During the ten years of filming, more than 25,000 unique items of clothing were created for the Harry Potter films, including over 600 Hogwarts school robes. While the overall look of the Hogwarts uniform remained the same throughout the films, each Director and Costume Designer put their own spin and details into them.
Costume Designer Jany Temime joined the crew for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and gave the school uniforms an update in the form of robes with house-coloured collars and hoods so each student could show their house pride.
The costume of Albus Dumbledore is testimony to the hours of meticulous planning that goes into creating a costume for a beloved and respected character. Like many other characters, Dumbledore’s style evolves throughout the films.
Many of Dumbledore’s early costumes were created from antique cuts of fabric and pieces of old tapestry. Later in the series, when Dumbledore was injured in the pursuit of a Horcrux, his costumes were adjusted to reflect the new vulnerability of his character. His robes were washed out to more muted colours and his beard was made to be straighter and whiter than in previous films.
Costume Designer Jany Temime designed more than 300 costumes in total for the Yule Ball and an extra 100 workers were needed to sew and embellish all the gowns and dress robes that feature in the film. The Yule Ball scenes in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire represented a unique opportunity to show the beloved characters in more formal, evening dress.
While the girls wore elegant dresses, the male students’ dress robes were designed to resemble a wizarding version of a black tie. Most of the Hogwarts students were dressed in plain black robes except, of course, for Ron Weasley whose costume was made from an old carpet fabric and layers of lace to show its outdated style as a hand-me-down.
Hailing from the French school of magic, the students of Beauxbatons visit Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In contrast to the traditional structured black and grey fabrics of the Hogwarts uniforms, Costume Designers chose to use a bold “French Blue” fabric and form-fitting design for the Beauxbatons students.
