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- 19 little-known secrets even diehard 'Harry Potter' fans may not know about the costumes in the movies
19 little-known secrets even diehard 'Harry Potter' fans may not know about the costumes in the movies
Zoë Miller
![19 little-known secrets even diehard 'Harry Potter' fans may not know about the costumes in the movies](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticbiassets.in%2Fthumb%2Fmsid-85330111%2Cwidth-700%2Cheight-525%2Cimgsize-128382%2F19-little-known-secrets-even-diehard-aposharry-potterapos-fans-may-not-know-about-the-costumes-in-the-movies.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
- The extravagant costumes played a big role in the eight films in the "Harry Potter" series.
- According to the designer, the Hogwarts uniforms were the most expensive items to produce.
- She said Evanna Lynch helped make some of her character's accessories, like earrings and a hat.
The costume designer for "Prisoner of Azkaban" wanted it to look like the characters were choosing their own clothing.
![The costume designer for "Prisoner of Azkaban" wanted it to look like the characters were choosing their own clothing.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330286,width-700,height-525,imgsize-66411/the-costume-designer-for-quotprisoner-of-azkabanquot-wanted-it-to-look-like-the-characters-were-choosing-their-own-clothing-.jpg)
Jany Temime, an award-winning costume designer who created looks for "Prisoner of Azkaban" through "Deathly Hallows – Part 2," had a distinctly modern vision for wizard garb.
"I thought that we should not make it at all like 'Christmas Carol,' that we should make it very urban. Very reachable for children, for teenagers," Temime told Insider. "We should dress Harry and the kids like they are dressing themselves."
In "Prisoner of Azkaban," that translated to Harry (played by Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (played by Rupert Grint), and Hermione (played by Emma Watson) donning Muggle clothes like jeans and sweatshirts and some Hogwarts students wearing their uniforms with untucked shirts and loose ties.
For her take on Hogwarts uniforms, Temime drew upon the classic image of a broomstick-riding witch.
![For her take on Hogwarts uniforms, Temime drew upon the classic image of a broomstick-riding witch.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330279,width-700,height-525,imgsize-168733/for-her-take-on-hogwarts-uniforms-temime-drew-upon-the-classic-image-of-a-broomstick-riding-witch-.jpg)
At heart, Temime's design sensibilities revolved around "doing something slightly wizardy."
Drawing upon the classic image of a broomstick-riding witch, she included seamed hoods on robes and used fabrics in a "mysterious, dark-ish" palette.
The Hogwarts uniforms were the most expensive outfits to produce.
![The Hogwarts uniforms were the most expensive outfits to produce.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330274,width-700,height-525,imgsize-67188/the-hogwarts-uniforms-were-the-most-expensive-outfits-to-produce-.jpg)
The Hogwarts uniforms, which incorporating silk ties and wool sweaters, were the most expensive costumes to produce, according to Temime.
Due to the sheer volume of uniforms required to dress the student body at Hogwarts, the price added up.
The Quidditch uniforms were inspired by rugby and football attire.
![The Quidditch uniforms were inspired by rugby and football attire.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330267,width-700,height-525,imgsize-218254/the-quidditch-uniforms-were-inspired-by-rugby-and-football-attire-.jpg)
When Harry and his classmates play Quidditch, they wear special uniforms — just like Muggle athletes.
In an interview with Fashionista.com, Temime said that her Quidditch-robe designs were inspired by real-life rugby and football uniforms.
"I wanted to use much more of a rugby or American football element," she said. "The Quidditch [robes] were amazing — very, very, very beautiful, but very light. It was four months of work ..."
Temime loved designing costumes for the series' villains, especially Bellatrix Lestrange.
![Temime loved designing costumes for the series](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330262,width-700,height-525,imgsize-69607/temime-loved-designing-costumes-for-the-seriesapos-villains-especially-bellatrix-lestrange-.jpg)
"Harry Potter" features a host of memorable villains, and Temime loved designing all their looks. Her favorite baddy to dress was Bellatrix LeStrange (played by Helena Bonham Carter).
Temime brought the notorious Death Eater to life with leather corset-wear and layers of washed, dyed, and embroidered fabrics.
"She's such a bad, bad, bad woman. But [Bonham Carter] is amazing in it and she really made something out of it," she told Insider.
She added, "We do love baddies and Bellatrix is a fantastic baddy."
Voldemort's robes comprised of five different types of silk.
![Voldemort](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330260,width-700,height-525,imgsize-75551/voldemortaposs-robes-comprised-of-five-different-types-of-silk-.jpg)
Temime worked with Ralph Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort, to ensure that his costumes billowed properly in the flying scenes.
She told Insider that his costumes consisted of five types of silk in various weights. The components of Fiennes' robes were also individually dyed so that all the pieces were complementary.
Voldemort's costumes also featured elements of green to represent Slytherin House.
![Voldemort](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330259,width-700,height-525,imgsize-78021/voldemortaposs-costumes-also-featured-elements-of-green-to-represent-slytherin-house-.jpg)
Rather than dress him in head-to-toe black, Temime made Voldemort's outfits pop with elements of Slytherin green — a reference to his Hogwarts House.
As she explained during a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly's "Binge" podcast, black was too ordinary for the series' most nefarious villain. Instead, she reserved all-black outfits for his Death Eater lackeys.
According to a video on the Wizarding World's official YouTube channel, Voldemort's costume in the final movie consisted of seven shades of green to coincide with the seven Horcruxes. As Harry and the others destroyed them one by one, a shade of his costume disappeared and the colors began to fade.
The Death Eaters' look was designed to be equally scary and glamorous.
![The Death Eaters](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330254,width-700,height-525,imgsize-56814/the-death-eatersapos-look-was-designed-to-be-equally-scary-and-glamorous-.jpg)
The Death Eaters, Voldemort's loyal followers, are a menacing group of characters in the series.
Temime told Entertainment Weekly in the same 2016 podcast interview that their black hooded robes and silver masks were designed to be "frighteningly beautiful."
Professor Umbridge's pink ensembles incorporated mohair, soft wool, and rabbit fur.
![Professor Umbridge](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330240,width-700,height-525,imgsize-92962/professor-umbridgeaposs-pink-ensembles-incorporated-mohair-soft-wool-and-rabbit-fur-.jpg)
Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Dolores Umbridge's (played by Imelda Staunton) feminine, pink outfits contrasted her malevolent personality.
To achieve this juxtaposition, Temime incorporated soft fabrics such as mohair, wool, and rabbit fur into her ensembles.
She also designed several cat-themed accessories for the feline-loving character, including a scarf with a three-dimensional cat head.
Staunton wanted Umbridge to have a rounder body type, so the design team created padded costumes.
![Staunton wanted Umbridge to have a rounder body type, so the design team created padded costumes.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330233,width-700,height-525,imgsize-170148/staunton-wanted-umbridge-to-have-a-rounder-body-type-so-the-design-team-created-padded-costumes-.jpg)
Although it's hard to ignore Staunton's gleeful snarl and high-pitched vocal inflection, you may not be aware that she requested padded costumes to add extra oomph to her portrayal of Umbridge.
"[Imelda Staunton] wanted to be fatter, so we had to build up something in her [outfits]. She wanted to have a very fat bottom because she wanted to walk like Daisy Duck," Temime told Cosmopolitan in 2017.
Dumbledore's majestic robes were made from tie-dyed fabric.
![Dumbledore](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330230,width-700,height-525,imgsize-84044/dumbledoreaposs-majestic-robes-were-made-from-tie-dyed-fabric-.jpg)
In a 2017 interview with HelloGiggles, Temime noted that Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's (played by Michael Gambon) costume was one of the most effortless looks she designed.
His majestic robes were made of fabric that was tie-dyed light green and light purple.
"I knew straight away what it was going to be. I knew straight away what aesthetic, embroidery I wanted to put on it. I knew that pretty quickly, quite naturally," she said.
Evanna Lynch helped design Luna Lovegood's quirky jewelry.
![Evanna Lynch helped design Luna Lovegood](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330228,width-700,height-525,imgsize-169995/evanna-lynch-helped-design-luna-lovegoodaposs-quirky-jewelry-.jpg)
Luna Lovegood (played by Evanna Lynch), a Ravenclaw characterized by her whimsical style, wears trademark accessories ranging from Spectrespecs (glasses that reveal invisible creatures) to a necklace made from a butterbeer cork.
Temime told Insider that she and Lynch collaborated to craft most of Luna's jewelry. But there was one item that Lynch made herself: the iconic beaded, radish-shaped earrings.
Lynch also helped make Luna's lion-shaped Gryffindor hat.
![Lynch also helped make Luna](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330224,width-700,height-525,imgsize-162392/lynch-also-helped-make-lunaaposs-lion-shaped-gryffindor-hat-.jpg)
In "Half-Blood Prince," Luna attends a quidditch match wearing an ornate lion headpiece to cheer on the Gryffindor team.
As with her character's jewelry, Lynch teamed up with Temime to fashion the accessory.
"I said to her, 'You are a fan, you like Ron, so the next Quidditch match, I want you to have a lion mask,' and she said 'OK' and she started making it with me," Temime told Cosmopolitan in 2017. "She was spending her free time in the costume department. She loved the costume department!"
Beauxbatons' blue uniforms were inspired by the French royalist flag.
![Beauxbatons](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330219,width-700,height-525,imgsize-58237/beauxbatonsapos-blue-uniforms-were-inspired-by-the-french-royalist-flag-.jpg)
Students from two foreign wizarding schools — Beauxbatons Academy in southern France and Durmstrang Institute in northern Europe — visit Hogwarts in "Goblet of Fire" to compete in the Triwizard Tournament.
It's no coincidence that Beauxbatons' uniform, a silk dress accompanied by a matching shawl and felt hat, is blue.
"I'm French myself, so I thought well, I'm going to use blue because this is the color of the French royalist flag — nothing to do with them being royalists," Temime told Insider.
Durmstrang is situated in northern Europe, and its uniforms pay homage to Russian folklore.
![Durmstrang is situated in northern Europe, and its uniforms pay homage to Russian folklore.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330215,width-700,height-525,imgsize-36096/durmstrang-is-situated-in-northern-europe-and-its-uniforms-pay-homage-to-russian-folklore-.jpg)
In contrast to the airy outfits worn by Beauxbatons students, wizards from Durmstrang wear a heavy combination of crimson robes, fur hats, and fur capes.
Temime told Insider that she based these designs on iconography from Russian folklore.
Hermione's delicate, pink Yule Ball dress contrasted her strong persona.
![Hermione](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330211,width-700,height-525,imgsize-59047/hermioneaposs-delicate-pink-yule-ball-dress-contrasted-her-strong-persona-.jpg)
The trick to creating Hermione's Yule Ball gown, a stunning pink dress with cascading layers of fabric, was to balance innocence and glamour.
"I wanted something completely fragile, very flower-like, very delicate," Temime told Insider, noting that the feminine dress was designed to offset Hermione's headstrong persona.
Grint was game to wear a ridiculous dress robe for the Yule Ball.
![Grint was game to wear a ridiculous dress robe for the Yule Ball.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330209,width-700,height-525,imgsize-95196/grint-was-game-to-wear-a-ridiculous-dress-robe-for-the-yule-ball-.jpg)
When Ron receives his dress robe for the Yule Ball, he's horrified by how frilly it is. But unlike the character he plays, Grint was game to wear the ridiculous garment.
In fact, Temime kept adding on additional lace and braiding to the robe to make it even more over-the-top.
"At the beginning, I made it a little bit silly, and then when I put it on him, I realized that Rupert [Grint] could take as an actor, he could take so much that I had to make it even sillier to just have a very comical message," she told Insider.
Radcliffe was more hands-off with the costume-design process.
![Radcliffe was more hands-off with the costume-design process.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330206,width-700,height-525,imgsize-165014/radcliffe-was-more-hands-off-with-the-costume-design-process-.jpg)
Radcliffe was less involved in his costume-design process than some of the cast, according to Temime.
"[Daniel] never liked clothes," she told InStyle in 2017. "He was always fine with what I was giving him."
She pointed out in the same interview that Grint seemed to possess a greater fashion sense than his costar.
Fred and George were dressed in coordinating but not identical costumes.
![Fred and George were dressed in coordinating but not identical costumes.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-85330204,width-700,height-525,imgsize-107639/fred-and-george-were-dressed-in-coordinating-but-not-identical-costumes-.jpg)
Ron's identical twin brothers, Fred and George (played by James and Oliver Phelps), are jokesters at heart.
But Temime resisted making their outfits match completely.
"I never dressed them the same, but complementary. So, they always had a difference, you know, like they wear red and blue or blue and red," Temime told Insider.
Other similar-but-not-identical costumes included shirts with horizontal stripes and vertical stripes and ties in different colors that went well together.
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