A DAY IN THE CAPITOL

A couple of Fridays back, I took the early morning train to London for A Day in The Capitol, an event organised by Lionsgate to mark 100 days to the release of Catching Fire. The day focused on Capitol style, looking at costumes and make up for the new film. There were makeovers, chats with designers and a screening of the first film. My ideal day out!

FANCY STUFF

The whole event took place in an apartment at The Soho Hotel, which I was surprised at, as I thought it would be a much bigger event. Attending were about 20 journalists, the organisers from Lionsgate, a make up artist, fitness instructor and the creative director of clothing label Lucas Hugh. The scale of the event and the relaxed environment meant that it was possible to have group discussions with everyone and get all the inside info on the wardrobe and Catching Fire.

Anjhe Mules, Creative Director of Lucas Hugh

I mentioned that the creative director of Lucas Hugh, Anjhe Mules, was at the event. Although Lucas Hugh is still a fairly small brand (only three years old), designs from the inaugural collection were picked up on by Trish Summerville, the costume designer for the second film. Lucas Hugh is a sportswear brand that includes garments that can be worn as normal daywear as well as for exercise. The initial collection featured a jacket that caught Summerville’s eye and she saw it as being an item that could not only be worn in training scenes in the film, but also as daywear for the citizens of the Capitol. The Hunger Games has such an influence on them that this jacket is something they can wear because it not only plays an important role in the Games themselves, but also because it has that added glamour that Capitol fashion requires. A fitted slick black sports jacket with gold and silver reflective detailing and hidden pleating at the back is not only classy and elegant, but simple and practical as well. Samples of the jacket along with matching top and leggings we on display at the event for people to have a detailed look at.

Lucas Hugh

Made from polyamide elastic, the outfit is durable and absorbs sweat- essential for the actors when they’re shooting the training scenes! All seams are glued together so they are less likely to split and the jacket has a waterproof spray coating. The pretty reflective gold and silver geometric patterns are hand painted onto the fabric. Wowzers. If you want to spend money to look classy when you’re out jogging or cycling (although no amount of money or fancy clothing can make me look fancy while doing exercise), then you need this jacket!

Training Jacket, designed by Lucas Hugh

Summerville was looking for a fresh new look for the wardrobe for Catching Fire. Based on futuristic sportswear, Lucas Hugh had the design style she was looking for and already had the technology needed to endure high levels of exercise. Every design from Lucas Hugh is sent to athletes from a range of sports. They test and give feedback to the designers about the quality, cut, durability and overall design of the clothing, so Lucas Hugh can produce high quality garments that buyers will love. Celebs such as Jennifer Lawrence’s personal trainer and Madonna are fans of Lucas Hugh and I can see why!

The full training suit used in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The design process for the clothing used in the training scenes took a year and a half (just Summerville and Mules doing the design work), while all the costumes had to be made in just three months. This was Angie’s first time working on a film and she explained how she was nervous about having a key role in such a big franchise, as well as taking care of and maintaining her business at Lucas Hugh.

Effie-esque

Adding crafty touches to an outfit to match Effie's McQueen Butterfly dress that's featured in Catching Fire

SHINY JEWELS

Other things from ASOS

At the event were also numerous items from ASOS, all of which has similar designs to what’s worn in the Capitol. We were able to try things on (along with Capitol wigs) and have a Capitol makeover from make up artist who works for Lionsgate. She has previously worked on celebrities and has done makeovers for other events organised by Lionsgate. I didn’t catch her name, but I know she’s an astrophysicist. All the yeses. Ever. I asked her what the main things to consider when getting a Capitol look with make up. Emphasis on the eyes, bringing the eye shadow lightly down onto the cheekbones to really highlight them and bright lip that falls in the same palette as the colour of the eye makeup. All these must coordinate with the rest of your outfit. She used mainly MAC and Smashbox eye products to create these effects. Also, there is A LOT of glitter with this look. If you wear contact lenses, don’t put the makeup on too heavily. You’ll forget it’s there and occasionally rub your eyes. I did and by the time I got off the train at Bradford on Avon, I looked like I’d gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. Not a good look. I’d like to apologise for the quality of some of the photos. I was trying to hold the camera steady whilst simultaneously stopping my wig from falling off and peering through my glittery gloop coated eyes.

Make up from MAC, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox and others. SO MUCH GLITTER.

Make up artists can perform miracles. Effie Trinket/drag queen/Sybil Fawlty.

After we’d all be Capitolised, we settled down to watch the first film. I’d forgotten how good it was. Then we had a personal trainer come and talk about a thing that Lionsgate and the-gym-that-must-not-be-named are doing. I’m not sure how much has been said about it, but basically people can sign up for the twelve weeks before the release of Catching Fire to take part in an exercise regime that is a bit like a routine you’d do if you were competing in The Hunger Games. You track your progress through a series of challenges and see how well you’ve improved since the beginning of the programme. I am seriously considering signing up for it. As tough as it sounds, it’ll be a laugh! We were given goodies at the end of the day in the form of a free copy of The Hunger Games DVD and the second book. I hadn’t read any of the books before seeing the film and was super excited when I finished the book in two days. I’m making it my mission to read the first and third before uni starts again next month.

Goodies from the day

So that was a little snippet of my Capitol day out! (Who am I kidding? This post’s the longest thing I’ve ever written). I had such a fun time and thanks to Lionsgate for putting on such a brilliant event. We need more like this please!