Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Looming towers, bathroom doors with axe marks by a wild janitor, and kitchen tables for family dinners; all integral sets to a film’s storyline. Yet, in 1992, director Francis Ford Coppola and costume designer Eiko Ishioka broke this code with their blood sucking production ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula,’ where, according to Coppola, “The costumes are the set.”

Before we get into the costumes used in this iteration of Dracula, let’s go back in time and discuss a fashion archetype of vampires in film that makes Coppola’s so unique. All depictions of vampires have something about them that separates them from humankind to create an otherness among them, even those that are trying to blend in. From pale skin to red eyes and abnormally long fingers like archaic depictions of Greek gods, vampires are never as dull as their human counterparts.

In 1983 Tony Scott directed a vampiric film named ‘The Hunger.’. It subverted the formal style of vampires like Nosferatu and featured fashion trends from the 80s, such as sleek leather blazers, big shoulder pads, and new wave sunglasses known as the Bauhaus movement, featuring looks from Yves Saint Laurent. Scott made his vampires opulent, stylish, and aspirational.

Some 18 years later, the costumes influenced Alexander McQueen’s 7^th collection, fittingly named ‘The Hunger,’ which featured translucent body moulds, extreme cutouts, and sharp lines. In McQueen’s other works, such as ‘The Horn of Plenty’ collection, this inspiration can be spotted once again with the use of pale skin in the makeup, blood-red lips, and a silhouette that paralleled that of the poster of The Hunger.

Whilst Scott depicted contemporary couture, Coppola and Ishioka broke boundaries. Vampires weren’t ‘trend-hoppers’ or boring men in suits anymore; they were romanticised and fantastical with huge flowing cloaks, silk and satin blouses, and heavily bejewelled garments.

One aspect to note is how Dracula came in so many forms, as Ishioka stated in the film’s documentary. “My image of Dracula should have a million faces, almost like an endless transformation.” 

One form is Dracula in a younger body meeting Mina Harker. He’s wearing a frock coat, tight-fitting and calf-length, paired with a waistcoat and top hat, normal for a man of the 19^th century, but he’s also wearing sunglasses and has shaggy long hair symmetrical to a crude rockstar like Ozzy Osbourne, creating an atmosphere of satanic panic.

Another is his suit of armour, which looks just like a wolf, which is a common motif of the film. It has ribbed pieces giving the impression of human anatomy, acting as a reflection of how he gains all his power—human flesh. Lots of the costumes are used for the vampires as a direct contrast to their mythological nature, both the armour and Lucy Westenra’s wedding gown, its white purity and huge lace collar, which Ishioka says was inspired by a lizard.

Let’s conclude by discussing Dracula’s resting gown, which was inspired by the gold of Byzantine art. The patchwork of gold and silver looks like an ‘accumulation of lives’—a’ fitting way for him to rest.

By Rida Shah, a student on the BA Magazine Journalism & Publishing course at London College of Communication.