This particular detail in the Dune sequel demonstrates the importance of costumes in the film's narrative progression.
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| Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures |
Regardless of the genre of reference, the costume design of a feature film must go far beyond the simple aesthetic and visual aspect to become another narrative tool. Something that is not only linked to providing a historical context to the work, generating emotions through textures and color palettes, and establishing relationships between spaces and characters but also helps to represent the evolution of the latter throughout the plot. One of the best recent examples is found in Denis Villeneuve's sumptuous Dune – Part 2 and, more specifically, in the work of costume designer Jacqueline West (five-time Oscar nominee, including for the first Dune) and Princess Irulan, the character played by Florence Pugh.
Through the extensive footage of this second part of the science fiction blockbuster, which lasts almost three hours, Irulan goes from being a free woman who limits herself to documenting the events that happen in the Empire of her father, Emperor Saddam IV, to becoming another piece on the galaxy's political chessboard, becoming little less than a bargaining chip when Paul Atreides comes to power and marries her, almost by force. This passage from freedom, almost innocent, to strategic object in the game of political-war thrones of the houses Harkonnen, Atreides, and Corrino - to which he belongs - is perfectly reflected in the outfits he wears throughout the film and also in some accessories, in particular those for the boss, who progressively oppress her until her face is practically hidden in a metal prison.
At the beginning of the film, Princess Irulan appears bareheaded and wearing a kind of loose tunic which, at first glance, is quite comfortable. Gradually, this clothing transforms into a sort of armor, complete with a hair net and a dress similar to the chain mail worn by medieval soldiers. Here she still has her face uncovered. Only towards the end of the film does she wear a "veil" (it looks more like a muzzle) which leaves only her eyes visible, while the rest is covered by what appear to be chains, as if to emphasize her condition as a prisoner of events politicians.
