Beth was facing a “sudden death” of the hormone type.
The fictional chess star won her childhood like an orphan, she fought pills and alcohol addictions, and she managed to get into the World Championships in Russia. Problem now? She spent all her money on clothes and could not afford her 3,000 3,000 trip for the biggest game ever.
“You can give me a black dress,” Beth’s friend suggests on an episode of “The Queen’s Gambit.” “Or purple.”
Beth laughs and rejects both offers.
In the realm of men, thick glasses and poorly fitted white button-down shirts, Beth Harmon is a sudden style icon. Yes, it is a character developed from the novel of the same name, Verter Tevis, and now it has been introduced in the hit Netflix series by Getbraille Binder. But somehow, she will be able to broker an introduction from the chess world to the fashion world, an impossibly beautiful pair.
“At first glance, chess is not stylish and fashionable, but players make choices based on what they wear and why they will wear it,” said Mrs. Binder, speaking from a zoom from her home in Berlin, dressed in a simple black shirt. Up to the waist, without any accessories. She believes these choices are important. “It brings them good luck or gives them a good experience.”
“Queen’s Gambit” takes place in the 1960s, and at the time, there were some female American and Russian players who were in the major leagues. Ms. Binder looked at the way men dressed and had “humble, fair fashion.” The looks of the women were similar. Ben, played by another Taylor-Joy, is nothing but old age. And this can be a game changer. As it was.
Fashion Design M.F.A. of FIT in New York. “Chess will never be the same,” said Kathleen Sheehan, the program’s professor and executive chair. “This story brings international glamor, humanity and related history to the game of chess. Each time this scene changed, I was glad to see what he was wearing next. “
Prairie from Eddie Sedgwick, Jean Seberg, Pierre Cardin and Balenciaga, Ms. Binder created a beautiful array of looks to take Beth from her orphan days in Kentucky through chess tournaments in Las Vegas, Paris and Moscow. Her less than a dozen outfits do not include mirrored geometric patterns on the chessboard, but Ms. The binder won’t do anything so obvious to print a chessboard on top or on a skirt.
Instead, for example, Beth entered the world of chess with a simple checkered sleeveless dress under a fitted white button, which was not far from the style at the time. She was desperately trying to find her own way in the fashion and chess scene – and her outfit reflects this, Mr. Binder said. By the end of the series, Beth came out with a white ool not coat, paired with a fairly white hat for a chat queen.
There’s also a makeup that helps Beth transform from an orphan to a glam chess starlet, reflecting her state of mind along the way. “It was exaggerated makeup to support that it really is beyond itself, not fitting into the idea of a chess player.” “It was kind of like, ‘This is me, and I’m fragile.’
Delicate, yet chic
Twice U.S. Women’s chess champion and U.S. champion in Philadelphia. Jennifer Shahde, the women’s program director at Chess, said she always saw the game as a glamorous game. Ms. Shahed was able to party with her colleagues for the rest of the day; He left the country for the first time at the age of 15 to play in the World Youth Championships in Brazil; And she celebrated her 16th birthday with a second chess tour in Iceland. It’s a side of chess that people outside of the game don’t need to see it.
“Glamor was fed up with the ethics of my work and beyond.” Shahde said. “The overlap between chess and glamor is nothing new, but this is the first time I’ve portrayed it so brilliantly on screen, which takes it to a higher level of imagination.”
This may not be the first time chess has entered the fashion scene, but it may be the biggest step it has taken.
In 2005, Alexander McQueen was hosting a chess-inspired fashion show, during which a chessboard was projected on the floor and each model represented a chess piece. Then, at New York Fashion Week in 2010, Magnus Carlson, a Grandmaster in Amsterdam’s brand, G-Star, was featured playing a chess match before the runway show. G-Star also created an advertising campaign around Mr. Carlson.
Still, fashion and chess never really got jailed. World Chess Hall of Fame in 2018 teamed up with the St. Louis Fashion Fund to challenge new designers to create stylish chess outfits. Spoiler alert: The Grandmasters continue their usual simple black suit game.
“Even though top grandmothers dress better than they did 15 years ago, there’s a way to identify them as style icons for top US players like Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakumura,” said Chen photographer and broadcaster Lenart Otts. Amsterdam. “Chess has been featured in metaphorical movies and commercials for strategic decisions, but you’ll rarely see a chess player on the red carpet.”
However, now that the “Queen’s Gambit” has arrived, it seems that the time for a fashion of chess is coming. In late November, the exhibition “Keith Herring: Radiant Gambit” will open at the World Chess Hall of Fame. It will include Mr. Herring’s custom street art chess set.
Scheduled for a program Chess Hall of Fame features Michael Drummond, a St. Louis fashion designer, featured on “Project Runway.” His performance, “Playing,” looks at the effects of fashion and climate using metaphorical figures as metaphors. (We’re here for a black minidress made of chess pieces.)
And now, the costumes of “Queen’s Gambit” can be seen on a virtual display at the Brooklyn Museum, who worked with Netflix to get a closer look at the show’s outfits with “Crown” costumes.
The bad news, however, is that none of these glamorous queen gambit costumes are available in stores. Ms. Binder made them all for a special bath, or bought from costume archives. So when it comes to shopping for them, it’s your move.
