The Night Porter (1974)

Costume Design by Piero Tosi

One wonders how much director Liliana Cavani was inspired by Luchino Visconti's The Damned when making The Night Porter (aka Il portiere di notte).

Not only do both films star Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling, but both share Piero Tosi as costume designer. And just like in The Damned, Tosi had the costumes fabricated at the Tirelli Costumi costume house.

The 1950s setting makes me feel that most of the cast's clothing was all vintage items; no doubt it was easier to procure 50s clothing in the early 1970s!

At the least, Dirk Bogarde's hotel staff uniform - consisting of a grey waistcoat and black tailcoat - must have been tailored for him personally. No idea about his few other outfits in the film.

Rampling stars as Lucia, a former concentration campnmate who Bogarde's former SS officer had a fling with; I can't remember where in the film Rampling wears this dress, a white design with lace panelling and shoulders.

The SS uniforms in the flashback sequences, such as the one worn by Dirk Bogarde in the below image, were possibly the same ones supplied by Tirelli for The Damned, but I could be wrong.

(I'm not including Rampling's infamous Nazi uniform fetish look - it doesn't count anyway as it was probably just cobbled from Tirelli's wardrobe stock, due to its very brief appearance in the film).

In the present day of Night Porter's story, Rampling first appears wearing this gorgeous sparkly black dress with with a chiffon shawl worn over it - this dress is only worn very briefly in the film, no less.

Getting even less screentime is this silvery dress and shawl Rampling wears when watching an opera performance; this photo from an Italian film costume exhibition is far better a shot of it than what you'd get in the movie itself, as Rampling wears it during extreme close-up shots as she's sitting.

I also have no idea about the opera costumes briefly seen when Rampling and Bogarde visit an opera house; perhaps Tosi made them for the film, or perhaps they were wardrobe stock. Again, you barely see them in the film!

Isa Miranda stars as the Countess Stein, whose most notable costume is this lovely gold and black design, with the gold in a 'flame' like pattern around the chest with matching rings on the cuffs. I have no idea if it was a bought vintage item, or if it was fabricated for Miranda in the film.