ELLEN MIROJNICK is one of the most prolific costume designers in Hollywood, with her work appearing in such movies as Fatal Attraction (1987), Wall Street (1987) and Wall Street Money Never Sleeps (2010), Behind the Candelabra (2013) that won her an Emmy award, and recently, The Greatest Showman.
The 70-year-old designer is also handling costume designs for the upcoming Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, which sees A-lister Angelina Jolie reprising her role as the titular character, together with Elle Fanning as Aurora, and starring Michelle Pfieffer as Queen Ingrith, Maleficent’s new foe.
In a recent tele-conference from New York, Mirojnick explained that she always approaches each project in a singular, specific way.
“First comes the script, and if I get inspired by it (inspiration is always first and foremost) and if I go ‘wow’, then that is the first step.”
She said she is attracted to different types of storytelling and different types of film.
“I feel I am very blessed that I have been able to do as many different genres that I have, over the course of the years in my career.
“I am very happy to [have been] inspired to create so many different types of costumes for so many different types of worlds and stories.
“I love working with actors and actresses. I love the challenge of birthing different characters and bringing those characters to life ... [of] creating that outer layer that an actor can breathe life into and, hopefully, you enjoy watching.”
Based on the trailers for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, it is apparent that the costumes here have been taken up several notches from those in the first film.
In the 2014 Maleficent, costume designer Anna B. Sheppard had first dressed the title character in a drab attire, but the moment Maleficent discovers her inner power, her costumes became more elaborate and beautiful.
Now, in this sequel, Maleficent also dons ‘battle gear’ while Aurora and Queen Ingrith show off some stunning outfits.
To come out with those designs, Mirojnick said as usual, she sat down with the director (Joachim Rønning) to discuss what they both wanted to create.
“For this chapter two, [in] the telling of her story, [Rønning] wanted a bolder vision. He wanted to create many different characters.”
Mirojnick explained that the character of Maleficent has evolved tremendously over the course of the film.
“It is somewhat an origins story in a way. She finds out where she comes from. It is a new birth to a whole new life for Maleficent.”
She added because of her love for her child Aurora, Maleficent will fight for that love and she also fights for the many different people living in harmony and ridding the world of evil.”
Based on that whole new theme, Mirojnick said it was great to work with Jolie to create that evolution of Maleficent.
As for Aurora’s looks, the designer said she wanted everybody to remember Aurora, and that was why they made her to look like the “Queen of the Moors”.
“We used the colour blue and we used materials that look like it was made by the fairies in the moors for their queen. It is made to look like it is made of leaves but it is magical.”
Mirojnick said Fanning was a sensational collaborator. “She really was a fairy princess. She is a magical girl ... and then she marries in a dress that is really her Sleeping Beauty wedding dress. It is so beautiful with feathers and pretty flowers.”
For Queen Ingrith, Mirojnick said the character is very ambitious and greedy. But they did not want to give that part of her away at the start by putting her in black or something hard or red or very telling at first.
“The point is to draw you into learning about her. She has a soft and hard edge to her. She will just be seen as a very beautiful queen who loves [the luxuries in life] and [is not embarrassed] about [it].”
For Mirojnick, the two standout costumes in this film are Maleficent’s battle dress and Aurora’s blue dress.
“They took the longest to make but they were the most gratifying,” she said. “They continually evolve with the actors, and we worked that to perfection.
“Sometimes, that takes a much longer time but the results are something we are very happy with.”
