Since the release of the live-action remake film Aladdin, I've been on a bit of an Arabian Nights kick so I figured it wouldn't hurt for my first design 'study' to be about one of the most unique princesses (and my personal favorite) to come out of the Disney Renaissance Era, Princess Jasmine.
In the 1992 film, Aladdin, Princess Jasmine is the daughter of the Sultan who resides over the kingdom of Agrabah, a vast city full of mystery and wonder. She is headstrong, poised, full of purpose, and is beautiful both on the outside and in. Jasmine's emergence on the scene marked the creation of Disney's first non-white, non European princess introducing us into a whole new world of visual splendor full of ancient Near Eastern influence. Today, I am focusing particularly on inner workings of Jasmine's costume design and the cultural aspects that impacted how her signature ensemble came to be. I think Jasmine's design background is quite rich and full of great history so studying her was quite exciting and there's still so much I hope to cover in future (hence why this is separated in parts). Alright, enough of my rambling. Let's get started!
The Basics
There were two key players responsible in Jasmine's overall design: Mark Henn and Bill Perkins (art director). The former, was Jasmine's principle animator and designer. Struggling to find the right face model for the princess, Henn ended up basing Jasmine's face structure after his sister Beth Henn (pictured below) - notice the similarities?
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| Mark Henn, 1990s. The photograph of the lady in this picture is his sister, Beth Henn, would serve as inspiration for Jasmine's facial features. |
Jasmine's facial structure is both well defined and soft. Similar to Mark's sister, she has high cheekbones, a sharp smile, and big, sensual eyes. The soft and sharp points in Jasmine's facial structure all work together to compliment one the most important aspects of her overall design: her lines.
Part of Bill Perkins' (Aladdin's art director) mission was that he wanted to incorporate influences of the Middle East all throughout the film not only in set design, but in the character designs as well. For Jasmine, it was Perkins who decided that her design be based off the famous mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. Although located in India, the Taj Mahal was built at a time during the Mughal Empire when Persianate culture flourished due to Mughal Emperors having significant Persian ancestry. The mausoleum is one of the greatest, standing examples of Persian influence and design in South Asia. You will probably see me mention Persia several times in this blog as it was referenced a lot in designing Jasmine. When you look at the princess, pay attention to those contrasting sharp and soft points I mentioned earlier (I also posted a diagram from my Instagram account below). Notice how the crown of Jasmine's head, the shape of her her hair, and hips are rounded and give off a similar appearance to that of the Taj Mahal's onion dome. Next, take in her sharp points (waist, ends of her bubble ponytail, and pointy shoes). Her cinched waist not only gives her the perfect hourglass figure, but it also creates a tapered look atop her rounded out hips. Interestingly enough, if you flip Jasmine upside down, you'll see that her waist-to-bust proportions appear similar - cinched waist (sharp) and rounder bust (round). This aspect about Jasmine is something I had often overlooked prior to learning about her designs but now it's hard to miss!
The Signature Look
Jasmine's Color Palette
It may just be me but I've always found Jasmine's costume coloring somewhat puzzling. Depending on where you look, Jasmine's 2-piece outfit and hair accessories can appear light blue, turquoise, or somewhere in between. Through my research, I've concluded that Jasmine's clothing is actually a combination of light blue and light turquoise. Keeping her outfit on the blue spectrum is likely part of Disney's ode to their princesses who often wear blue or at least have the color incorporated in their ensembles.
When examining color theory, blue is one of the most complex colors as its meanings vary depending on its depth. Light blue symbolizes the sky and water and as result, it is often associated with the words such as peace, serenity, ethereal, spiritual, and infinity (source). Something that's always stood out me is that when we are first introduced to Princess Jasmine, her blue clad form is spotted sitting by a gorgeous peacock fountain. The water shooting from the fountain takes on such a pretty hue and almost matches the blue of her outfit - as if this fountain was made just for her. In this introductory scene, we are shown how significant blue is in terms of how it represents Jasmine. The divine qualities of blue represent Jasmine's compassionate, calming, and adventurous nature. It also gives her a dreamy and airy quality (the way she moves often looks as if she's walking on clouds). Water is symbolic for Jasmine as well as it symbolizes her steadfast personality, always finding a way around tight situations when she feels trapped.
Turquoise is a mineral stone that was once prized in ancient societies. Sometimes regarded as the "Jewel of the Orient," turquoise was believed to be discovered in Persia and eventually made its way to other societies via trading (the Silk Road and Royal Road) and Persia's rise in power during the Mughal Empire (source). In terms of association turquoise once represented power and wisdom, prized among kings, shamans, and warriors. Marveled for its unique pigment, the stone was incorporated into a variety of things such as jewelry, clothing, architecture (it can found in the Taj Mahal), etc and it was often combined with gold creating a very regal aesthetic. Given Jasmine's status as princess of Agrabah and daughter of a Sultan, it would make sense for Bill Perkins and Mark Henn to design her costume palette around this color. as it honors her Arabic her heritage.
I also wanted to mention a secondary color in Jasmine's color palette and that's gold. It is a staple in Jasmine's wardrobe and for an understandable reason. All throughout history, gold has represented wealth and prestige and the more one has it, the higher they are regarded in terms of social standing. In Agrabah, there are a variety of social classes ranging from the extremely poor (i.e. Aladdin) to the wealthy elite (i.e. the Sultan) so it makes sense that the princess would adorn herself in gold. Jasmine's gold jewelry offsets her blue ensemble. Where blue represents her free-spirited nature, gold reminds us that she is still someone of prestige. However, despite being royalty Jasmine keeps her accessorizing to a minimum - no bracelets, rings belts, etc - likely because she has no interest in flaunting her wealth.
A Princess That Doesn't Wear A Dress?
One aspect about Jasmine that's always intrigued me is that her signature style omits dresses or fancy gowns. Sure, she might wear a dress (or at least something more conservative) on special occasions but when it comes to everyday wear, you better believe she's rocking her iconic two-piece outfit with her cropped, tube top and long, baggy pants.
But what exactly is Jasmine's signature look and how did it come to be? Well, to answer the first question, Jasmine's costume is supposedly meant to resemble that of Arabian (specifically Ottoman Turkish) Harem women (source) and this is clearly evident when you compare her ensemble to the slightly more revealing fashions that the actual Harem girls in Aladdin wore (pictured below).
It is not specified why they chose to give a Sultan's daughter this type of attire, but it is known that the styles of Ottoman women would become a thing of interest in the West around the 19th century which, saw increased interactions between Ottomans and the British. British women who traveled to the Ottoman Empire took a particular in the pants that Ottoman women wore called şalvar. These type of trousers are famously known for their bagginess while gathering at the ankles and can be worn by both men and women. This ambiguity in fashion intrigued British women because at the time, European clothing was quite gendered and heavy. A woman couldn't wear pants without being ridiculed for trying to look masculine. From a British woman's perspective, the şalvar made both a fashion and political statement, representing freedom and equity. Eventually, these pants would controversially become known in the west as "Harem Pants."
So, in terms of Jasmine's design it is likely that Henn and Perkins wanted to include the şalvar in her wardrobe as a way to highlight her own free spirited, non-conformist personality. It is also much easier to move around in pants as opposed to a dress or skirt...especially when one needs to escape the palace and roam the kingdom every once and a while. However, I do believe that Jasmine's outfit is more of a loose interpretation of the harem style because the design of her top does not match the traditional styles that women of the harem wore. In fact, Jasmine's ensemble also reminds me of the bedlah costume which, is a Middle Eastern belly dancer's costume referencing back to Egypt. A bedlah costume often consists of a similar styling - cropped or bra-like top that exposes the midriff paired with the baggier, harem pants. If you compare Jasmine's outfit with the bedlah, you'll see the resemblances. (source)
The Shoes
The flat, upturned-toe shoe Jasmine wears is a typical fashion piece among the elite of Agrabah. It is an interesting style of footwear that is rooted in Asia tracing all the way back to 1500 B.C.. A shoe of many names (Mojari, Khussa, "Turkish Slipper," Saleem Shahi's, Genie Slippers) - we'll call them Mojari for the purpose of this blog since it has the closest resemblance to Jasmine's shoes - it is not known what their practical purposes were but they definitely made quite the fashion statement. A symbol of status, these shoes were especially popular among kings and sultans and would even have them embellished to further emphasize their wealthy status. While the length of the shoes varied for men, who often preferred them quite long, the length for women was relatively shorter. (Source: 1, 2)
The Sapphire Headband
Lastly, I want to discuss a very distinct article in Jasmine's signature ensemble and that is her headband. It consists of a simple light blue (or light turquoise) band with a sapphire gem encrusted in gold placed in the center. The origin of the Sapphire links us back to ancient Persia where this gemstone was regarded as a divine symbol. "Sapphires have been prized as great gemstones since 800BC. Rulers of ancient Persia believed the sky was painted blue by the reflection of sapphire stones....The sapphire has, for centuries, been seen as a symbol of the heavens, a guardian of innocence, a bestower of truth, a promoter of good health, and a preserver of chastity. It is believed to brings gifts of fulfillment, joy, prosperity, inner peace and beauty. Some wore it to ward off illness or as protection while traveling" (source). Ancient kings often incorporated Sapphire into their wardrobes as a way to demonstrate their nobility and they believed the sapphire had protective properties.
In the diagram above, I've included a few examples of how sapphire is always seen in Jasmine's outfits whether it's her everyday get up or something more formal. The vibrant blue of the sapphire stands out amongst her clothing and serves as a visual marker of her identity - emphasizing that she is indeed royalty. She is the only character in the film who wears this stone which indicates that there is a personal connection between the two. 1. Sapphires have an incredibly rich blue hue and we are well aware of how important blue is for Jasmine's character. 2. Sapphire is said to indicate wisdom and one of Jasmine's shining traits is how wise she is for her age on top of being intelligent. This is probably one of the most important items of clothing that Jasmine adorns and whenever she needs to disguise herself, she covers her headband to conceal her identity. It also protects her in times of need. The moment she must face the palace guards after posing as a peasant woman, she removes the hood of her cloak and the guards immediately submit to her. In this case, we see how jewels can several purposes whether it's simply to accessorize or denote levels of power.
Wrap-Up
I hope you all enjoyed this look into costuming Princess Jasmine. I do wish there was more information readily available regarding her design however, I hope I was able to fill you in on as much detail as possible (if you didn't already know it that is). Princess Jasmine is a real gem and I think her costuming highlights that. I can't wait to talk about her more in upcoming posts. With that said, thanks for reading!
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