The costumes were one of the best parts of Game of Thrones, but some of it looked extremely different the concept art stage. For example:
Welcome, one and all! Today, we’re here to talk about the costumes of Game of Thrones.
The Lannisters were one of the most powerful families in Westeros, famed for their wealth and their ruthlessness. Jaime Lannister was hailed as a particularly skilled warrior, earning the nickname ‘Kingslayer’ for killing Aerys Targaryen during Robert’s Rebellion prior to the start of the series.
When we first meet the Lannisters, Jaime is astride a horse looking dapper in his Kingsguard armor, which is all white. The Lannisters are known for having a lion on the sigil, as well as for using the colors red and gold. Later on in the show, this is what you would mainly see Jaime in.
However, their armor almost looked a lot different than the design you see on the show. ScreenRant took a look inside the book Game of Thrones: The Costumes, which has an interesting tidbit about the original designs for the Lannister armor, which drew influence from the battle garb of traditional Japanese warriors.
Written by Gina McIntyre with costume designer Michele Clapton, the book explains that the original concept for the Lannister armor and Kingsguard armor had more of a Samurai vibe than the more medieval-style armor that was seen on the show. You can check out a sketch of the original design below:
"Game of Thrones’ original Lannister costumes were inspired by Samurai Warriors…"
While the red and gold coloring remains, the design above is definitely a lot different than the final product!
“I wanted to integrate different types of armor from around the world into one cohesive look,” Clapton said. “I arrived at something that brings together traditional samurai armor with European styles.”
In the end, I think one of the best aspects of Game of Thrones was how detailed and believable the world of Westeros was. The show did a great job of bringing that universe to life and the costumes were a big part of that. I definitely like the final design for the Lannister armor better than these initial sketches, but it’s still really cool to see how it developed!
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