Space oddity: Liège designer Laurent Couline and his sci-fi movie props

Liège prop designer Laurent Couline tested his artistry and technical skills in creating the space suits for the stars of the 2017 blockbuster Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, by director Luc Besson.

The challenge for Couline was to keep the costumes light and comfortable for the lead characters Valerian and Laureline, played by Dane DeHaan and former
model Cara Delevingne.

Working on 3D mannequins of the actor’s bodies, he created sculptures from modelling clay and a silicone mould before directly pouring in polyurethane combined with aluminium powder to create the metallic effect.

“Cara said it was so comfortable that she could even fall asleep in the suit,” says Couline, whose current projects include costumes for the Moulin Rouge in Paris and creating a chess set for a Liège opera production of Macbeth.