Game of Thrones Costumer: Nipple Armor Was an Accident

When leaked pictures of Game of Thrones‘ infamous Sand Snakes surfaced, we were shocked and aghast to see that not only did they have a separate indentation for each boob, they also appeared to have the most dreaded of armor ornamentation: nipples. Costume designer Michele Clapton wants everybody to know that those nipples were a big shock to her as well.

“It certainly wasn’t my intention” to have nipples on the Sand Snake’s armor, she told New York Magazine. (I’ll let Sam explain who the Sand Snakes are. You can also see a picture of the armor in question here.)

“I’m not terribly keen on it,” she added. “I don’t see the necessity for it. You don’t do it on men.” Well, except the famously ridiculed Batman suit. “Yeah, okay, that. But I wouldn’t do it on men, and I don’t really like the concept of it on women. Of course you have to have the woman’s shape. That’s fine. But [nipples on armor] is almost from a man’s point of view, and there’s something slightly cheesy about it.

How did the nipples wind up on the armor, then? Well… it was accidental, and then wasn’t noticed until it was too late. From NYMag:

It was a result of the structured molds they used to make the armor. “[My armory team] sand it off to an extent, but they didn’t do it as much as I wanted them to,” Clapton said. And because of the rush in production, she didn’t notice the sanding wasn’t completed until it was too late and shooting had to start. Even then, she said, it wasn’t that noticeable on set, but a trick of the lighting made the nippled effect more visible in the photographs taken that day. “I had the same thought as you. I was surprised when I saw the picture. But I didn’t notice them when I was there. And sometimes you can’t go back and change things.”

So, boob armor: intentional. Nipples? An accident, and they’ll be less noticeable on film than in candid photographs. And just to round out your Game of Thrones news, there’s Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, being asked about his role as a character named Malko in the upcoming season. And there’s plenty to ask, as Malko is an original character never seen in the books. Akinnuoye-Agbaje remains mum on the details, however. From Vulture:

The character that I play, it’s actually advantageous to me not to actually know too much. That’s all I’m going to say.

So you’ll just have to wait!

(story via New York Magazine and Vulture, top pic copyright Brian Gratwicke via Flickr)

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