Costume Analysis

To help me decided how I will style my actors/actresses when I create my music video, I decided to analyse existing styles throughout music videos.

Males:
When I decided to look at male artists within the indie genre, I quickly became aware that there are a lot more iconic male bands than solo artists. The first indie band I decided to look at was Arctic Monkeys. Arctic Monkeys had a consistent style in their costumes throughout four different music videos. The costumes were all black and consisted of a lot of leather. Also, the style was consistent with the 1950s style. You could also argue there is an intertextual reference to the 1978 film Grease as the costumes are almost identical. Due to using this iconic style, it appeals to audiences that prefer bands that are alternative to the modern pop groups. For example, the retro style appeals to audiences who prefer ‘old fashioned’ trends rather than keeping up with new trends.

When I analysed Oasis, I also looked at three different music videos. Throughout all of the videos, the costume was more varied however all followed a consistent style, although more unique. The lead singer (Liam Gallagher) consistently wore the same pair of retro glasses throughout every video and each shirt was of a similar style but the pattern on each one was different and bold. Oasis first became established in 1991 however, their style is not consistent with this era of style. Instead of this, they tried to keep their style old school whilst still having aspects of what would have been ‘modern day fashion’ at the time. This again is consistent with the indie genre as they are trying to challenge modern day trends and create a unique brand identity.

Females:
When I was trying to find iconic female indie artists, I realised that there are many more successful solo female artists than girl bands. Therefore, I decided to look at the costume and style of solo female artists. The first person I looked at was Lana Del Ray. Lana Del Ray had a consistent costume throughout four videos. In each video she wore very minimal makeup, instead she wore a red lip and cat flick eyeliner. In each video her skin was also made to be very pale and she was expressionless throughout the majority of the videos. However, you could argue that in one of the videos she was inspired by Marylyn Monroe in her style: her hair was styled in the same way with large hoop earrings and a pink lipstick. Also throughout all the videos (other the the Marylyn Monroe inspired one) she wore some sort of flower in her hair.

In the Lorde videos, the makeup was consistent with Lana Del Rays. She wore minimal makeup other than eyeliner and a different coloured bold lip in each video. Her hair in two of the videos was styled the same with big bold curls and in the other it was styles to create a futuristic effect which was made slightly creepy with the pale skin and no eyelashes.
Overall, in bot males and female costume, each artist has a unique and consistent style. This became a brand identity for each artist as each style and costume is so unique that audiences could recognise them instantly through just the costumes. The male artist’s costumes were all inspired by older eras of style. The females costume was less significant throughout their videos and instead their makeups was emphasised and their facial expressions were used to create the same effect.

How will this help me?
After researching different genders within the indie genre, I have realised I would prefer to create a music video for a female solo artist as it gives you more creative input through their makeup. I have also realised that certain parts of artist’s costume and makeup is vital to create a iconic brand identity for that particular artist.