Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      From the casts of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever  and The Walking Dead  to Chris Pine and Regé Jean-Page, see who dropped by EW's Comic-Con headquarters at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. Read More
    • Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Go behind the scenes of Amazon Prime Video’s ambitious fantasy epic, which hopes to introduce J.R.R. Tolkien to a new generation. Read More
    • Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be more to learn about the high-profile defamation trial, more than 6,000 pages of court docs were released over the weekend. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Movies
  3. A whole new wardrobe: How Aladdin's costumes were created

A whole new wardrobe: How Aladdin's costumes were created

By Kevin P. Sullivan May 21, 2019 at 12:00 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Dressing the characters

ALADDIN Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Mena Massoud as Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

Aladdin costume designer Michael Wilkinson created timeless garments from exquisite jewel-tone fabrics to help tell the story of a princess and a street rat, a sultan, and a vizier. Read on to see how he came up with the looks seen in the live-action film.

1 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jasmine (in disguise)

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

When it came to creating the look Jasmine (Naomi Scott) wears as she wanders through Agrabah hoping not to be recognized, costume designer Michael Wilkinson opted for neutral fabrics with just a hint of vibrant blue-green.

2 of 14

3 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

A touch of turquoise

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

"I wanted all of her costumes to have a tease of turquoise, so it becomes her iconic motif," Wilkinson says. "You see it repeated again and again until you see the whole turquoise costume in the middle of the film." Pairing her split skirt with trousers hinted at her nature as a more "fluid and modern" princess, Wilkinson notes.

3 of 14

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Aladdin

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

Let's face it — Aladdin's vest-and-no-shirt look from the 1992 animated film is wildly impractical. Still, with an eye toward honoring that original ensemble, Wilkinson mined the character's personality for inspiration. "With Aladdin, he is a street kid who lives by his wit and his audacity," he says. "He's very streetwise, so we wanted him to have a bit of swagger."

4 of 14

Advertisement

5 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Street style

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

Wilkinson gave Mena Massoud's diamond-in-the-rough striped pants as well as a striped shirt and added a hood to his vest. A pair of custom leather shoes completed the ensemble.

5 of 14

6 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jasmine (in magenta)

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

In addition to filling out Jasmine's life with a new friend and handmaiden, Dalia, the live-action Aladdin tells us more about the princess' mother. "In our film Jasmine wears clothing inspired by South Asian countries to honor her late mother," Wilkinson says. "A lot of Jasmine's costumes have a slightly different feel to the rest of Agrabah, the country that her mother made her home, which distinguishes her from the rest of the looks."

6 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Bright and bold

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

That difference is on display in this magenta dress — with turquoise accents, of course.

7 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jasmine (in orange)

Naomi Scott as Jasmine
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

One of the first steps toward expanding Jasmine's style was broadening her color palette. Wilkinson dressed Scott in bright colors, such as oranges and fuchsias, as a reference to her inner character. "Jasmine is a very modern Disney princess, so she could really carry off these very strong colors," Wilkinson says. "We thought that she would have a very bold personal style because she is a very confident woman."

8 of 14

Advertisement

9 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Formal wear

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

The character's inner turmoil also played out in the structure of her clothing. Wilkinson kept her palace-wear rigid, while private outfits had a looser, more relaxed fit.

9 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Sultan

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

A sultan should look like — well — royalty, so Wilkinson didn't want to settle for the near-monochromatic outfit that Jasmine's dear old dad wore in the animated film. That's why he draped actor Navid Negahban in bright oranges and greens.

10 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Fit for a sultan

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

The final, essential touches were the finishes: an osprey feather for his headdress and buttons and belts Wilkinson found in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. "We wanted to layer the colors and fabrics in the most sumptuous and surprising eye-catching way," Wilkinson says. "That was a wonderful challenge, to find the most lovely, lavish fabrics to express the wealth and the power of the sultan's palace."

11 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jafar

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

For Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), the filmmakers built out the character's backstory, making his high-ranking position in the Agrabah government a little more plausible (lest audiences wonder why the sultan would place his faith in such a clearly untrustworthy adviser). Jafar's wardrobe reflected those embellishments.

12 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Man in uniform

Aladdin
Credit: Daniel Smith/Disney

"[Jafar] has these military plans for the future," Wilkinson says. "With the armor and some of the more formal looks, it almost looks like a dress uniform that he's wearing when he's in the court." Much remained the same from the animated version, however. His costumes are largely black and red, and his turban is adorned with a single feather.

13 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 14

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
TAL_COV_2A.indd
Credit: © Disney

Pick up a copy of Entertainment Weekly’s Ultimate Guide to Aladdin on newsstands today, or buy it online.

14 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Kevin P. Sullivan

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 14 Dressing the characters
    2 of 14 Jasmine (in disguise)
    3 of 14 A touch of turquoise
    4 of 14 Aladdin
    5 of 14 Street style
    6 of 14 Jasmine (in magenta)
    7 of 14 Bright and bold
    8 of 14 Jasmine (in orange)
    9 of 14 Formal wear
    10 of 14 Sultan
    11 of 14 Fit for a sultan
    12 of 14 Jafar
    13 of 14 Man in uniform
    14 of 14

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    A whole new wardrobe: How Aladdin's costumes were created
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.