Frankenstein Star Jacob Elordi Used 42 Prosthetics to Transform

Londoners get a chance to enter the world Guillermo del Toro “Frankenstein.»

Frankenstein: The Making of an Timeless Tale is a fully immersive exhibition that is free to the public and is now open until 9 November at The Old Selfridges.

It's no secret that del Toro has always wanted to bring Mary Shelley's classic novel to life, and as audiences see his vision in theaters this weekend ahead of its release on Netflix on November 7, the director and his craftsmen have given Diversity tour of the exhibition.

Frankenstein: The Making of a Timeless Tale features costumes by Kate Hawley, the artistry of production designer Tamara Deverell and protest artist Mike Hill, and rare books.

Among the books on display were two editions of Shelley's novel, including an 1818 copy and an 1853 illustrated version. Recalling reading Shelley's book, del Toro said: Diversity“She asked all the philosophical, economic and social questions that bothered her.”

Del Toro set his story against the backdrop of the Crimean War, but also wanted it to have a modern sensibility. At the same time, he wanted the film to look operatic. So he turned to his most trusted collaborators, including Hawley, with whom he last worked on Crimson Peak, Deverell, and composer Alexandre Desplat, to bring Frankenstein to life.

Discussing the costumes, del Toro explained: “Elizabeth's (Mia Goth) wardrobe represents nature. That's why she's connected to the Creature (Jacob Elordi). She represents Holiness and the natural world. So she's either dressed in white, which signifies purity.”

He noted that Elizabeth's blue dress connects her with science and the embroidery design represents an x-ray. “It's storytelling. It's not eye candy, it's eye whiter,” he said. “Everything in this film is full-scale, handmade by people for people.” Even the explosion in the laboratory was carried out using practical effects.

Hawley says she and Deverell collaborated closely, and her costumes echoed elements of the architecture and environment. Red, blue and green were her main color palettes.

Hawley explains that the blue dress, inspired by X-rays, was going to be worn during the evening's candlelit scene. However, she worked closely with the film's cinematographer Dan Lausten to “maintain the rich blue color that Guillermo wanted.” She adds that candlelight often washes out colors. “So it took a huge amount of work to figure out how these prints and elements would work on different fabrics.

Hawley adds: “At least 60 meters [of fabric were used] in a skirt. All of this was a reminder of Elizabeth's more ethereal nature. When you first see her, she almost resembles an angel. She is the angel of all things and also of death.”

The exhibition features some of the outfits of Victor Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaac. He wears rich velvet that Hawley says is “old and worn.” Among the references del Toro and Hawley discussed was David Bowie. “Oscar mentioned Prince,” Hawley adds. Sculptors and painters including Damien Hirst, Picasso and Francis Bacon influenced Hawley's designs. She adds that Victor's appearance changes, reflecting the passage of time as he creates the Thing. “The clothes were getting more and more threadbare, so you know this has been going on for a few days now.”

While the ship from the Horizon movie is not on display, photographs and concept art reflect the craftsmanship with which the vessel was built, revealing the monumental task that lies ahead.

Deverell consulted with model ship maker Matthew Betts to ensure the design was historically accurate. In the end, the ship took six months to build, down to the skylights, dams, the ship's rudder, the ship's bell, and its bow, which was over 130 feet long.

Deverell explains, “We built it on a giant gimbal that actually moved when the Thing pushed it.”

Its centerpiece is Frankenstein's laboratory, where the final stages of The Creature take place. In addition to specially purchased wood that was sanded to make tables for the science lab, Deverell also talked about motifs and circles in architecture. “One of the first things Guillermo introduced was Medusa in a circle,” she explained. “This circle theme that we have that we will see everywhere, you see it on the ship.”

Del Toro adds, “The movie is a circle, and we use a lot of mirrors that represent circles. And the circles act as a halo for Victor because he starts telling the story like a saint. You think you're listening to Jesus, and then you realize you're listening to Charlie Manson.”

Composer Desplat knew del Toro wanted to tell the story of Frankenstein and his creature. It was just a matter of time. The duo, who worked on The Shape of Water and Pinocchio, began discussing the sound of the film more than two years ago. Exhibition visitors can sit in a section and watch Deplate and del Toro discuss the scoring process. The heart of Desplat's score lies in the sound of The Creature. Says Desplat: “We wanted the soul of the creature to be very delicate and fragile and would touch the audience. So we chose the smallest, most fragile and most beautiful instrument – the violin. This huge creature has a sound that is the pure and beautiful sound of classical instruments.”

Designing the Creature was a complex process that demonstrated the various stages of its design. The key, Hill said, was to make the creature feel like it came out of “the 1800s rather than like a modern creature.”

Elordi spent 10 hours in the makeup chair for the complete transformation. Notably, the Creature is not made from the standard corpse color. “What we were trying to do is basically expose the inside of the human body to the outside for everyone to see. That's why the veins are shown as clearly as they are,” Hill says.

The last creature intricately shows how Victor came together. “You see patterns where Victor took it apart, put it back on and decided it was wrong. So he's doing a person for the first time, so he doesn't get it right the first time. There are some patchworks, some mistakes, and that's what this body shows. We created this body. So you can literally see him pinning a leg together and stretching this person out to make him taller than the average person,” Hill says. “We decided that if you're going to create a man, you don't go out and put 10 bodies and whatnot together, what's the point of that? You get the best body you can get. And then you say, 'Okay, his arm was damaged in the war, so we have to replace the arm, his leg is damaged.' We have to replace her.”

In total, 42 parts were used in Elordi's full-body prosthetics, of which 14 were each on the head and neck. Explaining the design concept and how Victor Frankenstein put “The Creature” together, Hill says, “Basically you go for the best body you can find. It just happened to be Jacob Elordi's body.”

Frankenstein in numbers:

3 days of filming on the ice fields of Northern Ontario
23 locations in Canada
32 locations in the UK
23 Ontario locations
9 Longtime Del Toro Collaborators
119 sets
24 studio sets
3178 working days to build a ship
2830 working days for laboratory construction
1200 working days for the construction of the Tower facade
6 months to build a ship
15 model sets created
120 construction crews in Canada
24 teams of set decorators in Canada
1252 Background costumes
53 stunt suits
68 unique costumes for the main roles.
54 pieces of prosthetic silicon to create a creature
8 people for prosthetics
Prosthetics were used 50 times
10 hours of application for full body prosthetics

Tickets are free and can be booked through Selfridges website.