TREASURE TROVE
Costume designer Anna Robbins talks to Rosie Herdman about Downton Abbey’s wardrobe ahead of its big-screen release tomorrow
Downton Abbey’s Emmy-nominated costume designer Anna Robbins
It’s been four years since Downton
Abbey last aired on television screens, and nine years since its debut. Tomorrow, the highly anticipated Downton Abbey movie will be released, and according to the film’s Emmy-nominated costume designer Anna Robbins, it simultaneously feels like it’s been years and 10 minutes since the gang was all together. “I think we’d all hoped when the series finished that there might be something else but we didn’t know whether that would ever happen,” says Anna, speaking from London in her lovely
Scottish lilt. “So once we found out the movie was confirmed, it was amazing. It was like a wonderful family reunion.”
Set in 1927, the film sees the Crawley family and surrounding characters, both familiar and new, preparing for a royal visit to Downton — King George V and Queen Mary, to be precise.
For Anna, the characters’ varied schedule of occasions required richly memorable wardrobes. Taking the television series to the big screen meant every costume needed to be elevated, she says, to create an even higher production value and a sense of the cinematic. Attention to detail was important in this setting, as even the smallest flaw would be visible on the big screen, whereas TV is a little more forgiving. “The other difference is that there were fewer story days in the film than across an entire season,” Anna explains, “so I had to be more considered with my design choices because I had less costumes to tell stories with.”
The menswear in Downton is fantastic — lords in beautifully tailored warm-toned suits in heavy tweeds and wools, and the butlers and valets in equally as impeccable black tails.
“I love designing for menswear,” says Anna. “Men and women go hand-in-hand to create these scenes. They should all feel very valid, so you have to design as a whole — they’re as important even if they might not take as long to create.”
Downton Abbey prides itself on authenticity and the costumes are a large part of this. Anna begins the process with heavily detailed research. Her team source original 1920s pieces — about half of the entire cast’s wardrobe, she says — and otherwise design new pieces that are historically accurate. Anna loves the feeling of delving into history, searching for these special clothes. “It’s great fun to find them, because it does feel like treasure.”
Back in the 20s, she says, there were many rules about what was and wasn’t acceptable to wear. For the men’s day wear, a tweed suit would never have bright colours with it like purples or blues — more like browns, greens and fawn tones. This is just for the country, however — Anna explains there’s a code for what they’d wear to town (only black shoes, never brown) and the formal evening dress is a whole different beast. And that’s just for the menswear.
The film, as with its for-television predecessor — is a marvellous view into a world that no longer really exists, one that began dying out around that time. That, Anna agrees, is one of the reasons why it’s so popular with audiences.
“I think the sense of escapism and the curious look into this glamorous, mysterious, wonderful world that was fading away — you’re seeing it at its finest knowing that it changes very quickly in the not-too-distant future,” she says. “It’s quite fascinating and has a real emotional draw to it. There’s a poignancy to it as well, knowing that you’re seeing the last of these great houses operating and being lived in in that way.”