2024
Paramount Pictures
2000
DreamWorks Pictures
Universal Pictures
Gladiator I & II
DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
COSTUME DESIGN: Janty Yates, David Crossman
Gladiator was the first time FBFX worked on a Ridley Scott production, and it was the start of a relationship that would span decades.
It was also our first time working with costume designer Janty Yates, who we’ve gone on to create wonderful spacesuits with, not to mention thousands upon thousands of soldiers!
Costumes we created for Gladiator included three armour designs for Joaquin Phoenix’s Emperor Commodus: black and silver, brown leather with gold, and white for the final fight. We also made the Tigris of Gaul armour and gold armour for three female gladiators.
We built two enormous battle wagons - designed by brilliant draughtsman Cliff Robinson - for Emperor Commodus and his staff. A terrific project to sink our teeth into, though we’re no longer in the vehicle manufacturing business.
A huge part of the job was making costumes for 800 Praetorian Guards. This was a year or so before we started polyurethane spraying and all the armour for this job was made using vac forming, a far more labour-intensive process. While vac formed ABS isn’t as strong as polyurethane, it stood up well to the stuntwork and action.
Gladiator was a pivotal job for FBFX and fondly remembered, so when we were asked to revisit the Praetorian Guard for Gladiator II, we jumped at the chance.
Much had changed in the intervening 25 years. This time, the armour was made from spray polyurethane and based on fantastic digital concept models from co-costume designer David Crossman and his in-house team.
Armour was digitally sculpted by concept artist and modeller Sam Williams to retain the feeling of being handworked, with our digital team remodelling over the top of the concept art to make sure we captured every detail. It’s important not to build in perfection with historical recreations; handcrafted armour would not have been flawlessly symmetrical.
One new element of the new Praetorian Guard was the fully articulated scale skirts. Handcast in strips in a soft rubber with a metal finish and fixed to a fabric garment, they were an evolution of the polyurethane scale mail skirts we made for Ridley Scott’s biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings.
All the armour was art finished by FBFX’s paint team.
In 2024, we had the opportunity to bring the old and new Praetorian costumes together for a video by Adam Savage and Tested, you can watch the video here.