Last month, fans got their first look at Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgard) in New Line Cinema's highly-anticipated IT remake. We also got our first look at one of the Loser's Club members, Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier, through new set photos released by director Andy Muschietti yesterday. As filming continues, towards its September 8, 2017 release date, we have a new photo featuring the full Pennywise costume, along with new details from costume designer Janie Bryant.
Entertainment Weekly debuted this new photo of Bill Skarsgard in full costume, which is quite different from the colorful clown outfit Tim Curry wore in the 1990 miniseries. Janie Bryant, who has won Emmy's for her costume work on Deadwood and Mad Men designed a suit that features influences from Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan and Victorian eras. Here's what she had to say below.
"The costume definitely incorporates all these otherworldly past lives, if you will. He is definitely a clown from a different time."
This adaptation of Stephen King's iconic novel will actually be split into two parts, with the first half centering on a group of childhood friends known as the Losers Club, who take on a supernatural entity known as IT, that takes the form of this clown known as Pennywise. The second movie follows these same characters as adults, who must reunite when IT returns. As for the Pennywise costume, Janie Bryant reveals each element of this outfit is meant to represent something ancient.
"That pleating is actually Fortuny pleating, which gives it almost a crepe-like effect. It's a different technique than what the Elizabethans would do. It's more organic, it's more sheer. It has a whimsical, floppy quality to it. It's not a direct translation of a ruff or a whisk, which were two of the collars popular during the Elizabethan period. There is almost a doll-like quality to the costume. The pants being short, the high waistline of the jacket, and the fit of the costume is a very important element. It gives the character a child-like quality."
Fans were quite surprised when Bill Skarsgard signed on to play Pennywise, especially since, at 26 years of age, he is much younger than Tim Curry, who was in his mid-40s when he portrayed the iconic clown. The costume is intended to create a "subliminal suggestion" of an entity with, "lanky limbs, a head and neck like a cephalothorax, and a bulbous, arachnoid abdomen." Here's what Janie Bryant had to say, elaborating on different elements of the costume.
"If you look at the sleeves, there are the two puffs off the shoulder and biceps and again on the bloomers, I wanted it to have an organic, gourd or pumpkin kind of effect. It helps exaggerate certain parts of the body. The costume is very nipped in the waist and with the peplum and bloomers it has an expansive silhouette. The pompoms are orange, and then with the trim around the cuffs and the ankles, it's basically a ball fringe that's a combination of orange, red, and cinnamon. It's almost like Pennywise fades into his environment. But there are accents to pull out the definition of the gray silk."
It is also suggested that, in this photo, Pennywise isn't actually standing on anything, rather he's floating. Janie Bryant also revealed that, unlike the original Pennywise, whose bright colors drew children in, this version "prefers to camouflage himself and strike," with the costume designer comparing him to a shadow. Take a look at the full costume photo below along with an enhanced version of the photo that gives an even better look, and stay tuned for more on IT, as we get closer to the September 8, 2017 release date.
