Pottermore gives a closer look at 1920s witch fashion!

Pottermore met with costume designer Colleen Atwood, to discuss the inspiration for the costumes of the Goldstein sisters (Tina and Queenie) in Fantastic Beasts.

First, Tina Goldstein’s “sensible, storm-coloured outfit”. Tina is portrayed by Katherine Waterston, in an adorable earthy green hat. Atwood describes the thought process surrounding the types of colours and fabrics she used in designing Tina’s outfits:

“‘Well,’ she says. ‘Tina had been an Auror. She’s fallen out of that world but I still wanted her to have the feeling of that world. So I gave her an overcoat that’s a little bit loose like an Auror’s coat, but made of more ordinary fabric, as though she’d downgraded from that spectacular leather silhouette of the Aurors. Right from the start, I saw her in soft, cooler colours and warm greys, those sort of tonalities.’

That lovely almost-masculine elegance is deliberate, too. And makes perfect sense as you get to know Tina’s endearing pragmatism a little better.”

Queenie, however, presents a stark contrast:

‘Queenie uses her magic in a different way; she’s got a different energy to Tina altogether and I wanted to dress her in a different way, keeping her light and her colours light: air-like and rosy and warm and approachable’

Colleen also spoke about the planning involved in preparing for Katherine and Allison’s involvement in Newt’s story, which sees them often on the run, hiding, chasing and being chased – quite a lot for such elaborately considered costumes to undergo!:

‘I have six of Tina’s costume and six of Queenie’s,’ says Colleen, who made duplicates of all the principle cast’s costumes to weather the adventures in the movie. ‘It would have been useless to find one real outfit for each of them from the era, they need so many of them.’

Pottermore’s correspondent leaves us with a teasing remark regarding the sisters, reminding us of how little we still know (here’s what we DO know so far!):

“Ah, there’s so much more to tell you about Colleen’s costume strategy, Katherine and Alison’s chemistry on set and what they think of their own characters. I cannot wait for you to get to know the Goldstein sisters better. They’re smart, complicated, kind, vulnerable, funny and brave.”