"I read in Entertainment Weekly that you worked with Emma Watson to develop Belle’s yellow gown and that being active was an important part of the design. How did you incorporate design elements to allow for the physicality?





[Watson and I] did try a lot of things because it was about how Belle is represented as a princess. So is it like the animation or do we try something else? We did try going in the direction of a historical 18th-century dress, and we tried going in the direction of something more modern, as a reinterpretation of an 18th-century dress. In fact, in the end it, came back to being closer to animation.





But what we did with that silhouette was to try and give it a lightness and a fluidity and very little structure, so that Emma didn’t feel inhibited or trapped by it. That it was as light as it could possibly be, but at the same time had enough movement to work for the gown. It’s very wearable and it doesn’t have such a big skirt or have things that makes it impossible to imagine.





What was it like working with Emma on that dress?





It was very good. It was quite tricky, because she was working so hard to create a strong, individual, modern, emancipated kind of Belle. But at the same time, there are elements in which the yellow dress works against that in a sense of being a pretty, princess-y kind of dress. So to try and find balance and try an a yellow dress [that would] work for the new Belle that we’re creating was difficult and interesting. I think that we arrived at the end by making it quite simple and something that she felt she could really move in and be active in.





In terms of the costumes, how was it for you to be a part of this more sophisticated and almost politicized update?





It was good! Yeah, it was just [determining] what elements the dress needed to have in order to help Emma be her version of Belle." It was certain it shouldn’t have a corset. It was certain it should be something she should move in. It should certainly be not too heavy, but it should still have movement and everything and be beautiful for the ball.









So if you're going to blame someone, blame the costume department on this. Duran thought she had been clever with the "tacky" elements.





Also, it’s fantasy, not a true historical drama (that's what this whole series is about), and I'd say anyone has a right to be comfortable while shooting all day. The physical comfort of an actual person > “historical accuracy” when it’s not even an actual historical story. This would be a different scenario if it was fantasy but it's not.





Thats actually not true, did you read that on a whiny fashion blog and not the actual interview? Emma Had input into how she wanted the dress to be breathable and moveable but she didn't create the design herself. Did you read the actual interview? fashionista.com/2017/03/beauty…