Dreamgirls
Born and raised in Lancaster, Ohio, Randall Thropp is now on the West Coast, living as Paramount Pictures’ costume archivist. Although Thropp is busy with his new Hollywood career, he still manages to bring some of the L.A. excitement back to his hometown.
In the past, Thropp has brought two Edith Head exhibitions to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, bringing in people from Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cincinnati and even Canada. This summer, Thropp is hosting his third exhibition at DACO and hopes to bring in an even larger crowd.
While his first two exhibitions were centered on the Edith Head collection, this exhibition has never been done before. From The Addams Family to Forrest Gump, Creating the Illusion: Costumes and Characters from the Paramount Pictures Archive, running through Aug. 12, is the first time Paramount Pictures has showcased more modern costumes, some of which have never been publicly displayed.
“These costumes don’t get out of Hollywood very often,” says Thropp. “Also it’s a nice cross section of characters that have been made from Paramount Films. Some of them may be very identifiable, while others you may not really think about.”
Tom Cruise's costume from 'War of the Worlds'
At this exhibition, you will discover that the “metal” helmets from The Transformers: The Last Knight are practically weightless, and that the turtles from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were generated with motion capture suits.
“You think you’re seeing some guy in a turtle costume,” says Thropp,“but everything was actually generated by a computer.”
Today, there are motion capture suits that allow characters to come to life on a green screen.
“This is something that’s really evolved in the last 20 years. …It’s the modern technology of creating the illusion,” says Thropp.
Over the years, a lot has changed when it comes to designing costumes and sets.
“In The Wizard of Oz, the Emerald City didn’t really exist, that was all hand painted on a glass slide ... but now, everything’s digital,” says Thropp.
Along with the aid of technology, new sophisticated designs and materials have helped shape the illusion of costumes, such as the helmets from The Transformers: The Last Knight. While they look like metal, they’re actually made out of plastic or fiberglass.
“But they’re so beautifully done and articulated and aged,” says Thropp. “They look like they’re the real thing.”
In addition, the exhibition includes many other iconic costumes.
“This is not about vintage costumes per se,” says Thropp, “but about costumes that really define the characters.”
Some of these iconic costumes include the blue sequin dresses from Dreamgirls, Count Olaf’s smoking jacket from A Series of Unfortunate Events and Morticia’s black, floor-length dress from The Addams Family.
The costumes invite the audience to think deeper into the relationship between the designer and the costume and to examine the intricacies that create the illusion of a character.
“I like tapping into people’s nostalgias,” says Thropp, “and let’s face it, the ‘80s and ‘90s are now people’s nostalgia.”
It’s with this idea in mind that Thropp made sure to include costumes from Coming to America, which he says is the “new classic.” He adds that Coming to America’s imaginary country echoes nicely that of the popular Marvel film, Black Panther.
Helmet from 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra'
“Both films had to create costumes that define these fictitious countries,” says Thropp.
Thropp adds that the costume designer for Coming to America struggled to find the necessary African fabrics and ended up ordering Middle African materials from London.
“In film you get a sense of pattern and color, but up close you can see the intricate craftsmanship and work that goes into these costumes.”
In honor of the exhibition and Coming to America’s 30th anniversary, Thropp invited Jay Jorgenson, who co-authored the book that influenced the title of the exhibition, to co-host a talk after the film’s screening at the Drexel Theatre opening weekend.
While discussing the parallels between Coming to America and Black Panther, Jorgenson highlighted the early history of fashion, while Thropp examined the modern practices of costume design. The screening and talk underscored the importance of costumes and characters in society and how iconic images make a mark on our hearts—and these Paramount costumes are indeed iconic.
“Morticia Addams wouldn’t be Morticia Addams without a long gown... and Count Olaf wouldn’t be Lemony Snicket’s character without his signature smoking jacket,” says Thropp. It’s the costumes that make these characters come to life, and for the first time, the public can see these characters beyond the silver screen.
Alex Curran-Cardarelli is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
