The Wes Anderification Of Our Wardrobes

After watching Wes Anderson’s latest movie, The Phoenician Scheme, I suddenly had an irrepressible urge to fully immerse myself in the world of this director.

Few other directors can create worlds as successfully as he. Within seconds, you are transported into the mind of a man with a very clear vision. And this is achieved through his incredibly specific style, which, through different stories, different mediums, and different times, is seamlessly transferred, allowing for the perfect creation of the coveted Wes Anderson universe.

It's easy to appreciate his work, but how do we satisfy the urge to indulge ourselves further? We can’t see our world through his lens, but we can try to emanate his very particular style in that of our own.

Here’s a guide to Wes-Anderson-ify your wardrobe:

Incorporating Color

A key feature in all of Wes Anderson’s films is an immaculate color scheme in each and every shot. He plays around with colors, opting for a mix of pastels, muted tones, and warmer palettes. Whatever he chooses, his choice is flawless. If you want to mimic his style, pay attention to the colors that you’re choosing to wear.

A lot of his characters will have a set color/color scheme, which makes them easily identifiable and appear animated, as color portrays unspoken character traits. Try to compile a wardrobe where all the pieces fit into a color scheme. Be known by your tendency to choose reds and pinks over blues and cooler tones - make this reflective of your warmth and make this a warning of your temper.

This director understands the value of a good contrast. He uses bright colors in an otherwise neutral scheme to intrigue the eye. A rich red, for example, in a neutral environment, can steal a scene by simply being there. Incorporate this into your outfits, add a bright pop of color to emulsify your neutral clothing.

Monochromatic Muses

Wes Anderson uses varying shades of the same color to create a monochromatic scene without it lacking dimension. Do this with your outfits. Dressing monochromatically should not be a substitute for dressing interestingly. When you cannot experiment with different shades of the same color, vary the clothes in shape and texture to add dimension.

In his movies, there is a tendency to break uniformity with a hint of another color. This is seen in his newest movie, where Liesl (played by Mia Threapleton) spends most of the movie in an all-white ensemble that is disrupted by the bright green of her tights. This wild-card of a choice is infinitely brilliant, as it reveals hidden depth to the character.

It's in the details

A prototypical scene of Wes Anderson’s movies is where the camera focuses on a broader landscape, and the plot is carried out in a corner of the screen, so that the eye is not instantly drawn to. The camera doesn’t always focus on what we’re supposed to be paying attention to; the story unveils in the periphery, showing that he is the master of a hidden detail.

Take inspiration from this when choosing what to wear. Have fun in picking out your accessories. Make them complex, make them unique. We learn a lot about their characters from looking at the intricacies of what they’re wearing.

Allow your accessories to reveal hidden aspects of your personality – wear fun socks but only under long trousers. Allow the details of your outfits to be discrete easter-eggs of the parts of yourself that can’t be seen with the naked eye.

Shapes and Patterns

Through positioning of the camera and framing of the scene, Wes Anderson ingeniously establishes shapes, allowing portholes through which the audience can enjoy the film. These shapes can be the difference between a simple setting and a visually stunning picture.

We can use this logic in the formation of our outfits. Bringing in the geometry we ignored in school to make our outfits look visually stunning. Do this through the use of patterns; a simple polka-dot or geometric design may add uniformity in an aesthetically pleasing way.

Drawing attention to the centre

Wes Anderson’s positioning of a character, or an important object, in the centre of the screen is quintessential to his style. Some of the most gorgeous images that he has created have been the ones where a blurred background forces the eye of a captive audience to fixate on what’s right in front of us.

We can steal this to incite outfit inspiration. How? Create a focal point for your outfits. Make something the main piece, and make it obvious that it is. You can do this by having an interesting top (or anything really), and let the other aspects of the outfit sit in the shadow of this.

Fin.

So, next time you want to immerse yourself in his world and are sick of the funny looks you get each time you walk into the screen at the cinema, follow this style guide. If people are going to look at you attempting to transport yourself into his universe, you might as well give them a full-motion picture in the form of an outfit to observe.