Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile” has sprung to life on the big screen.
With intriguing characters and its thrilling twists and turns, this “who did it?” film keeps audiences guessing until the very end.
The star-studded cast includes the likes of Gal Gadot, Kenneth Branagh, Annette Bening, Russel Brand and Emmy-nominated Letitia Wright.
Set in the 1930s, the costumes for each character are uniquely portrayed by the fashion in the film.
The breathtaking costumes in “Death on the Nile” were created by Oscar-nominee Paco Delgado, in his first collaboration with director/producer Kenneth Branagh.
Delgado, a Spanish costume designer, grew up on a tiny island off the coast of West Africa, the Canary Islands, where he cultivated a vivid eye for colour, shape, and texture.
He has worked on over 18 films since the 2000s.
In 2011, he collaborated with the famously meticulous director Pedro Almodóvar on the BAFTA award-winning “The Skin I Live In”. Delgado then earned Oscar nominations for “Les Miserable” and “The Danish Girl”.
More recently, he dressed up mainstream Hollywood entertainments like “Jungle Cruise”, for which he fashioned Dwayne Johnson’s instantly memorable riverboat captain outfit.
While working on “Death on the Nile” Delgado was immediately drawn to Branagh’s desire to bring a sense of modernity to the period.
“Ken wanted a very stylish, more contemporary approach to the period, as opposed to just a reproduction,” says the costume designer.
Delgado wanted the costumes to not only establish the social hierarchy of the 1930s, but also to reflect the unique attributes of each character. He researched the time period, identifying shapes and designs, colours, patterns and ideas.
It was crucial that the clothing convey both the desert heat, as well as the love affair at the centre of the story.
“Our goal was to make our audience sweat a little with them. Paco’s costumes make the audience feel the heat, both literally and metaphorically, which just adds to the unbelievable thrill of the passionate relationships at the core,” says director Branagh.
He created 150 costumes in total, with about 92% created by hand. The principal cast had up to 10 costumes each.
“In trying to create a wardrobe that reflects the year 1937, it was assumed that most of the clothes from before World War II didn’t survive,” Delgado explains.
“And because we are talking about a certain type of people, we wanted that jet-set-crowd style to be reflected in shapes and garments, meaning it was much more difficult to find things already made.”
When asked about fashion designers who inspired the looks, he explains that they looked at a lot of the 1930’s Vogue magazines and also Hollywood movies of those times to get a baseline of how high society dressed in that era. So he looked at designers such as Chanel, as well as Maison Schiaparelli who was a little more haute couture/theatrical.
He also looked at actresses of that period like Marie “Marlene” Dietrich and Betty Davis and compares actress Gal Gadot to 1930’s movie star Carole Lombard.
Delgado dressed Linnet Ridgeway, played by Gadot, in pale and peachy hues similar to a cinema star of the period.
The character, Jacqueline de Bellefort, played by Emma Mackey is often in red, reflecting the character’s rage and passion.
While Euphemia Bouc (Annette Bening), frequently in trousers, exudes a sense of sophistication and elegance similar to that of Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn and other fashionable ladies of that time.
Paco says the highlight of working on the movie was that he could bring a very stylish, more contemporary approach to the period, as opposed to just a reproduction.
“It’s not that we have tried to make a contemporary movie, but we looked at the elements which were the most appealing in a contemporary context and blended them with the conventions of the time.”
When asked about his favourite outfits in the movie he says, “It’s a bit obvious but I will have to say mostly all Gal and Emma’s dresses (Linett and Jacqueline character names in the movie). Especially Linett’s wedding dress from the colour which was sort of peachy in colour, the complex cut to the embroidery of the birds on the skirt which took us weeks to produce. It was a very complex cut and it was very complex to put together. That was probably the most exciting…”
“Also the male costumes were interesting because we tried to have a different approach and brought more colour into their costumes like the red coat and orange jacket, and we enjoyed doing things out of the norm on this film.”
Tiffany & Co wardrobed the principal cast from “Death on the Nile” in an array of diamond-intensive jewellery for the film, however, the most significant jewel is a recreation of the famed 128.54-carat Tiffany diamond.
The diamond represents the cornerstone of the House and symbolises Tiffany’s staunch dedication to bringing out the beauty of every diamond its artisans touch, and its unrivalled craftsmanship.
Its important role in “Death on the Nile” is a testament to the power of this extraordinary gem and its relevance from generation to generation.
Other scintillating designs featured in the film include items from the Tiffany Victoria collection, Jean Schlumberger’s exceptional gold and diamond jewels and Tiffany & Co’s jewellery and watches.