Costume designer Janie Bryant has put a lot of thought into the new costume for Pennywise in the remake of Stephen King’s It. As Pennywise has lived through many, many eras, she has drawn from the past for his present look, taking elements from Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, and Victorian eras, mixing a bit here and a bit there. The ruff, for example, borrows from the Elizabethan period, but does not match any particular style. Bryant describes it as “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.”
Coloring, too, has been carefully thought out, “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.” This is a deadly clown, a creature who prefers to haunt the shadows–but he does not stay there.
So here is Bill Skarsgard in full costume. Let the sleep stop and the cosplay begin. Andy Muschietti’s adaptation will come out on September 8, 2017, so there is not much time.
In case there was any doubt about what this clown is up to, Andy Muschietti provided some teaser images from storyboards on his Instagram:
See more of Bryant’s thoughts on the costume on on Entertainment Weekly and further images on Andy Muschietti’s Instagram
Follow the remake’s progress on Facebook: StephenKingsItRemake
