Silver lamé evening gown as worn by Hanna Schygulla in her role as Willie Bunterberg
Reich Chancellery costume as worn by Hanna Schygulla
Sailor suit and hat as worn by Brad Davis as Querelle
Snake-print dress as worn by Jeanne Moreau in her role as Lysiane
Navy uniform and captain’s hat as worn by Franco Nero in his role as Lieutenant Seblon
Stage 9, part 4: On display are two costumes from the movie Lili Marleen (Federal Republic of Germany 1980), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and three costumes from the movie Querelle (FRG/France 1982), both directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
The first costume, on the left is:
a silver lamé evening gown
as worn by Hanna Schygulla in her role as Willie Bunterberg.
This close-fitting asymmetric silver lamé gown was made from authentic 1920s fabric. The sleeves are very wide at the top and become much narrower lower down – so-called “mutton sleeves.” The shoulders are heavily padded and additionally emphasized by a pleated ribbon in the same fabric as the dress. The plunging V-neck is edged with a band of silver sequins. Additional embroidered borders cling to the hips and decorate the slit at the front of the skirt. At the back, the skirt comes together in a floor-length train. The ensemble is crowned by a silver lamé turban, also decorated with sequined borders.
The Lili Marleen gown no longer sparkles the way it did in the movie, as the silver thread oxidized in a Munich tailor’s studio, where the gown was displayed on a dressmaker’s dummy for 30 years.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation / Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin
Reich Chancellery costume
as worn by Hanna Schygulla
This white woolen suit with embroidered dots consists of a three-quarter-length jacket and a knee-length pencil skirt with a side slit. The suit is paired with a so-called “casaque” – a three-quarter-length lady’s blouse of patterned crêpe de chine with an elegantly ruffled waist and heavily padded shoulders. The blouse is made of an authentic 1930s fabric with a floral pattern that resembles a dense carpet of daisies. The flowers vary in size and have brown-gold centers, white and blue petals and inconsistent black contours. In some places, golden leaves glimmer among the flowers. The neckline and the drapes of the blouse are decorated with gold-bead embroidery. The lapel features a large flower formed from black lace, and the elegant ensemble is crowned by a black felt hat with white arctic fox fur.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation / Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin
The next costumes are from the movie Querelle.
The first costume on the left is:
a sailor suit and hat as worn by Brad Davis in his role as Querelle.
This three-part sailor suit consists of a long-sleeved white sailor’s shirt with a wide V-neck and a navy-blue button-on naval collar. The white lapels arch toward the shoulders and merge with the navy-blue collar, meeting at right angles around the back. The collar is edged with three white parallel stripes running up over the shoulders and down the back. On the left sleeve are two emblems: a blue star, and underneath that a red number 4. Underneath the sailor’s shirt is a so-called marinière, a long-armed cotton shirt with horizontal blue and white stripes. The trousers are straight-legged and have a button fly. The outfit is topped off with a white cotton sailor’s hat with a red pompom and a stiff band of black rep with narrow red piping. On the hat band is the name of the ship, “Vengeur,” in golden lettering. The hat is flattened on each side by a white leather strap that runs across the crown.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation / Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin
The costume in the center is:
a snake-print dress
as worn by Jeanne Moreau in her role as Lysiane.
This ankle-length translucent evening gown is made of black devoré (also known as “burnout”) with a golden snake-print pattern. Devoré is a fabric technique, particularly used on velvets, where a mixed-fiber material undergoes a chemical process, using an acid paste to “burn out” the natural fibers leaving behind a semi-transparent pattern. On this dress, thumbnail-sized patches of velvet remain. The gown’s deep V-neck is edged with dark ostrich feathers with applied gold effects. A black lace insert with gold dots fills the neckline to the throat. The skirt has a train at the back, with a hand loop.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation / Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin
The costume on the right is:
a navy uniform and captain’s hat
as worn by Franco Nero in his role as Lieutenant Seblon.
This cream-colored woolen dress uniform for naval officers features a single-breasted jacket with a stand-up collar and four patch pockets with a single golden button on each flap. The pants are straight-legged. The jacket is embellished with loose-hanging gold braid that extends from the right epaulette to the lapel. The navy-blue cuffs feature three gold stripes, with the top one forming a diamond shape. This decoration is repeated on the epaulettes. The uniform also includes a sweeping navy-blue cape with epaulettes and matt gold braid. On the front of the cape are six golden buttons with an anchor relief design. The uniform is topped off by a captain’s hat of cream-colored wool with a black patent peak. Above the peak is a golden strap and a badge featuring a large anchor.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation / Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin
