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Fantasy Couture
Fantasy couture, a type of haute couture, is a trend in fashion and design that emphasize fantastical appearance over practicality/functionality and has elements drawn from the fantasy genre of literature and of film, often presented in an extreme style of detail, complexity, and precision. The trend is characterized by individuals such as Iris van Herpen, Eiko Ishioka, Guo Pei, Tex Saverio, Stephen Jones, Mary Sibande, and Bobby Love, among many others.

An example of this style is performed annually at the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball held in Hollywood, California, named for the 1986 film Labyrinth.

History
Fantasy Fashion comes from Haute Couture, high-end fashion that creates hand-made clothing. Haute couture was founded by Charles Frederick Worth in Paris, France. Despite Haute Couture being dated back to Marie Antoinette’s own personal designers (Rose Bertin), Worth is now regarded as the father of Haute Couture because his designs were a bit more accessible to others instead of just Royal Families. Instead, he would gather measurements and mass produce products for everyone to wear. This type of production is linked to “Fast Fashion”, a rather negative term in the fashion world. Fantasy Couture is still a new sub-category to Haute Couture, meaning there are still products beings made and therefor there is much debate about who made the first dress and what fully constitutes as Fantasy Couture.

Examples in Film
However, based off classic films such as Labyrinth (1986) and Willow (1988) it can be noted that these films include fantasy inspired clothes for their characters. Take Labyrinth, for example, this film revolves around a young girl named Sarah Williams (played by Jennifer Connolly) trying to get her baby brother back after wishing him away. The antagonist in the film is Jareth the Goblin King, portrayed by David Bowie. The Goblin King is dressed in rather dark clothes, though they are a mix of medieval and Gothic, Steam Punk style, all used to emphasize his fantastical aspect of the movie. When put all together, The Goblin King exudes this antagonist image. Not to mention the way he is adorned in crystals and magic balls, all elements of fantasy. When contrasted against his minions, the goblins, they certainly lack Jareth’s pizzazz. The goblins tend to wear simple medieval styled clothes, loose and oversized for most of his minions, but what more can be expected from henchmen. Though, there is much attention to Sarah William’s dress near the end of the film. Her dress can be described as rather excessive, with puffy sleeves that adorn her shoulders and upper arms, leading to sheer sleeves all the while accentuated by the massive ballroom skirt.

It is also important to note how the period has had an effect on Fantasy Fashion in films. Particularly, in Labyrinth, Jareth the Goblin King can be seen sporting a mullet. This is a very specific characteristic of the 80s, not to mention how William’s dress is very reminiscent of the time as well. This can be seen in her puffy and sheer sleeves, as well the accessories adorned in her greatly teased hair. (Most wedding dresses from the 80s tend to hold similarities ). The film Willow, on the other hand, focuses on a village little person (Willow) who stumbles upon a baby that must be returned to its family (despite his love for the baby). In this film, it can be noted how Fantasy Fashion allows one to see Willows status compared to that of the main antagonist, Queen Bavmorda of Nockmaar. Willow is just a lowly farmer and that is clearly seen by his dirty and rather plain clothes. Queen Bavmorda is royal, thus her clothes are made of the best products as well as the gothic crown upon her head. The crown itself is very fantastical, with its sharp edges and rather dangerous look, it is easy to see how that alludes to her moral compass.

Another example of Fantasy Fashion in film would be Game of Thrones, the show that ended in May 2019 after an eight year run. Nonetheless, fantasy fashion can be seen in many of the female characters clothes. Not only that, but they have even been a symbol of their character development. This can mostly be seen with Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister. In the T.V series, Targaryen is often seen wearing blue, a color that is in homage to her late husband Khal Drogo. However, later in the last season, she can be seen wearing black coats and robes, complex braids woven in her hair and a rather dull look in her eyes. This is believed to be an indication of her descent into madness as a comparison to her appearance in the earlier seasons. In the beginning, Targaryen can be seen wearing from-fitting blue dresses, however the biggest fantastical element to her is her dragons. The dragons are used to express her longing of freedom and inability to be controlled. Cersei Lannister, on the other hand, takes an opposite approach. While she also wears dresses she wears a tangerine orange color. This is meant to symbolize her passion and love for her children, the point of her existence. Specifically, her color shifts towards a deep red in response of her inability to control her son Joffrey and the loss of control over her own life. When her children die, she is left empty and purposeless. Hence, why she wears black. Fantasy Couture is often used as a way to symbolize character development among women.