Bojana Nikitović Reveals the Secrets Behind the Costumes of Movie Blockbusters

When the lights go out and the colors awaken the film screen, every sound, shot, image, and word – even silence – harmoniously creates new worlds. From a fleeting glance that lasts “too long” to a lavish landscape wrapped in a rhapsody of unreal shades, everything in a film tells a story – an irreplaceable piece of the puzzle in the narrative line. In this wondrous symphony of cinematic creation, costume design is a story that weaves itself without words. Like a veil that cloaks the heroes in their own destinies, becoming the cloak of their soul, the costume is much more than clothing. As the silent protagonist of every film story, costume design is the visual code that builds character identities, depicting their fears, aspirations, hopes, relationships, and emotional turmoil, guiding the viewer on a silent journey through eras, social layers, and inner worlds. As an ally to direction and set design, it creates visual worlds with colors, textures, and silhouettes, contributing to the narrative in a way that music, camera work, and dialogue cannot. Subtle and almost invisible, or wonderfully lavish in the meticulous harmony of thousands of details, good costume design is a signpost of fate, a mirror of the characters’ personalities, and a brush that paints the story with shades that could not be told with words.

One such lavish and impressively meticulous costume design is that of the science fiction TV series Dune: Prophecy, the first of its six episodes premiered on November 17, 2024. Dune: Prophecy is set in the universe of the novel Dune, published in 1965 by the celebrated American author Frank Herbert. One of the best-selling sci-fi stories of all time, which consists of the main novel and five sequels, it inspired David Lynch’s 1984 film, two miniseries, and two parts of a film trilogy directed by Denis Villeneuve. However, The Prophecy, set 10,000 years before the noble Atreides family finds itself in a war for the desert planet Arrakis, is not based on Frank Herbert’s sci-fi work, but on the 2012 novel Sisterhood of Dune, co-written by Frank’s son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. For this adaptation, costume design plays a key role, with Serbian world-renowned costume designer Bojana Nikitović tasked with building a visual identity for the characters inhabiting this entirely new world. But beyond the stylistic element, costume design in The Prophecy is an integral part of the story, subtly guiding us through the power games, fate, relationships between characters, plot dynamics, and their internal struggles.

Photo: Penomedia, Moda: Anja Knežević

“I’ve worked on demanding and challenging projects before, but working on The Prophecy was particularly complex because we had to create an entirely new world,” begins Nikitović, who built her rich career after graduating from the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, specializing in costume design, by working in the theater. Although she had long believed, from early childhood through the end of her studies, that her path would lead her toward fashion, the unpredictable turns of life led her to the theater – and she completely fell in love with it. Since then, she has designed costumes for hundreds of ballets and operas, from assisting in costume design for Tosca by Luca Bondy at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, to creating costumes for the opera The Marriage of Figaro at the National Theater in Belgrade. “Theater, for me, represents a parallel world, a world where everything is more beautiful and better. It’s a whole little community – there are shoemakers, upholsterers, tailors – and together, we create magic. I believed for a long time that theater would be the only place where I would work,” she says with a smile. But life, it seems, had different plans.

She stepped onto the global film scene, she says, quite late, after fifteen years of working in theater, during which time she had already received numerous awards and recognitions. Seemingly by chance, at the beginning of the millennium, she met the renowned Italian costume designer, four-time Academy Award winner Milena Canonero, and though they collaborated several years later, that moment marked a career turning point for Nikitović. “For years before our collaboration began, I followed her work and considered her a role model. She came to Belgrade to work on a small film, which ultimately never saw the light of day, but she continued to call me to work with her. At first, I couldn’t accept her offers because my son was small, but after three years of her persistent invitations, I joined her on The Life Aquatic,” she explains. “The next eight years, we were inseparable. Working with Milena was like getting a master’s, a doctorate, and another degree all in one. I learned everything I know about film and costume design thanks to her. To have the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest costume designers of our time was an incredible stroke of luck and an invaluable experience,” says the costume designer, who, despite her impressive international career, decided to keep her home in Belgrade.

Marija Antoaneta, Sony Pictures

Marija Antoaneta, Sony Pictures

When Canonero won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette in 2007, Nikitović was her first assistant. “The costumes of the period are beautiful, but they require precision and dedication. Preparations are a crucial part of the process. When we worked on Marie Antoinette, the internet wasn’t as rich in information as it is today. We mostly sought references in 18th-century painting, copied materials, and studied them down to the finest details,” recalls the costume designer, adding: “Marie Antoinette is revolutionary when it comes to the approach to period costumes and the way they are interpreted. The silhouettes were completely faithful to the 18th century, but the costumes received a contemporary fashion touch.” They worked together on several other films, such as The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou by Wes Anderson and The Wolfman by John Johnson. Their successful collaboration lasted until Nikitović took on the role of lead costume designer on John Stockwell’s Roadkill. The film stories she “dressed” in her meticulously crafted costumes followed one after another. The latest in this series of masterful stories is the TV series Dune: Prophecy, whose costume design has already been praised with nothing but superlatives after the first episode aired, and next year, she hopes, Desert Warrior, a film she worked on in 2021, will be released, featuring equally meticulous costumes, filmed in Saudi Arabia.

Dina Proročanstvo, Courtesy of HBO

Despite the accolades that The Prophecy has garnered since its release on screen, creating the visual identity of the story was no easy task, especially when considering the strong aesthetic of Denis Villeneuve, which has deeply influenced viewers’ minds. The plot follows the origins of one of the most important factions in the universe, the mysterious Bene Gesserit sisterhood, and while it fictively travels through the past, it unfolds in an incomprehensibly distant future. Thus, the series serves as a nostalgic reminder of the richness of Herbert’s universe, but also ambitiously creates new narratives and characters. Together with Tom Meyer, the set designer she worked with on the film Papillon, and through close coordination with executive producer Alison Schapker and the directors of all the episodes, Nikitović found an aesthetic solution that links the film’s vision with the series’ unique expression, while maintaining its own identity. “It was challenging to avoid comparisons with Denis Villeneuve’s films, but the popularity of those films certainly contributed to the audience’s interest,” she adds.

The process of creating more than 2,000 costumes took a year. Unlike other projects, the costumes for The Prophecy were not borrowed or adapted, but were entirely new creations made to fit the specifics of the story. The creative workshop consisted of departments for leather, metal, laser cutting, printing, and the making of decorations and accessories. “The part of the process I enjoy the most on every film project is the beginning, when everything is still open and possible, when ideas are just starting to take shape. I especially enjoy visiting large fabric factories. For me, it’s crucial to feel the fabric under my fingers, to observe how it falls and behaves in motion. I believe that the choice of material is of utmost importance because it determines how the costume will eventually look,” explains Bojana, adding that she paid great attention to materials for Dune as well. “Some materials we even made ourselves, which made me incredibly happy. My collaborators are often very impatient and want to start immediately, but I prefer to wait until I’m fully satisfied with the material,” she says. The costumes for the Bene Gesserit sisterhood became the visual symbol of the series, reflecting their mysticism and power, with a special focus on the main protagonist, Valya Harkonnen, the leader of the mysterious sisterhood, played by Emily Watson. For the costumes, Nikitović drew inspiration from a diverse palette of historical references – from ancient Egypt and medieval monastic robes to imperial Japanese fashion and the silhouettes of European aristocracy during the Middle Ages. Given the rich tradition and history of our region, as well as the decorative aesthetics of our folk costumes, I couldn’t resist asking if she sometimes finds inspiration from this part of the world. “Yes, but I’m usually not aware of it. If a detail or cut reminds me of something from our region, someone else usually points it out. It’s something we simply have within us, and it probably surfaces quite intuitively,” she reveals while chatting about the comments we both read online.

Dina Prorčanstvo, Courtesy of HBO

However, alongside aesthetics, she also paid special attention to the functionality of the costumes. “The actors were extremely happy when they tried on the costumes during fittings, which gave me a huge boost and confirmation that I was heading in the right direction,” says Nikitović candidly. The costume design reflected the essence of the characters and followed their development through the storyline. Special emphasis was placed on the Corrino family, Constantine, and Princess Inez, whose lives undergo significant turning points. “The point of a costume is not just to be attractive and visually interesting, but to leave a more complex impression of the character on the audience, even if they aren’t consciously aware of it,” concludes Nikitović, emphasizing that costumes are not just visual decoration, but a key part of the narrative identity. Thinking about the impact of costumes on the audience, I couldn’t help but ask how working on a theatrical costume differs from designing one for a film set. “I really love the theater and always gladly return to it. I think our region has an exceptionally rich theater scene with top actors, and that’s precisely why it’s a real pleasure for me to work in theater. However, theatrical and film costumes differ significantly. In theater, you don’t have the opportunity for the camera to capture every tiny detail or texture you’ve created. When the actor steps on stage, the overall impression is crucial – you can afford a bit of ‘exaggeration’ or emphasize certain things, which you would never do in film. On the other hand, in film and television, you have the chance to focus on finer details and, in collaboration with the director and cinematographer, decide how those details will be captured,” she explains.

Dina Prorčanstvo, Courtesy of HBO

It is these details that impress us in the latest costumes, which require an incredible level of dedication and meticulousness that the entire team invested in creating them. “About 120 people worked on the costumes for Dune. There is a whole group of people I’ve worked with for years and in whom I have endless trust. One of them is my assistant Srđan Perić, who is more than just an assistant to me. He’s my support, with whom I can share ideas and always find a way to make them a reality. There is no ring, hairpin, or decoration that wasn’t made in our workshop. That’s really a big deal. Although I can’t say exactly how many costumes we ultimately made, especially since each actress had five identical costumes, the whole process was impressive. I remember in the beginning, I would arrive at the workshop early in the morning before anyone else, and think about what task I would give to each of those 120 people,” she recalls. What excites her particularly is that every detail, which the team worked on for months, was given the attention it deserved during filming. “This project is not just mine; it’s the result of the efforts of the entire team, with each person contributing in their own way, and if there’s one thing I’ll remember from this project, it’s the beauty of creating something together,” concludes the costume designer, leaving me with the feeling that creating this series for Bojana Nikitović’s team was much more than designing costumes. It was the united desire of hundreds of people to create something great together. Call me an incurable romantic, but isn’t unity the only thing that can create real magic?