Dune may feature the most expensive movie costume ever made

Rebecca Ferguson in Dune
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Dune is a visual spectacle, as you might expect from director Denis Villeneuve. The movie's costumes are a big part of that, particularly the ornate dresses worn by Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson). In fact, the dress that she wears when House Atreides first arrives on Arrakis could be a record-breaking get-up.

"We call it the most expensive costume ever made," the movie's costume designer Jacqueline West told Imagine FX. "For a while, as [costume maker] Bryony Tyrrell worked on it, I’d go and see the progress and almost every day there was no progress. But finally it all came together. It was kind of a medieval masterpiece. But beautiful." 

She added: "[These designs] are based on Balenciaga and how he took everything from [Diego] Velazquez and Goya but also medieval paintings. There's a simplicity that's almost spiritualistic to them." 

Arrakis (also known as Dune), is a planet that is the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe – a drug called ‘the spice’ that extends human life, provides superhuman levels of thought, and makes faster-than-light travel possible.

Oscar Isaac plays Duke Leto Atreides, the man in control of Arrakis, while Timothée Chalamet is his son Paul. After a bitter betrayal, Paul must seek refuge among the Fremen, the native people of the planet who live in the desert – one of these people is Chani, played by Zendaya. Oh, and throw some dangerous giant sandworms into the mix, too. The all-star cast also includes Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, and Javier Bardem. 

Dune is released in UK theaters on October 21 and follows in the US on October 22. For more on the movie, check out our interview with Villeneuve here.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.