Mr Benn

The same character, completely transformed by a costume!

Mr Benn was created by David Mckee and I wanted to revisit this childhood classic in search of how I could use outfits to create stories and characters. Mckee hasn't just invented these costumes - they need to be identifiable to the young child audience as a specific occupation, e.g. 'chef' or 'astronaut'.

There has obviously been some research into the costumes that Mr Benn wears.

The costume design and historical information is what gives Mr Benn a firm grounding and makes the stories exciting. 

'that was very influential, that feeling of the back streets and the cobbles, on the drawing of Mr Benn in the early books. And even the costume shop; there was a second-hand shop – it wasn’t a costume shop – between the Barbican and the art college, so we passed it all the time. There were always lots of things in the window which never seem to change, and very dusty. And there was no interest in selling if you asked the price. And we always thought, this must be a front for something, because there was no idea of money, rather like the costume shop in Mr Benn.'

-David Mckee (3 March, 2009, at the Illustration Cupboard)

Yes, the idea of trying on a costume and going to a fantasy world is abstract, but the real-life costumes, jobs and experiences are what make these scenes realistic (this is not the right word…. not realistic at all! But based in the real world. Believable as far as cartoons go…).