Costume Deconstruction in Psychological Horror - Black Swan

Costume Deconstruction in Psychological Horror - Black Swan

In the Psychological Horror film 'Black Swan' the main character is shown throughout the film switching from white to black clothing. The white clothing is a representation of purity and innocence. This suggests to the audience that the young girl cannot be harmed and that she is safe from all evil. The women switches between a white and black costume which is used to show that she has a dark side. The colours are a clear and simple way to show the switch between personalities or good to evil. This is a common convention of psychological horrors and the costumes are used to make it easy for the audience to see the switch that the main character goes through when she becomes evil.

Another costume aspect used to show when a character has gone through a dark transition is the use of make-up. The images below show the character applying make-up for a more pale face and also red contact lenses used to make her seem demonic and dangerous. The make-up used to give her a pale face is to compliment the white costume that she wears throughout the film. It is used to emphasise her purity and that she is a target for the evil being in the film.

The image above shows the main character with bloodshot eyes looking agitated and confused. I think the use of make-up (contact lenses) creates a good effect and allows the audience to see her transition between good and evil. I believe that costumes and make-up are a very important aspect of psychological horror films because it is the main way that they are able to portray a character and either good or evil and in some cases, both. This film is a very good example of how colours are used within costumes to represent either side and therefore makes it a lot easier for the audience to see her transition and could make the storyline a lot clearer and well produced.