How ironic that Cinderella’s glass slipper doesn’t actually fit Cinderella in Disney’s live action reboot of the classic fairy tale. Played by Lily James, the “Downton Abbey” actress assures us she was not miscast as Cinderella. The shiny slipper was not made for any human foot to inhabit it, according to Cinderella’s costume designer Sandy Powell. She takes us behind the scenes on the making of the heeled shoe.
Three-time Oscar winner Sandy Powell designed the beautiful costumes including the famous glass slipper from the Disney fairy tale which was made up of Swarovski crystals. She explains that the slipper was a 3-piece hand cut Swarovski crystal. The slipper “took a long time,” she said because it was a challenge for Swarovski to make something of that size. They modeled the shoe after a 1890 shoe Powell got on loan from a museum.
Since Cinderella’s foot wear was of crystal, it was never made to be worn, but simply play a part as a prop. Actress Lily James jokes it was not her fault in case anyone was thinking it was. “It actually fits no human foot,” she says. The “Downton Abbey” star was content not to wear the glass slippers while running down the stairs from the palace.
“I ran with trainers. That was the beauty of the dress. You could hide anything underneath like people and stools.”
When it came for Prince Charming, played by “Game of Thrones’” Richard Madden, to slip on Cinderella’s fancy heel, Powell says they employed a leather shoe with CGI dots. In post production, the visual effects team inserted the glass slipper on Cinderella's foot.
The shoe wasn’t the only challenging costume in the Disney film. The beautiful blue gown Cinderella wears to the ball was a massive undertaking with 20 people working 500 hours.
“I wanted it to float behind her and around her and have a life of it’s own.”
To accomplish that, they combined five to six layers of colors which included blue, lavender, lilac and pale white which together flowed and gave it a water color. The recipe for the flowing blue dress was also a result of mixing fine and cheap cloth such as silk, polyester and synthetic material.
The end result is astonishing when you look closely at the gown. Powell may be heading towards another Academy Award nomination for her work in CINDERELLA. CINDERELLA opens March 13.
