If there was one award the film Mad Max: Fury Road deserved at the 2016 Oscars, it was Costume Design. Costume designer Jennifer Beavan did an exemplary job of creating a wardrobe for each of the characters that wholly encompassed the gritty, wartorn world they inhabited. Not only were these costumes aesthetically pleasing, but each one told a unique story about its owner.
It is especially important to take note of the costumes worn by the diverse variety of female characters, both leading and supporting. They help to illustrate one of the film’s main themes of striving for gender equality, as well as how women’s roles are changing in an otherwise male-dominated world. In an interview with Vanity Fair Magazine, Director George Miller admits, “I’ve gone from being very male dominant to being surrounded by magnificent women. I can’t help but be a feminist” (Rich).
And yes, it is true that this film is being lauded as one of the first “true” feminist films, with the leading Imperitor Furiosa being “not just [another] a ‘strong female character’ (a weak phrase I personally detest … because it’s usually code for a ‘fighting f*ck-toy’ or used to excuse the fact that there is only one woman in a film opposite dozens of men)” (Critcher). Hundreds of movie analyses and reviews like this one are applauding Miller and Beavan for finally creating a bona-fide feminist film.
However, there has also been plenty of negative backlash on the way the film’s “wives” were portrayed. These Wives, played by Rosie Huntington-Whitley, Zoe Kravitz, Courtney Eaton, Abbey Lee, and Riley Keough, are all extremely tall, slender, gorgeous, and scantily clad in ethereal, flowing strips of cloth. The film is criticized for this, being said that it is contributing to the very thing it claims to be fighting against: objectifying women.
However, it is important to remember that these Wives’ whole existence is based on sexual ownership. They are, literally, the ruler Immortan Joe’s sex toys; he even goes as far as calling them his “breeders,” which only adds to their objects-rather-than-people quality. Unlike the rest of the inhabitants of Joe’s Citadel, the Wives are living extremely sheltered lives, always locked away behind a vault-like door, so it makes sense that they wouldn’t need any of the protective clothing the other characters wear.
In an interview she did with the Hello, Taylor blog, Beavan explains that she purposely dressed the wives in such an inappropriate manner to emphasize the fact that “they had lived in a bubble and had no need for protective clothes in any sense” (BakerWhitelaw). Continuing in this vein, the fact that the Wives are the only citizens of the Citadel dressed in this manner (thin cloth isn’t exactly the most practical thing to wear in a wasteland) makes it seem like it is required by Joe for them to wear these Playboy-esque costumes, giving them a sort of prison uniform vibe.
Upon closer inspection of the material these uniforms are made out of, they appear to be fashioned out of crepe bandages or gauze. This connotes trauma and injury-being raped repeatedly by the hideously mutated Immortan Joe could not have been enjoyable by any standard; however, since gauze is often used to dress wounds, they also suggest that the fugitive wives are on the mend, healing from the unspeakable horrors thrust upon them. Immortan Joe’s beautiful wives also provide a sharp contrast to the Many Mothers when the audience is finally introduced to the them.
The Many Mothers, also called the Vuvalini, are anything but sexualized or stereotypically attractive, most of them being weathered old women. They are completely covered up by loose, mostly shapeless clothing made from the same materials many of the male characters are seen wearing, such as leather, cargo, and other thick, rough looking fabrics. Their accessories are also all meant to meet the needs of the dessert (goggles, headscarves, bullets, etc. ) making them totally self sufficient and the complete opposites of damsels in istress. When their clothing is compared to the vulnerability of the Wives’ flimsy gauze bikinis, it is easy to see why the Wives are so drawn to the Vuvalini and look towards them for strength. To the fragile, oppressed Wives, the Mothers represent the free women they might yet become.
Lastly, the most obvious step in the feminist direction the movie has to offer would be Imperitor Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron. Serving very much as Immortan Joe’s foil racter, she is a level-headed leader figure that uses violence when necessary but never loses sight of her morals. Right off the bat, it is clear that Furiosa is of equal status to the men in the film, from her wardrobe choices to her sleek buzz cut. Upon the first glimpse of her, one can even see that she will be an equal to Max if one pays close enough attention to detail. Max and Furiosa both sport what appears to be a single shoulder pad (a repurposed football pad? ), with Max wearing his on his right shoulder and Furiosa wearing hers on the left.
While Furiosa’s pad seems to be part of the contraption keeping her prosthetic arm in place and Max’s is more of a nod towards Mel Gibson’s iconic biker jacket from the previous films, the fact that they wear them on opposing shoulders makes it appear as though the pads are from the same set, further introducing Furiosa and Max as equals belonging to the same team. Nevertheless, although Imperitor Furiosa is just as ensconced in leather as the men ruling her world, it is also important to note that she is also wrapped in what appears to be the same material that is worn by the Wives.
While Furiosa has already established herself as being an equal to her male counterparts, this small detail in her wardrobe suggests that she still might be healing from the traumatic events of her childhood that were also caused by Immortan Joe. In this way, she is suspended somewhere between the Wives and the Mothers Ultimately, each costume in the film Mad Max: Fury Road is an important part of the story-telling process, but the wardrobe choices specifically for the female roles help to illustrate the theme of female empowerment as well as the process that comes along with it.
While it wouldn’t be fair to say that The Wives, Imperitor Furiosa, and The Many Mothers are all at different parts of some feminist spectrum (no one female character in the movie is the “most feminist” out of all of them), it could be argued that they do all represent the different stages women have been faced with and are striving for on their quest for gender equality. So, with that being said, even though their portraval was controversial and criticized, having the Wives dressed the way they were was important.
They represent the beginning of the journey, in the movie and in the history of women in general. They are the starting point, the Mothers are ultimate goal, and Theron’s Imperitor Furiosa, coupled with her complex wardrobe, is a symbol for the place where women in present day’s society stand. They are not completely where they could and should be, but they are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were in the past. Just like Furiosa, today’s women are already breaking ground in a predominantly male-driven world, and they only gain even more momentum upon any attempted oppression.
