PERIOD DRAMA 1788 – 1805

PRIZEFIGHTER: THE LIFE OF JEM BELCHER

Amazon Studios · Costume Designer

DIRECTOR — Daniel Graham

PRODUCER — Chris Hardman, Matt Hookings

SERIES TRAILER

THE DESIGN

Spanning the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Prizefighter follows the rise and fall of bare-knuckle boxing champion Jem Belcher. The costume design was structured around three distinct chapters of his life, using changing fabrics, colour palettes and silhouettes to reflect his journey from poverty to fame and eventual decline.

Jem’s early world was defined by hardship, with heavily aged and broken-down costumes in earthy, muted tones. Coarse linens, mill sacking, reclaimed sailcloth and worn fabrics helped establish the working-class environments of Bristol’s docks and boxing yards. In contrast, his rise to champion introduced the luxury and excess of London high society: sumptuous textiles, lustrous finishes, cashmere and delicate sheers. Jem’s newfound wealth was reflected in increasingly flamboyant, sometimes ostentatious clothing, with the colours of the English flag becoming a recurring expression of his fame and identity. A large number of costumes were custom designed and made for the film, along with custom reproduction period sports footwear, boxing gloves and other key sports equipment items, heavily reseeached and reproduced in period accurate materials.

As his fortunes declined, the palette darkened and his appearance became sleeker, more sophisticated but progressively dishevelled. Across the production, extensive costume construction, bespoke principal costumes and large-scale period crowd dressing helped realise these contrasting worlds within demanding production constraints.

“The period costumes and production design looks great”

– Keith Garlington · Keith & the Movies · 29 June 2022

“lavish production values.”

– CityAM · Victoria Luxford · 22 July 2022