Even without knowing the plotline of new movie Queen & Slim, the clothes immediately tell a story. Directed by Melina Matsoukas and written by Lena Waithe, the story follows a young couple, played by Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya, who meet on Tinder, go on a date, get stopped by the police and experience a life-altering turn of events.
What ensues is a pacey, heartbreaking tale about love and belonging against a backdrop of America’s complicated history with race. The fashion, which has become one of the most notable talking points of the film, released last week, connects its tangled web of characters, yes, but also has taken on a life of its own, placing the film alongside other costume design legends, such as The Royal Tenenbaums and Kill Bill.
Bold looks are used to underpin the commentary about Black Lives Matter – a zebra-striped minidress and snakeskin boots for Queen, a tracksuit for Slim – and are imbued with clues as to their changing identities. The film’s costume designer, Shiona Turini, who’s worked in the magazine and music video world, looked across a broad spectrum of black cultural dress. Everyone from civil rights and black power activists to ’70s divas, like Diana Ross, Diahann Carroll and Angela Davis, to blue-collar workers made it on to her mood boards.
‘For a film that’s aimed at illuminating black experience in the United States, it was so important to think of the different facets and potent cultural wells of blackness,’ she says. The designers she collaborated with – including Aurora James of Brother Vellies and Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss – were also significant. ‘Throughout all of my work, it’s exceedingly important to promote black designers who are pushing the proverbial needle forward in the industry,’ she says.
The costumes started generating column inches as soon as stills dropped in November, despite the fact that the eponymous characters only have two changes each. Queen starts with what Turini calls a ‘nearly sterile’ white turtleneck, changing into the more visually arresting minidress and mid-calf boots when they’re evading the law. ‘At the beginning, we see her perform a version of herself that is highly guarded, almost antagonistic,’ says Turini. ‘The transition into her second look represents her stepping into herself and letting the outer world in.’ Slim’s shift in dress is similarly bold, going from an unassuming navy jumper to a burgundy velour tracksuit.
You’ll have to watch the film to find out the couple’s fate. Whatever transpires, however, won’t take away from its celebration of black talent, craftsmanship and culture through clothes.
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