‘Game of Thrones’ talks arms and armor with Michele Clapton at the Met

Game of Thrones fans and museum go-ers alike gathered in the The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York last night for Dressed to Kill: Arms and Armor From Medieval Knights to Game of Thrones. The talk, part of the museum’s new conversation series, featured Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton, as well as artist Miya Ando and Met curator Pierre Terjanian. Hosted by Julie Burstein, creator of NPR’s Studio 360 the hour was a fast-paced discussion that touched on real world history as well as the fictional world of Westeros.

While the talk itself highlighted pieces in the mueseum’s Arms and Armor galleries, it was also a chance for Clapton to speak at length about prominent pieces of armor that she had a hand in creating for Game of Thrones. She highlighted examples like Renly’s Baratheon armor, Cersei Lannister’s robes, and the many versions of weaponry, explaining that because the HBO series is so expansive and moves so quickly through its scenes, it’s easy to get in the mindset of thinking no one will notice small details like house sigils. But as we all know, one of the things that makes Game of Thrones is such a good show is that attention to detail.

Clapton approaches each new weapon or each new armor design with one goal: to make it specific to the character, and to make it stand out, even if you only see it for half a second on screen. To drive that point home, the crowd was shown a clip from “The Children” where Brienne and Podrick meet up with Arya and The Hound. Just before Brienne and The Hound start their fight, we see a flash of Lannister gold — that is, we see a glimpse of the sword Jaime had given to her. It’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it quick, but pausing the scene allows you to see the intricate designs that Clapton uses to distinguish it from other weapons.

Like the George R.R. Martin talk at the 92Y earlier last month, the talk featured numerous visuals in the form of still photos of characters in their costumes, as well as short videos that explained how armor functionality really worked. One of the most interesting moments of the night came near the end of the hour, after most of the design of the armor had been explained and dissected. The audience was shown a video with stunt men dressed in the armor Clapton had helped create, fighting together to prove its functionality. The take-away? Armor on Game of Thrones may look like nothing, but you could wear it in a real fight and it would prove to be (mostly) protective.

Clapton also talked at length about how much fun it was to be creative in “re-imagining” these designs that Martin had created, and that had maybe been seen in other forms of art. There was a hesitancy, she admitted, to worrying whether she would deviate too much from what people had already seen on the Internet over the years (Clapton referenced the famous Iron Throne as an example.) But it was a challenge she gladly accepted, one that she enjoyed diving into and still enjoys diving into, as each season and each new character take shape. Certainly, fans can’t complain, as the costumes on the show have been some of the most talked about aspects — not to mention some of the most lauded.

With commentary by Ando and Terjanian, both of whom spoke about the museum’s more general armor exhibits, perhaps the talk was more rooted in an “educational” tone than most Game of Thrones talks would be — but for me, the night was one that drove home for me why I love this series so much. It’s not just the actors and writers who create content that help make Game of Thrones what it is. It’s the creative minds behind what we see that truly are responsible for bringing Westeros to life, and I’m glad I had a chance to dive into that world…if only for an hour on a weeknight.

• Published on 12/03/2014 at 3:17 PM CDT
• Last updated on 12/03/2014 at 3:17 PM CDT