Editing Babylon 5 (section)

=== Costume ===
Ann Bruice Aling was costume designer for the show, after [[production designer]] John Iacovelli suggested her for the position, having previously worked with her on a number of film and theatrical productions.<ref name="Iacovelli3">{{cite AV media |title=Designing Tomorrow: The Look of Babylon 5 |year=2003 |people=Iacovelli, John |publisher=Warner Bros. Entertainment |medium=DVD Featurette - Babylon 5, Season 3 Box Set}}</ref>

With the variety of costumes required she compared ''Babylon 5'' to "eclectic theatre", with fewer rules about period, line, shape and textures having to be adhered to.<ref name="Bruice2">{{cite web |url=http://www.midwinter.com/b5/America-Online/bruice-iacovelli.txt |title=Behind the Scenes Interview with Ann Bruice Aling and John Iacovelli |last=Bruice Aling |first= Ann |date=October 15, 1995 |website=The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5 |publisher=OMNI Online, Archived on Midwinter.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120095916/http://www.midwinter.com/b5/America-Online/bruice-iacovelli.txt |archive-date=November 20, 2012|url-status=dead |access-date=February 8, 2019}}</ref> Preferring natural materials whenever possible, such as [[ostrich leather]] in the [[Narn]] body armor, Bruice combined and layered fabrics as diverse as rayon and silk with [[brocade]]s from the 1930s and '40s to give the clothing the appearance of having evolved within different cultures.<ref name="Bruice1">{{cite web |title=Online Chat Transcripts: Ann Bruice Aling and Kim Holly |last=Bruice Aling |first= Ann |date=May 21, 1998 |url=http://www.harrellnews.org/babylon5/transcripts/annbruicealingchat.html |publisher=Official B5 Fan Club |access-date=December 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426080858/http://www.harrellnews.org/babylon5/transcripts/annbruicealingchat.html |archive-date=April 26, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Kim1">{{cite news |title=Interview with Kim Holly, Babylon Podcast #45 |last=Holly |first=Kim |date=December 13, 2006 |url=http://www.babylonpodcast.com/2006/12/13/babylon-podcast-show-45/ |newspaper=The Babylon Podcast |access-date=December 28, 2011 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122161037/https://www.babylonpodcast.com/2006/12/13/babylon-podcast-show-45/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Quote box |quote=Often we try to coordinate the sensibilities of the aliens. I try to work with Optic Nerve to ensure that the head meets the body in some sensible way. We talk about similar qualities, textures and colors and the flow of the total being. Truthfully, often the look of the prosthetic comes somewhat earlier and from that I have an understanding of what direction to go. |source=— Ann Bruice Aling, 1995<ref name="Bruice2"/>|align=right |width=40% |salign=right}}With an interest in costume history, she initially worked closely with Straczynski to get a sense of the historical perspective of the major alien races, "so I knew if they were a peaceful people or a warring people, cold climate etc. and then I would interpret what kind of sensibility that called for."<ref name="Bruice1"/> Collaborating with other departments to establish co-ordinated visual themes for each race, a broad palette of colors was developed with Iacovelli, which he referred to as "spicy brights".<ref name="Iacovelli1">{{cite video |people=Iacovelli, John (Production Designer) |date=August 17, 2004 |title=Babylon 5: The Movie Collection, Disc 5 Extras: "Creating the Future" |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105946/dvd#B0002B15UQ |medium=DVD |publisher=Warner Home Video |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209101353/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105946/dvd#B0002B15UQ |archive-date=February 9, 2006 |access-date=December 6, 2009 |id={{UPC|085393343729}}|isbn=0-7907-9132-3}} Alt URL http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56388948 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722064626/https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56388948 |date=July 22, 2020 }}<!-- original cite: Babylon 5: The Movie Collection, disc 5, "Creating the Future". --></ref> These warm shades of gray and secondary colors, such as certain blues for the [[Minbari]], would often be included when designing both the costumes and relevant sets. As the main characters evolved, Bruice referred back to Straczynski and producer John Copeland who she viewed as "surprisingly more accessible to me as advisors than other producers and directors", so the costumes could reflect these changes. Ambassador [[Londo Mollari]]'s purple coat became dark blue and more tailored while his waistcoats became less patterned and brightly colored as Bruice felt "Londo has evolved in my mind from a buffoonish character to one who has become more serious and darker."<ref name="Bruice2"/>

Normally there were three changes of costume for the primary actors; one for on set, one for the stunt double and one on standby in case of "coffee spills". For human civilians, garments were generally purchased [[Ready-to-wear|off-the-rack]] and altered in various ways, such as removing lapels from jackets and shirts while rearranging [[Hook-and-eye closure|closures]], to suggest future fashions. For some of the main female characters a more [[Haute couture|couture]] approach was taken, as in the suits worn by [[Talia Winters]], which Bruice described as being designed and fitted to within "an inch of their life". Costumes for the destitute residents of downbelow would be distressed through a combination of bleaching, sanding, dipping in dye baths and having stage blood added.<ref name="Bruice1"/>

Like many of the crew on the show, members of the costume department made onscreen [[Cameo appearance|cameos]]. During the season 4 episode "[[Atonement (Babylon 5)|Atonement]]", the tailors and costume supervisor appeared as the Minbari women fitting [[Zack Allan]] for his new uniform as the recently promoted head of security. His complaints, and the subsequent stabbing of him with a needle by costume supervisor Kim Holly, was a light-hearted reference to the previous security uniforms, a design carried over from the pilot movie, which was difficult to work with and wear due to the combination of leather and wool.<ref name="Kim1"/>