Fashion

The 20 Campiest Fashion Movies of All Time

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©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
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    Tank Girl, 1995
    Costume Designer: Arianne Phillips

    The post-apocalyptic environmental warrior plot of Tank Girl has become increasingly plausible in the decades since the film’s release (in 2019, a world without clean water isn’t far-fetched). And yet, its costumes remain out of this world. Rachel Talalay’s adaptation of Jamie Hewlett’s absurdist comic is filled with mutant kangaroos, survivalists, and hundreds of steampunk outfits complete with cone bras and goggles.

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    The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975
    Costume Designer: Sue Blane

    As the ultimate midnight movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s costumes have done more than delight onscreen. With legions of fans still creating their own versions of Dr. Frank N. Furter’s corset or Columbia’s gold top hat, the film has inspired generations to embrace their inner campiness.

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    The Gang’s All Here, 1943
    Costume Designer: Yvonne Wood

    By the 1940s Carmen Miranda had already made her mark on pop culture through her performances in Brazilian chanchadas, aka carnival films, and becoming the hottest ticket on Broadway—but Busby Berkeley’s The Gang’s All Here pushed her into the mainstream. As club singer Dorita, Miranda introduced America to elements that would become signatures within her act, including that famous Tutti Frutti hat.

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    To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar, 1995
    Costume Designer: Marlene Stewart

    Though parts of its plot were cribbed from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert—drag queens suffer car trouble the middle of a small town—To Wong Foo puts a fresh twist on the familiar story. Each queen has her own aesthetic: Vida Boheme is a Southern belle, Ch-Chi is a Latinx “drag princess,” and Noxeema is a no-nonsense diva with a wardrobe to die for. Even the rural backdrop doesn’t stop the group from dressing to the nines.

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    Mommie Dearest, 1981
    Costume Designer: Irene Sharaff

    Camp doesn’t have to be intentional. In retelling Christina Crawford’s biography about abuse at the hands of her mother, Golden Age actress Joan Crawford, Mommie Dearest could have struck a tone of poignant seriousness. It didn’t. Everything from star Faye Dunaway’s painted-on eyebrows to the massive shoulder pads she sports throughout the film is exaggerated.