weight, her makeup artists covered her face
with freckles, and she wore a shabby wig. [2] In Æon Flux, a
science-fiction thriller, she has an entirely different look: an
asymmetrical black wig, perfectly applied eyeliner, and
sculpted, black eyebrows all add to the mysteriousness of her
character. [3] She plays a young French aristocrat who
becomes the lover of a Nazi officer in Head in the Clouds, a
political thriller set in the turmoil of late-1930s Europe. In such
a role, we would expect her to be chic and sophisticated, and
she does not disappoint, appearing here with a carefully
coiffed wig, sculpted eyebrows, bright red lipstick and
fingernails, and a neatly tailored suit. [4] In North Country,
there are times when Theron, in the role of Josey Aimes,
looks much as she does in real life. As one of few women
working at a Minnesota mine, Josey rebels against the
pervasive sexual harassment and eventually wins a landmark
class action suit that changed the workplace forever. Here, at
the trial and under pressure from the prosecuting attorney,
she creates a distinctive impression with a casual wig and
light, unobtrusive makeup. She is hated by most of the
townspeople, who owe their livelihood to the mine, and she is
the victim of witnesses who lie, yet she projects the image of
an honest woman with a mission.
DESIGN 189