Costuming Artemisia from 300: Rise of an Empire (Gold)

It’s been four years since I joined a fitness based costume group that gets together once a year for DragonCon in Atlanta. My first costume with the group was Artemisia from an early scene in the second 300 film (300: Rise of an Empire) was a striking red dress with maybe 10 seconds of screen time (long enough for her to kill everyone in Xerxes’ palace). But I drooled over Eva Green’s entire Artemisia’s wardrobe and wanted to also make the seductive gold dress she wears on her private barge. Villains have the best wardrobes!

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I purchased the art book (300: Rise of an Empire: The Art of the Film), a very helpful reference for several of the costumes from the film, including my husband’s Themistocles costume. And I watched that scene screenshotting every second to get all the angles (if you’ve seen the film, you know how awkward this particular task was…but for the art)!

So I purchased black/gold stretchy knit from our fabric store in Houston and gathered supplies from Amazon. The base structure would be the corset and the main dress looked exactly like a sari/saree wrapped in the opposite direction than traditionally worn.

The corset was a cheap one (Satin Strapless Overbust Corset (Beige)), but it didn’t need to be nice for this (I wear a bustier underneath anyway). I removed the ribbon lacing and extended the left breast of the corset to accommodate that odd belt around her shoulder. I covered the entire thing in a cheap gold mesh scarf (Sheer Bridal Womens Scarf with Fringe – Gold), yes with hot glue. I also painted the silver metal closures gold with a paint pen.

I also made a brass necklace with a Tugra coin and three red evil eyes from Istanbul. In that scene it isn’t clear exactly what the pendant or what the three red beads were, nor were they shown when she had her dress on, so this was my interpretation of her necklace.

I also purchased gold hot fix studs (3mm Gold Metal Gems Round Hot fix Studs – 1000 Pieces) for the shoulder belt thing (Neotrims Faux Imitation Leatherette Ribbon 10mm (1cm), Beige), gold wiring (Beadsmith 16 Gauge Tarnish Resistant Copper Wire, 7.3m/8 yd, Gold) that “attaches” the shoulder belt to the corset, and a gold cuff bracelet (COUYA Wide Grooved Cuff Bangle Women Stainless Steel Shiny Bracelet, Select Gold).

I didn’t bother with the right breast, this would be covered. Besides the boning (Dritz Featherlite Boning, 12-Yard) in the belt prevents me from raising that arm, so I need my right arm to be functional.

I had my husband drill three holes in the bracelet and I added gold screw bolts (Round Flat Studs and Spikes Metal ScrewBack For Leathercraft Punk DIY – Gold, 8mm x 7mm, 30 PCS By eART).

I used an awl to poke the gold wire through the corset, and bent it in place on the inside. It doesn’t really scratch.

For the belt, I used more boning and covered it in gold fabric to get the shape I wanted. I sewed in a hook and eye for an easy closure. I had enough gold stud ribbon leftover from my first Artemesia costume to use for the belt, so I sprayed it gold and individually cut out the studs I needed. Note: the studs on the belt are intentionally larger than the studs on the shoulder belt at the top of the corset.

For the dress part…again, it is exactly an Indian sari/saree wrapped in the opposite direction that is traditionally worn. I purchased a black sari petticoat (India Crafts (TM Sari Petticoat Stitched Saree Petticoat Adjustable Waist Sari Skirt Inskirt (Black)) and pre-stitched the pleated sari skirt at the waist so I can put it on quickly, and the rest is wrapped around the body and thrown over the shoulder. I did a basting stitch at the shoulder to keep the pleats in place, and the back is safety pinned at the top of the corset to prevent it from falling down. YouTube the process, it’s fairly simple!

I wore this costume as a dress rehearsal at Comicpalooza in Houston last May (above), and then at DragonCon during the parade in September (below, also including post-parade shenanigans with my husband and Spartan brothers and sisters). I love it and can’t wait to wear it again this year.