Capitol Couture

Capitol Couture was headed by marketing executive, Tim Palen, and was active for more than 3 years. The website is no longer accessible. However, its posts can be accessed through an archive on Tumblr. It was a website where fans could interact with the trilogy in a highly unique manner and learn more about what happened in the movies behind the scenes.

Key Facts

• Years Active: 23 January 2012 to 20 November 2015
• Created by: Watson Design Group
• Marketing campaigns: Portrait Campaign, Game Faces Campaign, District Heroes Campaign, Victory Tour Poster Campaign, Assorted Fashion Campaigns
• Headed by: Tim Palen

History of Capitol Couture

“As the warm air turns cold, we take a moment to reflect. Capitol Couture has always promised to break the rules, and this issue is no exception. Trends come and go, so do regimes. Self-expression is forever”

Tagline of Capitol Couture on Tumblr

Lionsgate Entertainment enlisted the services of Watson Design Group to create two promotional websites for ‘The Hunger Games’ films. One was TheCapitol.PN and the other was Capitol Couture. Capitol Couture was created as a fashion magazine that sought to merge fashion icons in the real world with fashion from the trilogy. The magazine was released in 5 issues.

The Capitol Couture domain is now defunct and can no longer be accessed. However, all of its previous posts can be accessed through the Capitol Couture Tumblr. The blog feature of Tumblr has around 400 Capitol Couture posts, which fans can view and share easily.

Popular Marketing Campaigns

Capitol Couture had three main popular marketing campaigns that were released before the release of the later ‘Hunger Games’ films. The campaigns were created to expand in-world storytelling while exploring fashion trends in the Capitol through a five-issue fashion magazine.

The Portrait Campaign for ‘Catching Fire’

The first campaign that was created by Tim Palen was the Capitol portraits that were released on March 28 and 29, 2013. 11 portraits were posted with the last one being that of the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen.

The portraits resemble oil paintings by vintage artists. Of the 11 portraits, 5 were of tributes that would participate in the 75th Hunger Games – Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Johanna Mason, Finnick Odair, and Beetee Latier. These 5 are shown wearing the same costumes that they would wear in the pre-Games interview with Caesar Flickerman.

The other 6 portraits include both main characters and supporting characters – Gale Hawthorne, who is shown wearing his regular worn-out clothes from District 12, President Snow in a regal suit with a white rose in his lapel, Haymitch Abernathy (played by Woody Harrelson) in a simple gray T-shirt and a blue and white blazer, Effie Trinket in a frilly red dress and frilly red boots, Caesar Flickerman in a striking dark green and gold suit with pink hair and finally, Cinna dressed in black from head to toe.

All of the characters except Katniss, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence, are sitting on a chair in the portrait. The five tributes are given straight-backed wooden chairs, while the characters from the Capitol are given various upholstered and ornate chairs. Katniss Everdeen is the only one standing beside the chair with one hand on its back. All tributes carry a single white rose in their hand.

The Game Faces Campaign for ‘Catching Fire’

This was a campaign that began on August 13, 2013 with a portrait of Katniss Everdeen in her arena uniform. 10 more portraits of victors who would participate in the most recent Quarter Quell would be posted sporadically over the next few months.

The subsequent portraits featured Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), Mags Flanagan, Beetee Latier (Jeffrey Wright), Wiress (Amanda Plummer), Johanna Mason, Finnick Odair, Gloss, Brutus, Enobaria, and Cashmere. All were shown wearing arena uniforms. They were placed against a background of misty white and gray clouds in the sky, with their names printed below. The text below the names said “Quarter Quell Lookbook”.

Only the portraits of Katniss and Peeta had the number 75 behind them with a Mockingjay inside the number. They also had the district numbers written in the portrait.

Each portrait was posted along with four scores: coif, pout, poise, and an overall style score. The characters were rated on a scale of 1 to 10 in these four categories. Along with the scores, a short write-up was published about the characters’ general appearance and personality. This included opinions about the stylist and the prep team’s work on the tribute. The write-up also sometimes revealed previously unknown information about the characters. This included information not revealed either in the books or the movies about the previous Hunger Games that the characters won.

The portraits contributed to and expanded the ‘Hunger Games’ canon in various ways. For instance, it is through this campaign that fans discovered that Enobaria is the victor of the 62nd Hunger Games and that she was a volunteer tribute for this edition.

“Our dearest District 12 tribute Katniss never disappoints. Her natural, unadorned beauty inspires us all in the Capitol to flirt with simplicity. If only we were all blessed with her majestic stance and natural assets—especially that preternaturally long neck and regal gaze.”

Katniss’ write-up for the Game Faces Campaign

Living Portraits for ‘Mockingjay Part – 1’

Two promotional video portraits were released on July 22, 2014, one of Peeta Mellark and the other of Johanna Mason. Both of them are dressed in pure white and are standing still on a rotating platform.

The two of them appear in the same clothes in a third promotional video, which was President Snow’s (played by Donald Sutherland) second Presidential Address to Panem.

Assorted Fashion Campaigns

Capitol Couture was a site where in-world fashion met real-world fashion icons. For instance, stylist Trish Summerville revealed her thoughts behind Effie Trinket’s wardrobe for the Victory Tour in one of the campaigns.

“I chose this design [for Effie] to appear vibrant, cheery, and over-the-top in true Capitol fashion, for President Snow and all the viewers”.

Trish Summerville on Effie Trinket’s wardrobe

The website ran several other campaigns, including a campaign for Capitol Couture eyewear.

“…the new solar-paneled sunglasses emit healing electrons that balance the immune system and soothe nerves. A built-in CT scanner allows the wearer to screen the body and major organs, as well. An inner-display inside the right lens updates with dispatches from the Capitol that inform on everything from the latest district imports to ever-changing Hunger Games odds. How clever to let us track the glamorous lives of our beloved victors like Katniss and Peeta.”

Capitol Couture Eyewear Campaign

In one of the campaigns, Capitol Couture announced Monica Corcoran Harel as its new editor-in-chief. The post consisted of real-world information about Harel and her work, intertwined with fiction from the trilogy.

“Cinna and I met in fifth grade and we bonded over our mutual adoration for vintage Givenchy. He designed a leather bustier for me to wear to prom,” says Corcoran Harel, who started out as a writer for InStyle, covering red carpet galas and profiling celebrities.”

Monica Corcoran Harel on Capitol Couture

District Heroes Campaign for ‘Mockingjay Part – 1’

Capitol Couture began a District Heroes campaign on June 19th, 2014. Seven portraits of district citizens were released as Pro-Capitol propaganda. These victors are not mentioned in any of the books or the movies. These are independent characters created by Capitol Couture as advertisements for the upcoming film.

The portraits included Fabia Bisette from District 3, Naida Dolan from District 4, Malcolm Kastel from District 6, Elias Haan from District 7, Triti Lancaster from District 9, Felix Stam from District 10, and Lily Elsington from District 12.

Victory Tour Poster Campaign for ‘Mockingjay Part – 2’

Capitol Couture launched a marketing campaign for the upcoming movie, ‘Mockingjay Part – 2’ on November 9th, 2015. The campaign began with a set of two iconic Victory Tour posters of Porter Millicent Tripp, an original Capitol Couture character who was introduced to the fans as the winner of the 38th Hunger Games. The young woman suffered a spinal injury during the Games and wore a head brace during her Victory Tour.

On November 11th, two more posters of Mags Flanagan showcasing eye-catching and heroic imagery during her Victory Tour followed. It is here that her last name is revealed as Flanagan for the first time. It is also here that fans discover that she is the victor of the 11th Hunger Games.

On November 13th, the last set of posters was published. These posters were of Augustus Braun, another original Capitol Couture character who was introduced to the fans as the winner of the 67th Hunger Games. Augustus Braun is hailed as ‘Panem’s favorite son’ and the ‘Cavalier Career.’

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