Catching Fire: Where Minors Brutally Kill Each Other, And Dress Well While Doing It

Fancy a dress that crackles with fire as you’re pulled along on a horse-drawn chariot? How about a majestic wedding gown that transforms into a mockingjay-inspired get-up as you spin in a delicate circle?

Okay, so there are some pretty outlandish statement outfits in the latest Hunger Games instalment that would have exceptionally limited application in real life. But whether you care about clothes or not, it’s obvious that fashion plays an important role in the overall look of the film. A digital magazine was initiated in conjunction with the film to establish it as style-oriented, and Catching Fire‘s costume designer Trish Summerville has collaborated with Net-A-Porter for ‘Capitol Couture,’ a line inspired by the film’s themes and clothing. Launched earlier this week, the collection riffs on the style of various characters in the franchise, cementing the fashion-forward focus of the second film.

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Couture on the silver screen

Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins was super specific when describing the clothing of her characters in the novels; the flamboyant styles of the Capitol serve to emphasise the poverty of the outlying districts, and highlight the changes Katniss undergoes as she goes from foraging for food in the forests of her hometown to becoming a Hunger Games victor. While the first film’s aesthetic was a tad understated, with Effie Trinket being the main outlet for anything remotely interesting in terms of fashion, the outrageous outfits described in the books have been brought to the fore in Catching Fire. When the second film began production, it was approached with a reinvigorated focus on style: the filmmakers brought onboard costume designer Trish Summerville to take the franchise from its beginnings as a tween phenomenon to something more fashion-forward, befitting the book series.

For Catching Fire, Summerville created a separate inspiration board for every character, as well as each District in Panem. This meant she ended up with over 50 boards from which to take cues when designing looks for the film, on top of the 6000 extras she was required to dress. Reflecting the real world, the clothing in Catching Fire is used to delineate between the rich and poor, obviously on a way more stylised level (we still can’t imagine investment bankers and lawyers getting around in bright blue lipstick or fake butterfly wing eyelashes anytime soon). Are you a fan of fairy floss wigs and Elizabethan style dresses? You’d fit right in at the Capitol. Are simple natural fabrics more your style? You may get kicked out of the Capitol, but you’d be right at home in one of the districts (sorry about the hardcore manual labour).

One of the standout looks from Catching Fire is the immobile butterfly dress worn by Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) during the reaping. This eye-catching piece is the work of gothic-inspired fashion house Alexander McQueen. McQueen is known for creating clothes and accessories featuring skulls galore, and that same sinister undertone is continued in Effie’s frock (did we mention the immobile butterflies?). It’s fitting for the character of Effie, who serves as a bridge between the ominous Capitol and the Hunger Games contestants of District 12.

Similarly, Katniss’s style in Catching Fire makes a pretty obvious statement. From her burning dress in the lead-up to the Games (remember, she is the ‘Girl on Fire’) to the wedding gown that dissolves into a mockingjay to mourn her never-to-be nuptials, one of the main purposes of Katniss’s outfits is to very blatantly prove points. In deep contrast to the extravagant gowns she wears in the Capitol, she’s all low-key and functional chic in her hometown of District 12 and during her victor’s tour. After all, if she were to go all out, the underfed citizens of the districts may well riot (she’s like a fictional Kate Middleton). Speaking of extravagant gowns, Katniss’s wedding dress was designed by Jakartan designer and Lady Gaga favourite, Tex Saverio. If anyone knows the meaning of the word ‘extravagant’, it’s Gaga.

Throw in the futuristic and opulent candy-coloured costumes the greedy upper-class citizens of the Capitol gad about in, and you have yourself one heck of a fashionable affair.

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‘Capitol Couture’

In keeping with the film’s more high-fashion, conceptual direction, the production company behind Catching Fire, Lionsgate, launched ‘Capitol Couture‘, an online fashion magazine that blurs the lines between the fictional world of Panem and the real world we’re sitting in right now.

In terms of quality and content, ‘Capitol Couture’ could sit alongside any respectable high-fashion magazine. With three issues under its belt thus far, the magazine features interviews with industry icons like Karl Lagerfeld, Dita Von Teese and Daphne Guinness, alongside stories on Hunger Games victors and the style evolution of Effie Trinket. Edited by Monica Corcoran Hare, an author and writer for The New York Times and Elle US, the magazine serves to emphasise the role fashion plays within the film. Sure, it’s a marketing strategy, but as far as corporate advertising goes, it’s pretty impressive.

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But wait, there’s more!

Keeping with the broad scope of the film’s fashion focus is a collaboration with designer fashion outlet, Net-A-Porter. Released earlier this week, this collection has been designed by Trish Summerville to fit with the themes and stylistic concepts of Catching Fire. Sure, you won’t be able to get your gloves on the OTT Elizabethan-esque lavender concoction that Effie struts around in at the victor’s party in the Capitol, and Alexander McQueen couture may be a little out of your price range (and inconvenient to wear without a team of helpers), but this collaboration is the next best thing.

It features 19 pieces inspired by the themes and sartorial choices in Catching Fire, including jewellery, handbags and slogan tees. Katniss Everdeen’s wardrobe is heavily represented with an industrial-style laser-cut leather dress that resembles her flaming outfit as she rides the chariot pre-games (flames not included), streamlined evening gowns, and arrow-shaped jewellery. You can even pick up a ‘Girl on Fire’ tee if you prefer to reference the film a bit more obviously (warning: you may get that supremely irritating Alicia Keys song stuck in your head every time you wear it).

If you’re keen for something a bit more useful in everyday life, you can buy a leather belt bag. It mostly just resembles a tradie’s tool belt, but costs way more, because, you know, it’s The Hunger Games.

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From the screen to the streets

Loads of the looks from Catching Fire are what people are actually wearing right now. The layering of leather and wool, as when Katniss is in District 12, the feather embellishments she wears to the victor’s party in the Capitol, and even her wedding dress are all styles we’ve seen in stores over the past year or so.

Although we’re pretty certain that Effie’s wigs, Shakespearean cuffs and novelty fascinators won’t be catching on anytime soon, it’s not hard to see some of these styles making their way onto the pages of fashion magazines in the future in some diluted form. And sure, while the fashion looks in Catching Fire may not be dinner date appropriate, they’ll at least make for fun fancy dress party fodder.

And if you don’t really care about changing your entire look to fit the Hunger Games trend? You can always just apply some gold eyeliner in the spirit of Lenny Kravitz’s Cinna. That guy’s awesome.

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is now showing in cinemas nationally.

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Che-Marie Trigg is a Sydney-based writer who has written about music for The Dwarf, and everything else for Rescu. She tweets about her misguided life choices @che_mariet.