Costume designer Clint Ramos on designing the costumes of Aretha Franklin for «Respect,» starring Jennifer Hudson.
To re-create iconic looks for Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” which opens in theaters Aug.13, Tony award-winning costume designer Clint Ramos immersed himself in books about the Queen of Soul. There were very few photos of Franklin in her early years, but he read how singing in church shaped her life. Unlike Diane Ross or Gladys Knight, who were “always polished,” with Franklin, “something was a little off, and that allowed her personality to peek through,” says Ramos. He worked with star Jennifer Hudson and concept artists to help with his designs — including her outfit for a dress rehearsal of “Amazing Grace” at a Los Angeles church for a 1972 performance — always keeping in mind, “How did she use clothing as armor or as a distraction from her trauma?” Below, Ramos breaks down the ideas behind some of his re-creations. “Through all of my research, I couldn’t find who had built this dress, but it was a huge turning point in her life — a touchstone in terms of not only spirituality, but it landed her in the realm of the divine. There was the pressure of, how do I reinterpret this dress? How do I make it Jennifer and make it Jennifer embodying Aretha? “It was custom-printed silk Georgette (a thicker and heavier semi-sheer fabric) with my own paisley design.
