Discussing the Wardrobe and Fashion on “Alone/Together”

I personally watched Alone/Together in the cinema when I was 15 years old in high school. I was with an ex-partner when I watched this film, this stage of my life was the peak of my interest in literature and movies that is why this film is very memorable for me.

Alone/Together is a film released in 2019, starring Liza Soberano as Christine and Enrique Gil as Raf. The story of the film revolves around the two characters’ relationship which started through a silly interaction and debate at the museum where Tin works at. Although the two are studying at different universities and walking different dreams, the two still manage to imagine their futures together, not until a single event changed their plans forever.

In this entry, I will not discuss the story and representation of the film in our society like I usually do. This time, I would like to focus more on the wardrobe of the characters in this film which I think is a commonly overlooked element of a movie or production.

Alone/Together for me gives off a great sense of nostalgia and calmness. The color grading, the locations, and most especially the wardrobe contributed effectively to extending the feeling of nostalgia, college life, and professional setting.

The example images from the film above alone perfectly depict the feeling that I am talking about. In Alone/Together, Tin and Raf can be often seen wearing simple and comfortable yet colorful clothes, which I expected to see since they are college students. Their colorful clothes can be a symbolism of youth and the happiness that they are feeling while they are together; for them, the whole world is vibrant. Their outfits are also reminiscent of the 90’s.

Meanwhile, these example scenes above are from when Tin and Raf part ways and did not see each other for years. The wardrobe of this film is very smart because we can witness the shift of vibrance to dull and muted colors of their clothes, especially Tin who wore mostly black, grey, and white. The color choice for the outfits did not only symbolize the emotion that the characters are feeling at the moment but also a representation of the big change in their life; in this part of the film, Tin and Raf are already working so the wardrobe can also mean maturity and change of personality. As they stumbled upon a problem they could not fix, the world became dull and lifeless.

Alone/Together is just one example of many films that use wardrobe to extend the emotions of their characters and the changes they are going through life. It just shows that the wardrobe is just as interesting as the other elements of production. It is fun to be an observant audience especially when you are an aspirant filmmaker or maybe a fashion icon too. As an experienced filmmaker myself, I had a lot of fun picking out the clothes to be worn by the actors, it is also very fulfilling when you see everything fit together and look good on camera.