Like many readers around my age who were obsessed with the era of dystopian young adult fiction, I have been a long-time lover of The Hunger Games franchise. I dove into Katniss and Peeta’s world first by reading the books when I was eleven and twelve. Then, shortly after I had a sleepover with my friends who had been reading the books around the same time where we had a marathon movie night where we watched all of the films. I remember hearing stories from my friend’s older siblings about what it was like to see the movies in theaters as they came out. Since I was on the cusp of being too young to experience a PG-13 movie in this way, I was bummed out about missing the experience. So, when the most recent film in the franchise, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was announced, the spirit of twelve-year-old me was incredibly excited to finally be able to see a Hunger Games movie in theaters.
My favorite element of the movies across the entire franchise is the costumes. Seriously, everyone should give a massive round of applause to all the members of the design team because the execution was phenomenal in every movie. In the most recent movie, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the lead designer was Trish Summerville. Summerville is also who we have to thank for the costumes in the second film of the series, Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Summerville is also known for her work in Gone Girl as well as Westworld.
What I would consider to be the most iconic look in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is Lucy Grey Baird’s reaping dress. With the rainbow gradient tulle skirt and corset depicting a snake alongside Primrose and Katniss plants (a nod to the characters Primrose and Katniss from the original books), the outfit demands attention throughout the film. While Lucy Grey is the strong female lead in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Katniss Everdeen holds a similar position within the story of the original series. What I would consider to be Katniss’s most notable look in the series is the wedding dress President Snow makes her wear during the interviews that take place before the games begin in Catching Fire. Similarly to Lucy Grey’s dress, Katniss’s dress features a corset bodice. Additionally, the aspect of demanding attention is prominent in Katniss’s dress. When Katniss twirls around in the dress, the formerly white dress begins to light on fire starting at the hem and moving upwards. Once the entire dress has been ignited, Katniss is left in a black feathered dress with wings. She has turned into a Mockingjay. The dresses of both Lucy Grey and Katniss reference nature elements, katniss and primrose for Lucy Grey and mockingjays for Katniss, that are abundant in their shared homeland of District 12.
Trish Summerville was able to use her costume expertise to subtly connect the female leads, Lucy Grey Baird and Katniss Everdeen, throughout their respective films to contribute to a cohesive franchise where despite The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes being released nearly 10 years after the original films, it does not feel intensely disconnected.