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. 

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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.