Wes And His Women

By Bill O'Sullivan
06th Mar 2014

Amid his visual imagery and wild idiosyncrasy, Wes Anderson is also famed for working with a regular team of actors as quirky as the worlds he seeks to create. Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray and Anjelica Huston all rank as legends in their own right, but the Wes stamp has given them a certain je ne sais quoi of extra whacky kudos. As we gear up for the Lighthouse’s costumed screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel this Friday, we take a look at the weird and wonderful women that Wes has created for some costume inspiration?

Margot Tenenbaum: Wes’s most iconic female character complete with Lacoste tennis dress and that fur coat. Margot from The Royal Tenenbaums is as stylish as she is peculiar between chain smoking, falling in love with her brother and having suicidal episodes. A cucumber-cool anti-heroine if ever there was one, and with no little help from Gwyneth Paltrow’s efforts.

Suzy Bishop: Moonrise Kingdom’s princess, she wears the most amazing little peter-pan collars and smock dresses that offset actress Kara Hayward’s crooked smile and big sulky eyes. This pubescent romantic heroine may be a bit of a racey number for adults to pull off, what with her knee-high white socks and patent pumps, but one to attempt anyway.?

Tilda Swinton as Social Services: She kills it with her amazing electric blue cloak and matching hat that make her look like an Austrian postman from the turn of the century. Moonrise Kingdom gives Ms Trunchbull a make-over with this hyper-efficient female bureaucrat – and boy can she wear a cloak.?

Eleanor Zissou: Sass and West Coast beach mama come together in Anjelica Huston’s Eleanor for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Sharp as a tack, unscrutable and wielding what look like black clove cigarettes, her long beads and flowy marine-themed make her one of Wes Anderson’s coolest creations.

Miss Cross: Who can forget Olivia Williams in Rushmore who as Miss Cross winds up in the enviable position (or not so enviable) of being stuck in a love triangle between Max Fischer and Herman Bloom. Cardigans, clean face and hair neatly behind the ears, she’s the dream primary school teacher and an unorthodox choice for a costume, so you will be free of copy cats.