Every goth girl of a certain age has dreamed of this dress (and the wickedly romantic dinner between Count Dracul and Mina Harper that goes with it!). The elegant, bright red, bustle gown in rustling silk is like a vampiric Victorian wedding gown and is rich with symbolism in the film.
Michaela de Bruce has created many, many amazing costumes, both reproductions and original designs, from fantasy and historical sources. So it’s no surprise that her version of Mina’s red bustle gown from Bram Stoker’s Dracula is fabulous. In her dress diary, she describes the hunt for the right silk, needing a vast quantity, having to wash and iron all of it in her tiny flat, and then, of course, her careful and precise dress construction. Inspirational!
Michaela de Bruce in her Dracula bustle gown, photo by Matt Glasgow
That’s why she is this month’s Flick Pick. What a beautiful movie costume recreation.
I’m not particularly Goth, and I really hate how red looks on me, but I also lust after this gown. The costuming in the film was outstanding, perfectly equal parts historical and fantasy, and rich with symbolism. Also love Mina’s green velvet gown with the medieval sleeves that she wears on the train to Dracula’s castle. Dammit: now I want to rewatch just to see the costumes again; and um, Gary Oldman being smokin’ hot.
LOL, proof that Eiko Ishioka’s costume designs were just *that* fantastic! I love how all of the costumes in this movie are interesting twists on late Victorian, with specific motifs that tell something about each character and the scene.