Milena Canonero - Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]

== Early life and education ==

== Early life and education ==

Canonero was born in [[Turin]], Italy. She attended university in [[Genoa]], studying fashion, period design, and art history before moving to England in the late 1960s.<ref name="Rubin, BFC">{{Cite web |last=Rubin |first=Natasha |title=Milena Canonero |url=https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/film-and-television-costume-milena-canonero |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=Bloomsbury Fashion Central.com}}</ref><ref name="Weston, Metrograph">{{Cite web |last=Weston |first=Hillary |title=Wardrobe Department: Milena Canonero |url=https://metrograph.com/wardrobe-department-milena-canonero/ |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=Metrograph.com}}</ref> She designed for friends' London boutiques and began assisting in commercials, meeting many filmmakers along the way, including director [[Hugh Hudson]].<ref name="Gross, NYT">{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Michael |date=February 11, 1986 |title=MILENA CANONERO: FASHION ON AND OFF THE BIG SCREEN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/11/style/milena-canonero-fashion-on-and-off-the-big-screen.html |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524190519/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/11/style/milena-canonero-fashion-on-and-off-the-big-screen.html |url-status=live}}</ref> He gave Canonero her first break on his short film, which was shot on location in [[Sicily]]. She was involved in all aspects of the production and found the entire process captivating.<ref name="Rubin, BFC"/> By chance, Canonero was also invited to watch [[Stanley Kubrick]] shoot parts of the landmark ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' (1968), and the director asked her to collaborate with him on his next feature film.<ref name="Gross, NYT"/>

Canonero was born in [[Turin]], Italy. She attended university in [[Genoa]], studying fashion, period design, and art history before moving to England in the late 1960s.<ref name="Rubin, BFC">{{Cite web |last=Rubin |first=Natasha |title=Milena Canonero |url=https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/film-and-television-costume-milena-canonero |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=Bloomsbury Fashion Central.com}}</ref><ref name="Weston, Metrograph">{{Cite web |last=Weston |first=Hillary |title=Wardrobe Department: Milena Canonero |url=https://metrograph.com/wardrobe-department-milena-canonero/ |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=Metrograph.com}}</ref> She designed for friends' London boutiques and began assisting in commercials, meeting many filmmakers along the way.<ref name="Gross, NYT">{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Michael |date=February 11, 1986 |title=MILENA CANONERO: FASHION ON AND OFF THE BIG SCREEN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/11/style/milena-canonero-fashion-on-and-off-the-big-screen.html |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524190519/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/11/style/milena-canonero-fashion-on-and-off-the-big-screen.html |url-status=live}}</ref> By chance, Canonero was also invited to watch [[Stanley Kubrick]] shoot parts of the landmark ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' (1968), and the director asked her to collaborate with him on his next feature film.<ref name="Gross, NYT"/>

== Career ==

== Career ==

Canonero received her first major screen credits for designing costumes for Kubrick's dystopian classic ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' (1971). She created an instantly recognizable character's wardrobe that perfectly captures the film's discourse on class, money, and power through provoking aesthetics, which has since become an enduring inspiration for fashion icons and designers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lazic |first=Elena |date=April 2, 2019 |title=A Clockwork Orange and fashion: why the droogs never go out of style |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/stanley-kubrick-clockwork-orange-fashion |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=[[British Film Institute]] |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829110803/https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/stanley-kubrick-clockwork-orange-fashion |url-status=live}}</ref> Kubrick and Canonero continued their collaboration on the epic period drama ''[[Barry Lyndon]]'' (1975). She and Swedish costume designer [[Ulla-Britt Söderlund]] examined original 18th-century attire at London's [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] and copied patterns from the collection to produce authentic-looking film garments. In their designs, the pair also drew inspiration from the period-defining art, including portraits by [[Thomas Gainsborough]] and [[Joshua Reynolds]], as well as paintings by [[Jean Siméon Chardin]] and [[William Hogarth]], among others. They also sourced vintage fabrics, laces, and clothing from auction houses and private collections. By combining crafted film pieces with original clothing, the designers achieved unrivaled for the period drama authenticity sought by the director.<ref name="Rubin, BFC" /> Given the grand scale of production, the biggest challenge was Kubrick's innovative decision to photograph film using exclusively daylight or faint, flickering candlelight. Taking that into account, the costumes had to stand out noticeably both in shape and texture.<ref name="Weston, Metrograph" /> Canonero and Söderlund won the [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design]] for their exceptional work.<ref name="Gross, NYT" /> Then film director [[George Lucas]] approached her to design costumes for his space opera ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977), an offer she eventually turned down and later considered the biggest lost opportunity of her career.<ref name="Gross, NYT" /> Canonero worked with Kubrick once again on the cult psychological horror ''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]'' (1980). She won her second Academy Award for another collaboration with Hudson, this time on his iconic sports drama ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'' (1981), the true story of two British athletes in the [[1924 Summer Olympics|1924 Olympics]]. She superbly interpreted the 1920s English tweeds, blazers, and college garb to the extent of inspiring 1980s fashion trends; such great success led to an offer for Canonero to create a clothing line for men's-wear manufacturer Norman Hilton, for which she received a special [[Coty Award]].<ref name="Gross, NYT" />

Canonero received her first major screen credits for designing costumes for Kubrick's dystopian classic ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' (1971). She created an instantly recognizable character's wardrobe that perfectly captures the film's discourse on class, money, and power through provoking aesthetics, which has since become an enduring inspiration for fashion icons and designers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lazic |first=Elena |date=April 2, 2019 |title=A Clockwork Orange and fashion: why the droogs never go out of style |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/stanley-kubrick-clockwork-orange-fashion |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=[[British Film Institute]] |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829110803/https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/stanley-kubrick-clockwork-orange-fashion |url-status=live}}</ref> Kubrick and Canonero continued their collaboration on the epic period drama ''[[Barry Lyndon]]'' (1975). She and Swedish costume designer [[Ulla-Britt Söderlund]] examined original 18th-century attire at London's [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] and copied patterns from the collection to produce authentic-looking film garments. In their designs, the pair also drew inspiration from the period-defining art, including portraits by [[Thomas Gainsborough]] and [[Joshua Reynolds]], as well as paintings by [[Jean Siméon Chardin]] and [[William Hogarth]], among others. They also sourced vintage fabrics, laces, and clothing from auction houses and private collections. By combining crafted film pieces with original clothing, the designers achieved unrivaled for the period drama authenticity sought by the director.<ref name="Rubin, BFC" /> Given the grand scale of production, the biggest challenge was Kubrick's innovative decision to photograph film using exclusively daylight or faint, flickering candlelight. Taking that into account, the costumes had to stand out noticeably both in shape and texture.<ref name="Weston, Metrograph" /> Canonero and Söderlund won the [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design]] for their exceptional work.<ref name="Gross, NYT" /> Then film director [[George Lucas]] approached her to design costumes for his space opera ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977), an offer she eventually turned down and later considered the biggest lost opportunity of her career.<ref name="Gross, NYT" /> Canonero worked with Kubrick once again on the cult psychological horror ''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]'' (1980). She won her second Academy Award for another collaboration with director [[Hugh Hudson]], with whom she previously worked on the short film back in the early 1970s. This time they reunited on his iconic sports drama ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'' (1981), the true story of two British athletes in the [[1924 Summer Olympics|1924 Olympics]]. She superbly interpreted the 1920s English tweeds, blazers, and college garb to the extent of inspiring 1980s fashion trends; such great success led to an offer for Canonero to create a clothing line for men's-wear manufacturer Norman Hilton, for which she received a special [[Coty Award]].<ref name="Gross, NYT" />

Canonero’s next major film was [[Sydney Pollack]]'s ''[[Out of Africa (film)|Out of Africa]]'' (1985), based on Danish author [[Karen Blixen]]'s autobiographical [[Out of Africa|memoir of the same name]] about her decade-long experiences in colonial Kenya starting just before the outbreak of [[World War I]]. Canonero faced a formidable challenge when tasked in a strict three-month term to research, design, and produce hundreds of costumes appropriate for a vast ensemble of characters that includes African natives, white hunters, and European nobility. It took her on an intense journey everywhere, from the [[New York Public Library]] to the various museums and costume houses across England and Italy, and from the [[Rungstedlund|Blixen’s home]] in Denmark to Africa, where she met anthropologist [[Richard Leakey]], who consulted her on less known aspects of African fashion in the 1910s, especially those regarding the indigenous groups.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodwin |first=Betty |date=January 3, 1986 |title=Authenticity Sparks 'Out of Africa' Costume Designs |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-03-vw-24110-story.html |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sones |first=Melissa |date=January 28, 1986 |title=Designing for 'Out of Africa';NEWLN:'Out of Africa' a challenge for costume designer |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/01/28/Designing-for-Out-of-AfricaNEWLNOut-of-Africa-a-challenge-for-costume-designer/2828507272400/ |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=[[United Press International]]}}</ref>

Canonero’s next major film was [[Sydney Pollack]]'s ''[[Out of Africa (film)|Out of Africa]]'' (1985), based on Danish author [[Karen Blixen]]'s autobiographical [[Out of Africa|memoir of the same name]] about her decade-long experiences in colonial Kenya starting just before the outbreak of [[World War I]]. Canonero faced a formidable challenge when tasked in a strict three-month term to research, design, and produce hundreds of costumes appropriate for a vast ensemble of characters that includes African natives, white hunters, and European nobility. It took her on an intense journey everywhere, from the [[New York Public Library]] to the various museums and costume houses across England and Italy, and from the [[Rungstedlund|Blixen’s home]] in Denmark to Africa, where she met anthropologist [[Richard Leakey]], who consulted her on less known aspects of African fashion in the 1910s, especially those regarding the indigenous groups.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodwin |first=Betty |date=January 3, 1986 |title=Authenticity Sparks 'Out of Africa' Costume Designs |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-03-vw-24110-story.html |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sones |first=Melissa |date=January 28, 1986 |title=Designing for 'Out of Africa';NEWLN:'Out of Africa' a challenge for costume designer |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/01/28/Designing-for-Out-of-AfricaNEWLNOut-of-Africa-a-challenge-for-costume-designer/2828507272400/ |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=[[United Press International]]}}</ref>