The new film adaptation of Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro and featuring costume design by Kate Hawley, isn’t just a reinvention of a Gothic classic. It’s a cinematic-fashion feast. Hawley has delivered “jaw-droppingly stunning” costumes that transform the familiar tale into something operatic and visually spellbinding.
A palette of story and symbolism
Colour isn’t incidental to this production. From the opening frames of ice and snow, rendered in whites, creams and blues, to later sequences awash in rich jewel tones, every swath of fabric feels charged with meaning. Hawley explains how she and del Toro crafted a “colour story” that followed the narrative; for example, the childhood sequences of Victor Frankenstein are steeped in red, black, and white, evoking a sense of trauma and myth.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s wardrobe shifts almost like character development in cloth. She appears first as an angelic presence to Victor, and later her garments echo maternal and mythological resonances, such as the Madonna, memory, and disappearance. Transparent veils, halo-style feathered headdresses, and layered gowns all contribute to this effect.
The textures and techniques used include elements from nature, insects, and archival jewels.
Hawley didn’t simply pick dramatic dresses; she immersed her team in research. Beetles in the studio. Malachite samples. Cell patterns are drawn into fabrics. The costumes are unexpectedly permeated by references to the natural world, insects, and scientific forms: silk ballgowns feature abstractions of planetary formations and cell structures, while Elizabeth’s jewel-tone accessories include a unique archival piece from Tiffany & Co. — an early-1900s Louis Comfort Tiffany beetle necklace.
The interplay between archival jewellery and modern couture feels theatrical but always rooted in context, like the Age of Enlightenment, the Victorian era, and the Gothic tradition. One of Hawley’s remarks bears repeating: “We partnered with Tiffany on the jewellery. The blue beetle necklace Elizabeth wears is a unique Louis Comfort Tiffany piece from the early 1900s.”
Costume as character: Victor as a rock-star scientist
While Elizabeth’s look veers into ethereal myth, Victor Frankenstein (played by Oscar Isaac) is styled as something altogether more electric. The coat is of plush velvet. The dressing gown was worn over his bare torso. The shirt is stained with blood. Hawley cites references that range from Mick Jagger in the 1970s to Rudolf Nureyev — rock star meets classical dancer meets mad scientist.
In other words, Victor’s clothes tell us he is an aristocrat, an outsider, an obsessed creator, and someone who doesn’t simply wear garments but uses them to inhabit identity. The velvet coats gleam in candlelight; under those fabrics, the mania of creation and destruction unfolds.
The bridal layering evokes the ghost of the monster.
One of the standout moments is Elizabeth’s wedding dress, which is constructed from the inside out, echoing the assembly of the creature himself. According to Hawley, it uses five layers of organza, with a Swiss ribbon bodice and ribboned sleeves inspired by the iconic 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein.
This garment doesn’t simply mark nuptials: it’s a visual metaphor for her merging with the creature’s fate as she becomes the reflection of creation. The layering, the transparent fabrics, and the movement (Mia Goth, who plays Elizabeth, moves up and down stairs and through rooms) reinforce a sense of transformation, ghostliness, and inevitability.
If you’re attending a preview or stepping into the cinema this season, keep your eye on the clothing. The work of Kate Hawley for Frankenstein elevates costume design into storytelling. For fashion editors, aficionados or anyone who loves clothes that mean more than the sum of their fabrics, this film, with its “most ravishing costumes”, as Vogue dubs them, is a must-watch.
In the age of reimaginings, the result is fashion that remembers its roots yet dares to be bold. It’s Gothic in its inspiration but alive in its execution.
