Come to the Dark Side. We have better outfits. Kathleen Robertson as Azkadellia flanked by her bad boys in the Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, “Tin Man”.
Why do I love the Tin Man mini-series? Two words, friends: Steampunk Oz. “Tin Man” is an original mini-series from the Sci-Fi Channel. The mini-series re-imagines L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz as a much darker, more dystopian, yet ultimately hopeful tale. Briefly, the story follows our heroine, D.G., who is transported to the O.Z. (Outer Zone) and must discover her past in order to survive. Along the way, she is helped by Glitch, a former science advisor to the queen who had his brain removed as punishment, Wyatt Cain, a former Tin Man (Central City police officer), and Raw, a fearful, lion-like psychic.
From a costumer’s point of view, the character costumes created by Angus Strathie are delicious. I’m surprised that more fans haven’t re-created these costumes. If you have made a “Tin Man” costume, for heaven’s sake, post some pictures to the Net so the rest of us can enjoy them.
While I’ve written this post from sf/f costumer’s point of view, steampunk enthusiasts seeking inspiration will want to watch this movie repeatedly. “Tin Man” is probably as close as we will ever get to a steampunk documentary. The series covers what I consider to be the “steampunk era” (Victorian/Edwardian, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s) with a healthy dose of 21st century sensibility thrown in. If you look closely at the Queen’s blue dress, for example, which she wears on her island prison, you will note that while the dress appears Edwardian, the corset which would normally not be seen is actually part of her outerwear–a nod to the 21st century’s penchant for wearing underwear on the outside.
Kathleen Robertson (Azkadellia) shows off three of her five outfits, all to die for.
A photo of the black, feather-decorated dress Kathleen Robertson (Azkadellia) wears in the show.
A close up of the same dress, showing the cool, multi-colored sheen of the shoulder feathers. The whole outfit reminds me of a raven. Notice the Queen in her blue dress in the background. Her top looks like it may have been made from an Indian khameez.
In the O.Z., crime does pay–in the form of a fabulous wardrobe. Kathleen Robertson as the sorceress Azkadellia undoubtably has the best clothes in the film. We first see Azkadellia wearing her gold dress with the armored collar. She subsequently changes into her black coat dress, her black feathered dress, and, for the big finale, her chail mail dress. She also has a wonderful Indian-inspired nightgown which I was unable to find good, clear photos of.
A closeup of the black coat dress from commercial costuming company, Fan Chaos.
Although Azkadellia’s outfit appears to be one piece, it is actually a long, black dress-like coat over a fitted peach bustier and black skirt. The peach bustier suits Kathleen Robertson’s coloring. However, I think it could be changed to pale, true pink and still be recognizable.
Azkadellia’s tattoos change into flying, bat-winged monkeys–how cool is that? Of course, that means many unneccessary shots of her heaving bosom–can we say “sweeps week”, boys and girls? Yes, we can.
Photo of the “Tin Man” cast from Alexia Fast’s website. From left to right, Zooey Deschanel as D.G., Alexia Fast as Young Azkadellia, Alan Cumming as Glitch, Raoul Trujillo as Raw, and Neal McDonough as Wyatt Cain.
While Azkadellia’s costumes are probably the most complex in the entire film (leaving aside Raw’s makeup), there are plenty of other less work-intensive choices for the costumer. D.G.’s street clothes, as seen above, could easily be put together from purchased sources. If you wanted to wear something that is more obviously “Wizard of Oz”, try her waitress uniform pictured below. It’s a direct tip of the hat to the original Judy Garland’s Dorothy costume. D.G. wears her Other Side street clothes most of the time although she briefly changes into a red cocktail dress with a black sheer overlay when she infiltrates the Mystic Man’s nightclub. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a clear picture of that dress.
D.G. in her diner waitress uniform (“Tin Man”). A sly wink to Judy Garland’s costume in the “Wizard of Oz”. I’d recommend wearing this outfit with red sneakers, just for fun.
Wyatt Cain’s (Neal McDonough’s) costume is the next easiest to do. Again, most of his clothes can be purchased, although you may have to specifically shop for Western or Victorian wear in order to do it. Cain’s vest and sidearm say “gunslinger”, but his overcoat and slouchy, fedora-like hat say “private eye”. I wasn’t able to get a good look at his footwear, but my impression was that he was wearing heavy-duty walking shoes, not boots.
Cain (Neal McDonough) in (mostly) full uniform, minus the hat. The leather vest really makes the outfit.
Cain, minus his coat, showing off his striped, collar-less shirt. Cain’s colors are very muted–soft greens, olives, washed out blues, and browns.
Alan Cumming as Glitch. The zipper headpiece really makes this costume and transforms it from “vagabond” to “steampunk”.
Glitch (Alan Cumming) has a very multi-layered costume that has been heavily distressed. He is actually wearing a 19th century frock coat that is very high cut–it stops at the rib cage as opposed to the waist. Immediately underneath his coat is an elaborately decorated red vest which we see clearly only once while he is drying off around the fire after jumping from the cliff. Under the vest is a long-sleeved white shirt and under that is a red and black or possibly red and navy striped undershirt. If you are planning to re-create Glitch’s look, I highly recommend making all the layers very light weight as this costume can get hot quickly.
Don’t lose your head. Glitch’s outfit and head from a publicity display for “Tin Man” (Flickr). You can just see the edge of Glitch’s vest peaking out from underneath his coat.
Raoul Trujillo as Raw and Zooey Deschanel as D.G. Sci-Fi Channel photo by Art Streiber. Notice Raw’s furry feet.
Next to Azkadellia’s corsets, Raw’s costume requires the most technical skill because of the makeup and prothesises involved. The actual clothing–furry vest and knee breeches–is not that difficult and you can get a good look at it in the full cast photo above. Notice that in the cast photo he is wearing shoes while the above two-shot with D.G. shows his feet.
The great thing about “Tin Man” is that you have option of doing either “alternate versions” of the main cast or re-creating the striking costumes of the supporting characters. For example, we see Az, D.G., and their mother briefly in a flashback scene with the girls’ tutor. Those outfits would be a great family group costume to re-create.
Young Azkadellia (Alexia Fast), the queen, and young D.G. Part of the queen’s skirt is made of bronze sequinned fabric. I really like young Az’s dress, but young D.G. also has an attractive gown. Photo from Alexia Fast’s website.
Azkadellia’s long coats–her imperial troops–would make another good group costume. The soldiers’ most striking uniform element is their long leather dusters with red/silver ornamentation and occasional bits of body armor. The overall effect is very Nazi storm trooper. The high mandarin collars appear to be part of the coat rather than a separate shirt. Underneath, as far as I can tell, they are wearing sleeveless black T-shirts, black pants, and black combat boots. I wasn’t able to find a good still showing the insignia, but I would suggest taking a look at the sets in Az’s tower as I think the circle shape is being replicated on some of the screens.
Some men bring flowers, others bring lockets. From left to right, Azkadellia, her chief hench guy, Zero (Callum Keith Rennie), and her secretary (actor unknown). I thought initially that her secretary was wearing a variation of the longcoat uniform, but he’s actually wearing a variation of Glitch’s costume–high cut frock coat with a vest and shirt underneath. The coat is leather, but the outfit appears to be very similar to Glitch’s.
Our heroes are shocked to discover just how good they look in black leather and begin to reconsider joining the imperial guard. Another view of the longcoat uniform.
Callum Keith Rennie as Zero in all his evil-y goodness. Rennie plays villains so often these days that most people forget he played good guy detective Stanley Kowalski in the television series “Due South”. Notice the half-armor he sports. The armor seems to be largely ceremonial, but Zero does use it to defend himself when he and Cain throw down.
For a colorful and memorable group costume, I would suggest the “Tin Man” Munchkins. Although they only appear briefly at the beginning of the series, the Munchkins are very original and interesting looking. The body paint would take time, but the clothes themselves are relatively simple and have an overall “American Indian” motif.
D.G. surrounded by Munchkin resistance fighters of the Eastern Guild (“Tin Man”). Notice the Kiowa-style feather harnesses. The buckskin pants and sleeveless shirts wouldn’t be hard to replicate.
Munchkin leaders interrogate D.G. whom they think is a spy (“Tin Man”). Notice the striking face paint and chest armor.
“Well, if it isn’t the great and terrible blah, blah, blah himself.” Richard Dreyfus as the Mystic Man (“Tin Man”) flanked by his lovely assistants. Although the dancers have a great number, this was the only still I could find that showed their outfits. The “panniers” they’re wearing are actually tamborines they use to beat out a drumroll for the Mystic Man’s entrance.
As a dancer, I was struck by the Art Deco flamenco costumes worn by the Mystic Man’s assistants in the Central City nightclub D.G. goes to. This would be another neat group costume to do for a duo or a trio. The Mystic Man is dressed like a very formal 19th century stage magician. He wears an evening tuxedo with a white vest and white pin-tucked shirt. One hand is bound up in a black pouch. I’m still not sure what that is supposed to symbolize. Over the top of his tux, he wears a Chinese robe and a Turkish smoking cap.
Richard Dreyfus as the Mystic Man (“Tin Man”) showing off his fantastic Chinese robe. I wants it, precious, yes, I do. Folkwear has a great pattern for this robe (“Chinese Jacket”). I got this photo from the Dye Dept , the Canadian company that did some of the distress work for the series. If you go to their website and look under “textile arts, dyeing, and costume breakdown”, you will see a photo of Glitch’s coat which they also worked over.
Photo by Gordon Parks taken March 03, 1950. From the Life Photo Archive found on the Google search engine site.
