What is Phantom Thread?

Phantom Thread is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and is thought to be based on the fashion scene in Fifties London. As with 2007's Oscar-winning There Will be Blood, Day-Lewis and Anderson's previous collaboration, the film will be scored by Jonny Greenwood, the Radiohead guitarist.

Little is known about the plot of Anderson's film, which is his first feature-length project since directing 2014's double Oscar-nominee Inherent Vice. However, Phantom Thread's Wikipedia page states that it is: "A drama set in the couture world of 1950s London, where Charles James – played by Day-Lewis – is commissioned to design for members of high society and the royal family."

Who is Charles James?

Charles James was a real designer, who was born in 1906 into a wealthy military family and became known as America's First Couturier. James is little-known in the UK, but his influence was considerably greater across the Pond, where he designed dresses for socialites and movie stars including Malene Dietrich. By 1950, when Phantom Thread is set, a Charles James dress could command sums of £1,500.