Kiera Knightly’s Atonement dress that everyone wanted wasn’t actually a dress
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00:00Long before Brat Green, there was Keira Knightley's emerald green dress in Atonement.
00:05Ever since the film came out in 2007 and was quickly voted the greatest film costume ever
00:10in a Sky Movies InStyle poll, it's been unforgettable, with fashionistas like
00:15Victoria Beckham and Alexa Chung attempting their own imitations years later.
00:19People loved this shade of green,
00:21even though back in 2007 it was considered a bit of a rogue cue for a movie costume.
00:27Film critics have speculated about what this shade of green symbolises.
00:31During the time the film was set, jewel tones such as emerald were, in fashion, signifying wealth.
00:37Although according to colour theory, the green could signify abundance of nature,
00:42others have speculated that it shows mystery or menace.
00:46The author of the book Atonement, Ian McEwan,
00:48dedicated several pages to his character Cecilia's process of choosing her outfit.
00:53He writes that when she put it on, it was a mermaid who rose to meet her in her own
00:58full-length mirror. Scroll through Etsy and you'll find artisan versions.
01:02But it doesn't matter how hard you try, you probably won't be able to replicate the look,
01:08even if you do have Keira Knightley's bone structure.
01:11Because the designer Jacqueline Duran made this costume with impossibly thin,
01:15fragile silk, complete with many replicas in case one ripped on set.
01:20Her work is absolutely incredible.
01:21It's meant to be seen, not worn, just because of how iconic it is and how specific it is.
01:27Duran says that although it was impractical,
01:29a thicker material wouldn't have hung the same way, or clung to her body as well.
01:33Also, I'm sorry to ruin the illusion, but it's not actually a dress.
01:36It's a skirt, sash and top.
01:38If you go through the process of trying to make something that someone has created,
01:43you sort of, you learn how much you don't know about the process.
01:47It was sort of an unrecreatable dress in general.
01:50Oh, and you might not have noticed, but Keira Knightley deliberately wears
01:53three slightly different shades of green in this sequence.
01:56They bought reams of white silk and dyed it different colours.
02:00Initially, her dress is a bright green,
02:01while for a raunchy scene in the library, her dress is darker.
02:04Anyway, if you don't know the story,
02:06Keira Knightley wears the costume when her little sister's mind is playing a trick on her.
02:10And this iconic green dress, I mean three three-piece outfits, are one hell of a trick.