PHOTOSHOOT in an abandoned mill - Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban

iycis

iycis

Sr Member
First post edited to remove old research content and include new photos.

A friend of mine (and one of the best Boba Fetts in the 501st) is a professional photographer by day who likes to also photograph abandoned buildings, warehouses, and towns as a hobby on the side. When I mentioned to him that I wanted to do some photos of my Bellatrix Lestrange Azkaban prison costume, he said he had the perfect place in mind.

So I spent last Friday afternoon barefoot, freezing cold, in the darkest, creepiest 300 year old abandoned mill. IT WAS AWESOME!!!

If you are interested in Darryl Moran's other photos, you can find his facebook page here: "Subject Matters Photography" Imagery By Darryl W. Moran | Facebook

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Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Thanks! That didn't even come up on a google image search and I sorted through A LOT of photos too. :lol
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Thank you both!

Wow, Kessa, you get all the best high res photos!!
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

lol - that's OK, I love hunting for stuff like this.

As promised, I've started putting together a reference library for that particular outfit. There were a couple of nice pics I found on Google and Flickr from various exhibitions which may help:
Reference Library - Bellatrix - Azkaban outfit - a set on Flickr

What's really nice (and what I hadn't realised as I'd not really thought about it before) is that there's a different costume for the Male and Female inmates.
That sounds really obvious now but it wasn't something I'd given any thought to until I saw the exhibition pics.

Anyway, I hope those help. If you need pics for anything else specifically then shout and I'll see if I can find anything that may help
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Excellent! That is perfect!

So what do you think about the fabric? I think maybe I need to start with black and white...fade the black...add grey dye to get the white parts light grey and the previously black stripes to a dark grey. Thoughts?

I've also got to sort out the prisoner ID prop.
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

In terms of how to get the look / colour, I think that sounds a great way to go.

What I'd also probably do is do some of the breakdown first, and then do the first bit of bleaching. Then, do some more breakdown, and repeat, etc

If you don't do it that way, and you do all of your breakdown at the end, I expect there would be the risk you'd end up with "clean" edges where you cut the fabric.

By doing it in stages, you not only should help prevent that, but the new loose ends themselves will also start to get bent/damaged, etc each time it goes through the wash.

Also, I've be tempted to never iron it, and if possible, dont wash it either (no matter how bad you think it looks) - the whole point is that its supposed to look filthy, and apparently (according to Helena herself) her main DE robes stank as they couldn't be washed. I'm not so sure about the Azkaban uniform, but I expect given it was only used in a couple of scenes, that would probably have been the same (that said - you'll have to judge that as you go - you do want people to be able to come up to you after all! :lol)

With regards to what fabric to use, that's probably my weak spot - I'm not very good at looking at a fabric and knowing what kind, variety, weight, etc it is so hopefully someone else on here may be able to help with that one.

To me, it looks almost like a cotton/wool mix? (In other pics, it looks creased like some kind of crepe, but I think that's just because it's heavily creased rather than an indication of the fabric, but I may be wrong)
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Wow! (Just got your Facebook Message BTW) That's a tough one. In some of the high-res photos, I swear I see a twill weave in the fabric, but it also has that crinkled gauze look. It looks like it has some weight to it, which would fall in line with the twill. Is it possible this could be a sportweight cotton twill or denim with the stripes printed on it with the wrinkle effect in them? I think its possible. In the high res pics it looks like the crinkles are printed on and not actual texture.

I'd love to hear someone else chime in on this. The good news is that with places like fabricondemand and Spoonflower, you can feasibly get this printed without much hassle. just have to photoshop the pattern.
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Darth Mule said:
I'd love to hear someone else chime in on this. The good news is that with places like fabricondemand and Spoonflower, you can feasibly get this printed without much hassle. just have to photoshop the pattern.
Click to expand...

Lol that would be good news...if I had photoshop and knew how to use it! :confused
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

I was able to get some fabric today! It found it in the Home Decorating section of a JoAnn Fabric store. Its a light weight canvas with a textured weave to it. I think with some fading, washing, and distressing, I can make this work. Just needs to be softened from all that wear and tear to get it to drape a bit more. Best part: it was half price!
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Nice Find! Yeah, a few washes. Some bleach. Should have a pretty good match.
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Finally, an update!

I ended up using the wrong side of the fabric because the black stripes were faded looking on that side. I also dyed it so that the white parts were more gray. I'm still debating dying it darker gray.

So far no weathering. Still putting it together and adjusting the fit before I destroy it further. :D

A larger version of the photo can be found here: All sizes | Pics 005 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I also had Pete from http://www.standingstonestudios.com make me an amazing Azkaban ID plaque to go with my costume.
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

I'm still debating dying it darker gray.
Click to expand...
Personally, I'd say that you've got the dark grey bits about right. If you could get the lighter bits darker without effecting the dark grey bands that would be pretty cool.

Also, dont forget that really making it grubby will make it darker as well, as will the degredation bit, so you may actually want to do that bit now before you dye it - otherwise, you run the risk of having ends of threads showing which look "pristine" in comparison (I hope that makes sense)
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

that looks awesome. I agree that you should probably dirty it up first before dying it darker. It looks about the right shade, just that the white parts need to have smudges and weathering. If it ends up not being dark enough you can always wash it to get any loose dirt off and then dye it. What are your plans for getting that 'soot' look all over it. I'd say you should burn a fire in a fireplace and throw in paper etc and then use the ash and pieces of wood that didn't get burned all the way down to ash to dirty it up. Though it would be messy lol
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Great find on the fabric! Though the dress so far looks a tad short...but that may be a trick of the stripes and the angle of the photo?
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

Thanks all for the tips. I've done weathering on a lot of my husband's costumes so I have a pretty good idea of where to start. :) I like the idea of the fireplace soot but since I don't have one I'll have to make do with some other ideas.

I have plans to sandpaper all the exposed seams but since the fabric is very prone to fraying itself already, I'm going to have to be careful I don't have this whole thing fall apart. I think once it looks soft and ragged enough, I'll go back over all those seams with some fray check to help keep it from getting worse later.

The length appears shorter in the photo than it actually is (though I'm pretty short myself) because the sleeves are too long and I think they are throwing the proportions off. When I wear it, it comes down to mid calf on my leg.
 
Re: Bellatrix Lestrange - Azkaban prison uniform

To get soot, light a candle and hold a plate over the flame. You can scrape the lampblack off the plate.

Lynn
 
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