Headless Horseman Cape

Once in a while I get a call from a friend who is a collector of screen-used sci-fi, fantasy, and horror costumes and props. His collection is truly amazing, and is quite possibly the largest of its kind in the world. He had acquired the Headless Horseman costume worn by Ray Park in the film Sleepy Hollow, but unfortunately the cape was not part of the set. So he asked me to recreate the Headless Horseman cape for his collection.

Working off of movie stills and as many behind-the-scenes photos I could track down, I recreated the cape. Using a deep black brocade as the main fabric and a blood-red silk lining, then by adding textural fabric appliques that were then distressed and painted, the cape slowly morphed into an elegant, rotted thing. I absolutely loved it.