'Beautiful Creatures' Costumer Conjures Magical Looks

Corsets, bustles and lace — all trappings of a thoroughly modern Southern caster.

Though the events of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's best-selling "Beautiful Creatures" take place primarily in the present day, the gothic tale (and its upcoming big-screen adaptation) borrows heavily from the past, wardrobe included.

Thanks to costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, MTV News got an exclusive preview of a few of the film's sure-to-be-iconic looks.

"It was an interesting job to say the least," Kurland mused. "The characters are extraordinary because they range in emotion, not just in their physicality, but in their emotion. They exude a presence that I needed to capture physically on screen."

Actress Alice Englert, who plays magical protagonist Lena Duchannes, confirmed that Kurland did just that. "I thought that Jeffrey Kurland had an amazing sensitivity to character and working with the actors, so it was really great meeting him early on and beginning to understand Lena and the way she dresses and why she dresses like this," she recalled.

Though Lena's aesthetic skews more hipster than debutante, the character will be flaunting a couple classic looks, including a stunning gray gown for her "claiming" — the moment she aligns with either the light or the dark side. Kurland explained the look:

"There's a lot of action she does in it, a lot of running," he said. "This dress was created and made five times for stunts and everything else. Because it's a major event in Lena's life, I wanted it to have a formality to it because she is either going to be light or dark. Gray seemed to be the perfect choice."

Another eye-catching frock is Emmy Rossum's (who plays Ridley) antebellum-style dress.

"[It's] inspired by antebellum dresses, but it isn't an antebellum dress, of which there are real ones on screen when she's in this," Kurland explained of the black and purple lace confection. "It's her version of what an antebellum dress is." Rossum revealed that the gown is indeed her favorite of the film.

"As far as what costumes say, they tell a story," Kurland continued. "They tell a visual story. This is just a sampling, but by no means [all] you're going to see when you see the movie. Hopefully you will enjoy that."

"Beautiful Creatures" hits theaters February 13, 2013.

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