descendants five...thoughts and wishes *ੈ𑁍༘⋆

   

 okay, so while i was discovering new blogs to follow and such, i came across ephemeralkiss' post about the new descendants five. before i had gotten home and decided to create this blog, i was at my friends house watching this new movie! it took us a good two hours and a half to really finish it because i kept pausing it, needing to express my thoughts and criticisms i had because LORD i felt like i was about. to. explode!!!!!!! the amount of plot holes and nonsensical decisions made by the writers bugged me out entirely. while i initally intended on making this a whole 20-page essay on all of the grievances i had with this film, i decided to keep it short and sweet and just focus on something i'm passionate about: the fashion. 

    the costuming is by far the most jarring aspect of the new movies. when comparing the newer costumes to the ones of the previous trilogy, you can tell they were trying to overly brand the characters without trying to give them outfits that made sense for their environment and overall aesthetics. in simple terms, the outfits were plain ugly and not functional. let's compare the two main characters: mal (og trilogy) and red (newgen trilogy).

    i had way better examples but pinterest is being annoying with the quality so these two will have to do for now. mal's style felt authentic, matched with her enviornment, and essential to her character arc.while some may argue that a lot of the outfits felt over the top in the og trilogy, i believe the costuming served to show a contrast between the boldness of the isle and the preppy-ness of auradon. even though mal and the other VKs were always in their signature colors, kara saun (head of the costume department for the og trilogy) really played with shades and fabrics to make their outfits less costume-y. mal's wardrobe works so well with her as a character because they act as a fashionable representation of the trouble shes having when trying to balance both of her worlds. in the first and second installations of the franchise, mal switches back and forth from edgy to soft. she leans into these otherwise foreign colors whenever she feels as though she has to preform and hide her "wicked" side. as mal slowly assimilates to the culture of auradon, she begins to wear softer versions of her original pallet while incorporating the colors of auradon prep - curating a new, unique sense of style; representing the young woman she has grown to become during her time at auradon...𑣲⋆

    in the newgen version of descendants, the best way i can describe the costuming is purely simply...party city. like you could buy it in any halloween department store!!! for starters, red is from WONDERLAND. in my mind, nobody from wonderland should be dressed like they're from the isle NOR like they're from auradon. theres a sense of magical charm yet mysteriousness surrounding a place like wonderland and i feel as though the costuming could've reflected the "wonder" aspect better. i understand that red had a rebellious nature to her so they wanted to reflect that through the styling but i feel like the way they did it was just so on the nose about it - almost as if they didn't really take they're time to think out any sort of symbolism or aesthetic surrounding the wardrobe. if i were to style red, i wouldve toned down the singular shade of red and completely get rid of the hearts plastered all over her outfits. i think her shoes couldve been more creative as well; in the og trilogy, theyre shoes were decorated with all sorts of charms, and i think that would've perfectly suited somebody from wonderland. i also think it would've been really cool if her outfits had elements of royalness to them. i'm not quite sure how to word it, but red herself IS a princess, and i highly doubt that she would have such casual clothing in her wardrobe. i think her outfits should've been torn up dresses with splattered paint - something like that. i'm not a fashion designer or an artist by any means, but these are just some cute ideas that i think wouldve shown her personality and background as a character way better.

    lizzie hearts' oufits from eah are a perfect example for the type of vision i had imagined for a character like red. because the wonderland kids were considered rebels in the show, theyre outfits really mirrored their bold personalities. i may be a bit biased because i absolutely love eah and what they did with the characters, but i firmly believe lizzie should've been on the vision board ( i do think adding more leather, rhinestones, and rips would make the outfit more suitable for the character they were trying to build).

    HELLOOO the details??? the oufits in the og movie really felt personalized yet cohesive...not a single corner without any form of rhinestones, studs, chains, or GLITTERRRR <33333 i absolutely love the wardrobe of the first three movies and i wish they would've taken their time with curating outfits that told a story in a fashionable way, rather than relying on cheap, easily recognizable patterns.

    anyways, i know this was a lengthy one. did i completely hate the new movie? no! i think it was a step-up from the fourth one and they had some catchy songs. these were just my thoughts on the new additions of a franchise that i grew up with and absolutely adore!

love you, always.

take care! ｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡