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The History Behind Harriet Tubman’s Heroic Wardrobe in Harriet
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There are many surviving photographs of Harriet Tubman, most of which picture the abolitionist as a stoic and weathered woman. In Harriet, the biopic hitting theaters on Friday, audiences get to see the impassioned and invigorated side of her. Tubman’s fierce determination and unflappable strength are brought to life through Cynthia Erivo’s Oscar-nominated passionate portrayal, and underscored by a wardrobe that evolves with her growing sense of purpose. For the transformational and legendary story, costume designer Paul Tazewell–also known for his Tony Award-winning work for Hamilton–delved into the history of the period and of Tubman herself.
Visiting the area of the Maryland plantation that Tubman was born and raised on (it no longer exists), Tazewell was able to envision the world that she came from and build (the character) Harriet’s monumental journey from there. The audience sees her shed the slave’s clothes and, after completing the 100-mile odyssey to freedom in Philadelphia, assume the dress of a liberated woman. As Harriet’s confidence and resolve grows, so does the visual impact of her clothing. Rich colors and textiles along with pristine tailoring reflect the fashion of the time, but also Harriet’s personal growth and status as a leader of the Underground Railroad. “All of the period detail I’m very passionate about and they’re very important elements within my design capabilities,” Tazewell tells CR. “Visually, I have to use different types of texture for contrast and hopefully give a feel for the overall spirit of what [the characters] are doing.”
Here, Tazewell delves into how Harriet Tubman wore her clothes and how he created a wardrobe for the superhero-like trailblazer.
Since she is a historical figure, what was the research process and inspiration for Harriet’s costumes?
“The inspiration started with actual photographs or daguerreotypes of the 1840s, ‘50s, ‘60s that I was able to find both online and through library research as well. The popularity of the daguerreotype was just picking up at that time so it seemed like they were taking photographs of everything–domestic themes or situations, as well as a lot of photographed portraiture. There was plenty out there of all kinds of economic levels, people from different places, so I was able to access pretty closely the world that Harriet came from and the world that Harriet ended up in. Doing the research process for period work is really inspiring for me, to look into the eyes of the people that are in the daguerreotypes and imagine how they chose clothing if they had a choice. But also to consider how they actually wore their clothes, and their own personal dignity as they wore clothes, even from the situation of being a slave. That was exciting.”
How would you describe how Harriet wore her clothes then?
“Where we pick up Harriet’s story, she’s just bridging her teens to her 20s. She is a slave with her family on the plantation that she was from, which was small compared to others. It definitely was not like a formal idea of a plantation. The owner is of of very meager means and [Harriet’s] dress is a hand-me-down that was re-sized to fit her some many years before. It has already started to fall apart although it’s been cared for with consideration. When we pick up with the family (her mother was a slave but her father was a free man, and she has brothers and sisters that are on the plantation as well) there’s a sense that they take care of each other. There is great dignity within the family unit. I wanted to show that even though they were of very, very meager means, they worked to take care of themselves and took pride even in the lowest of what they had. Even in that, the abuse was too much for Harriet, and once she escaped, we see her clothes continue to fall apart as she is running through mud, stones, trees, and all kinds of weeds. The wear and tear on her clothes is pretty extreme and they are actually falling off when she comes out of the river. It’s important to relay that journey and it’s shown in the clothes–they support that as a theme.”
After she escapes and reaches Philadelphia, she meets Janelle Monáe’s character, Marie, who comes from a different background than Harriet. How does their approach to dress differ?
“When she arrives there, she first meets William Still and he introduces her to Marie, a black woman who was born free. She has a house in which she pulls in runaway slaves that have escaped and other African-Americans that are making their way. She teaches Harriet how to be a modern woman of the community as opposed to what she’s learned from being on the farm. [Harriet] is given clothes that allow her to represent herself more respectfully. She has a job as a maid, and she is taken under the wing of this woman who has great style and presence, and is able to realize herself as a mature woman.”
Was there any costume that was based on a real image of Harriet Tubman?
“For her first trip back to Delaware when she’s trying to save the family, Marie gives her a green dress. It’s inspired by an actual photograph of Harriet as a young woman that is housed in the Smithsonian and was newly found soon before we started filming. In most of the images we have of Harriet Tubman, she appears to be middle aged or much more mature and very stern, austere, and her clothing is pretty modest. She always has the head wrap on. In this [newly discovered] photo, her hair is revealed and it’s pulled back into a period style. She isn’t smiling, but in many of the photographs throughout the period they’re not smiling because they had to hold still for such a long time. But it gave me an entry into the idea of Harriet as a more well-rounded woman as far as her personality. That she did have clothing style and that it wasn’t limited to these very drab dresses and headscarves. She had a fashion sense that, as it’s represented by the film, was established by her time with Marie. And I think that there is dignity and power that comes from representing her in that way.”
In the movie, Harriet travels a physical journey, which was also a journey of personal and spiritual growth, too. How was this reflected in the costumes?
“The film mostly shows Harriet in her early to mid years as a woman, and all that she did to free many, many, many slaves. It’s thematic and important in the film to show Harriet as a heroic and mythic figure within the overall American story. I attempted to support that with the colors that I chose. The green of the dress that’s given to her to by Marie to go back to Delaware the first time is an iridescent green. It’s reflective of the nature that she’s making her way through when she’s bringing her passengers back up north to Philadelphia. Then, the next strong color image that I show is her in a very rich red dress and velvet coat–again to support her image as a superwoman, a superhero. We finish, accurately, in an officer’s Civil War Union coat and a pretty simple blossom skirt underneath, but of the period, and a broad brimmed hat that is dramatic and dashing and fits the bill for the energy that she has within her character.”
I like what you said about portraying her as a superhero. She definitely possessed that quality, and a contributing factor was that she needed to dress a certain way to be able to free slaves without getting caught.
“Yes, the other element of her arc is that she was a master of disguise, a true shape shifter. She needed to do that in order to disguise herself to make her way back down to the South and then carry groups of people up to the North. She would become a blackjack or a male blackjack sailor. She would also dress at other economic levels of male clothing. We show her in a waistcoat and top hat. We also show her in more country bumpkin style. She’s always slightly different so that she can stay under the radar if they catch her. I think that it all leads to this action packed story about her life, and also lifts her up as a superhuman.”
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createdAt:Tue, 29 Oct 2019 21:42:04 +0000
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section:Culture