Lexx (1997 - 2002)

Costume Design by: Till Fuhrmann and Jill Aslin (note: both worked on the very first episode, with all other episodes included here being by Fuhrmann, barring 'Lyekka' and '791' which were by Aslin instead)

Puerile, morbid and with a libido a mile long, Lexx is a pariah among other science-fiction series, feeling a bit more like a meaner cousin to Red Dwarf or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, even if the series started off as a conscious parody of 'epic' space opera such as Dune, Star Wars or Star Trek. The costume design sense of Lexx is a bit hit or miss, which wasn't helped by the show's low budget - a lot of the characters costumes tend to be either plainclothes, or rather junky stuff more in the realm of 'post apocalypse' fare such as the episode '791' where a sexually predatory cyborg is just in football armor like so many Mad Max villains. However, there was some interesting costume designs with the most noteworthy being the black wool uniform worn by the undead assassin Kai (Michael McManus), the last of the 'Brunnen-G' space warriors. This costume was worn throughout the entire series, and consists of black material over striped blue patches around the chest, with a diagonal panel over the collar.

Much more striking among Kai's attire however is his original Brunnen-G uniform, nicknamed 'the rainbow costume' and for good reason! Apparently this costume was designed first with the black 'undead' uniform coming after, and was one of a kind - and made of both silk and wool, making it very expensive to have produced. There are a lot more behind the scenes photos of both this costume and Kai's main darker deal on the official Michael McManus website. A noticeably detail on both this and the undead costume are the way the legs have had holes cut into them, exposing the material underneath. This costume first appeared in the first episode of the series, but would make occassional appearances in later seasons as well - all other costumes included in this entry are more or less one-off appearances.

I suppose here would be a good mention of the rather 'organic' looking dress worn by Xev Bellringer (Xenia Seeberg) who was introduced in the second season, replacing Zev and her rather more dull dress - this particular organic dress then was altered to expose the midriff in later seasons, because yeah this show was fully intended to get people in via titillation.

'I Worship His Shadow'

The first episode of a four-part miniseries designed to introduce the characters and show how they ended up controlling the giant space penis-meets-dragonfly of the show's title. The cast get involved in the exploits of the rebel leader Thodin (Barry Bostwick), who sports a sort of futuristic riff on a 'warrior' outfit, his tunic, gloves and boots being made out of what resembles a chitinous material (the design sense of Lexx really leans to 'organic' looking designs), with the best part being that metal kilt made up of rainbow-coloured segments!

The villain of the episode, and the show's first season was the Divine Shadow, always seen in a vinyl cloak with ruffles for the sleeves and hood - the ruffles seem to have a red fabric inside, and perhaps are designed to indicate that the Shadow is more or less a giant bug disguisted as a human being to rule over them, as part of 'the Insect Civilization's' revenge on humanity.

The Divine Shadow's military meanwhile are all in vinyl jumpsuits worn with chest armor and helmets - the armor is rather organic-looking in design, fitting in with the show's established design sense, with the skullcap itself being ridged too.

'Super Nova'

This episode had the Lexx's crew ending up on Kai's now barren home planet, and are first greeted by a holographic Brunnen-G whoman who wears a pink and purple open-collared dress, though sadly the hologram effects sort of obscure its details.

'Lyekka'

This episode introduced the character of Lyekka (Louise Wischermann), a plant alien in the form of a human woman, and thus sports most of this episode in a very, uh, 'risque' translucent suit that has plant-like patterns suck on it - Lyekka's outfits would usually conform to some sort of plant-based motif in her future appearances.

'Stan's Trial'

In this episode, the show's main character Stanley Tweedle (Brian Downey), is arrested for his previous crimes, the prosecution being led by Jihana (Nina Franoszek) who sports a blue gown with a red stripe down one side, as well as panelling around the shoulders.

The rest of the judges in this space station all wear blue tunics with a cut like a tailcoat, made of a synthetic material and a red stripe down one side - for legal duties, this is worn with a headdress and leather gown, that itself also has a red line on the same position as the tunic.

There are also guards wearing heavy gowns of a synthetic blue material, with bulky asymmetrical armor and comically oversized helmets - like the rest of the judicial staff in this episode, they have a red stripe down one side of their uniforms.

This would also be a good time to mention the garish jumpsuit that Stanley is seen wearing both in a scene here (sadly in black and white), which is rather similar to one he sported back in the first season in a brief scene - sadly there is no photos of this online.

'791'

Lyekka would reappear in this episode, wearing a spandex jumpsuit made out of a coloured material (meant to evoke a floral motif, perhaps) with holes cut around the chest and shoulders. Thanks to the very dark lighting of this episode, as well as the series having never been restored to high-definition, some of these details are hard to make out.

This episode also had the Lexx crew wear spacesuits made out of a shiny copper material, with the most striking aspect being the translucent helmets - designed in a way that seems slightly organic, but not covering the mouth fully, instead needing a cloth mask.

'Patches in the Sky'

In this episode, the crew of the Lexx come across a spacestation whose residents have designed a machine that can allow one to access their own dreams, run by the insane scientist Gubby Mok (Wayne Robson) who wears a blue-lined coat with rounded lapels - shame that the dark lighting and quality doesn't show it well enough.

Gubby's assistant Fruitcake (David Lewis) is a thorn in his side mostly for his addiction to the dream machine, presumably to escape his reality of having to wear that jumpsuit made out of mottled brown and yellow panels - it looks a bit inspired by some of Robert Blackman's costume designs for the later Star Trek shows no less...

'Woz'

This episode involved a planet stricken by a conflict against 'the Dark Lady' (Lenore Zann), who is dressed like a typical fantasy witch with the exception of having an enormous curved headdress, itself worn with a veil too.

'Brigadoom'

The infamous musical episode, which was also a sort of recap of the events building up to the first season - the various other Brunnen-G performers are just in gowns with some panelling over the collar, but there are also some other warriors who sport outfits similar in design (and just as colourful!) as Kai's 'rainbow costume', elbeit these ones are a bit less ornate in construction, utilizing smoother striped fabrics instead of thick woolen material.

The musical also recounts the character of the Brunnen-G's 'Time Prophet' - technically, the coned, colourful headpiece had appeared originally in the first season, in particular 'I Worship His Shadow', but was never seen fully, with presumably only the headpiece being constructed - for the appearance here, it is worn with a midriff-baring shiny black vinyl top and skirt, with the sleeves being covered in colourful fabric as well.

'End of the Universe'

In the finale to the second season Lyekka sports a blue dress that has been designed again to have a floral motif as per most of Lyekka's costumes, with this one looking like it has been made entirely of leaves, with a large hole cut in order to expose the midriff - gotta keep it risque!

'Garden'

Lyekka would make another appearance in the third season, wearing this rather colourful dress designed rather bluntly to have a sort of floral motif - the plant shoots stuck onto the headpiece kinda make it obvious! There would be no other costumes of note in either this season or the next, everything being either grubby rags or contemporary gear, especially as the next season was set entirely on present-day Earth - most likely due to the budget running out!

The Wiz (1978)

Costume Design by: Tony Walton ( notable efforts: Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Petulia (1968), Murder on the Orient Express (1974) - it should be worth noting Walton was also a production designer, a role he fulfilled on The Wiz as well)

A sort of contemporary update on Frank L. Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that swapped the rural setting with a more urban one, as well as having an all-black cast (like the original Broadway musical the film was adapted from), The Wiz in some ways feels like a precursor to the later Return to Oz, with a slightly more uncanny tone and a visual style that went against the design sense establiahed by 1939's The Wizard of Oz. As noted above, Tony Walton was both production designer and costume designer on this film, and as such had to adapt the New York filming locations to turn into their twisted fantasy counterparts - all of Walton's design artwork can be seen on his personal website, and it should be also worth noting that he even made physical models to give his costume makers a better idea of what the costumes should look like! Almost all of Walton's costumes for The Wiz's version of Oz are tattered and made of rather odd-looking materials, making the film look almost like a fantastical post-apocalyptic wasteland. When Dorothy (Diana Ross) ends up in the film's more urbane and desolate version of Oz, she meets the Munchkins who this time are teenagers dressed in wonderfully colourful outfits, that have been adorned with silver lining and metallic segments, as well having been spraypainted all over (the reasoning being that they had all been transformed into graffiti before Dorothy arrived). Another notable thing about their outfits is how large panels of fabric have been cut into the shape of various numbers (1 to 8) and stitched onto the main outfit - this only applies to the 8 main Munchkins that have speaking roles, as the various extras do not have these number panels.

As per the usual Oz story, Dorothy is visited by the Good Witch of the North, Miss One (Thelma Carpenter) in this segment, who is dressed in a powder blue and pink dyed dress that itself has been covered in glittery material as well, with a square piece stitched to the front - and can you also notice that silver hat worn on her back?

During Dorothy's journey, she meets the usual figures of the Oz story such as the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion (admittedly, I have not covered them as I feel they weren't meant to be 'costumes' in the strict sense, even if it was Walton's duty as costume designer to realize them as well), and ends up in the Emerald City whose residents all wear a variety of shiny costumes in either green, gold or red - this film has the rather creative choice of having the city's colours change like a traffic light! A crying shame that these outfits aren't seen properly thanks to being shot for dance sequences, as I especially like the glittery jumpsuit and shiny suits.

Of course, one of the film's most striking outfits is worn by the film's main villain, the Wicked Witch of the West named Evillene (Mabel King), whose outfit is so monstrously over the top and garish, fitting the character's outrageous nature! A frilly pink deal (rather a contrast to the traditional garb of the Wicked Witch being all-black) covered in so much bits and bobs, and worn with a very slapdash version of a crown!

In this film, the 'Flying Monkeys' are reimagined as basically hulking bikers, wearing all-leather uniforms with large padded shoulders - the Flying Monkeys were designed by Walton, but had to be partly realized by special effects technicians (hence the image being from the Stan Winston School) being needed for the grotesque prosthetic heads.

Lastly, is the dress worn by the Good Witch of the North, Glinda (Lena Horne), whose dress is a tattered but still glittery blue deal, with silvery metallic material around the cuffs and headdress, with a shiny tiara worn with it as well.