\u201cNever looking at my patio furniture the same again,\u201d says one Instagram comment. Ikea captioned a picture of its wicker furniture with the term \u201chusband material\u201d.<\/p>\n
The basketweaving community, however, is getting worked up for very different reasons. The fact the Wicker Husband isn\u2019t made of willow, and he appears to be plaited rather than woven, has angered some makers.<\/p>\n
Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd as the Wicker Husband and Olivia Colman as the Fisherwoman. Photograph: Black Bear\/PA<\/p>\n
Deborah Needleman, former editor of the New York Times\u2019s T magazine turned basket maker, was one of the first to question it. Writing on Instagram<\/a>, she said: \u201cI\u2019m excited that the basketweaving community now has our own hot, woven leading man, but I\u2019ve also got issues. Why is a dude woven in an English fishing village not made of willow \u2013 or even rush?!\u201d More than 100 fellow basket makers have since weighed in.<\/p>\n The Oxford English dictionary defines wicker as \u201cthin sticks of wood twisted together to make baskets, furniture etc\u201d.<\/p>\n Eleanor Morgan, trade adviser to the Worshipful Company of Basketmakers in London, says that while willow has commonly been used to denote wicker, it is less popular today. \u201cHistorically wicker could have meant any pliant twig or osier,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Joe Dunckley, a prosthetic designer at W\u0113t\u0101 workshop, the special effects studio in New Zealand that created the upper body of the Wicker Husband, says it was a \u201cbig challenge\u201d to create a costume for a character that is sentient but made of wicker. \u201cMost prosthetic materials are soft to mimic skin. But he\u2019s not flesh and bone.\u201d<\/p>\n To get the wicker effect, Dunckley and his team of 80 specialists created 50 interlocking body pieces for Skarsg\u00e5rd to wear. Using a rubber-like thermoplastic elastomer, they were able to 3D print a bespoke weave coded by the studio that was then attached to a spandex suit. During the 18-month process they also created 10 facial appliances.<\/p>\n An artisan creates a limb of the Wicker Husband at the We\u0304ta\u0304 workshop in New Zealand. Photograph: PR Handout<\/p>\n Dunckley says willow wasn\u2019t a viable option for what they needed the suit to be able to do. \u201cIt is a similar reason to why, in film, we don\u2019t make armour out of actual steel or use real swords. This is a fantasy film.\u201d<\/p>\n Lewis Prosser, a basket maker from Cardiff, says every maker is thinking about how they would have approached the task. \u201cIt certainly isn\u2019t the way I would have done it, but that doesn\u2019t mean that it is bad,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Prosser says his understanding of wicker is that it is \u201can object that is woven but one that is specifically not textile\u201d, adding that \u201csome will disagree with me\u201d. Some basket makers, including Needleman, argue that wicker refers to a type of weave rather than a material.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to The Guide<\/p>\n Get our weekly pop culture email, free in your inbox every Friday<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n For Prosser, who creates wicker costumes using techniques traditionally found in Wales and the south-west of England, there are three main ways to make a basket. Coiling, where threads of plant materials are wound together in a spiral, braiding, or stake and stand basketry whereby vertical rods are woven through horizontal strands. \u201cWhat we would traditionally call \u2018wicker items\u2019 would usually have that latter aspect,\u201d Prosser says. The Wicker Husband does not.<\/p>\n Although the actor Olivia Colman and her fellow villagers in the film speak in a range of British dialects, the film is not set in England. Dunckley suggests the basket maker character played by Peter Dinklage has travelled the world, learning skills from other makers.<\/p>\n Lead weaver Jasmin van Lith at the We\u0304ta\u0304 workshop. Photograph: PR Handout<\/p>\n Prosser says that if the film had been set in a specific location, it would be more authentic for the costume to reflect the plants that grow there. In the UK, willow would be apt, whereas in Spain, Esparto grass would be fitting.<\/p>\n Dunckley and his team worked using a 3D cast of Skarsg\u00e5rd to ensure the \u201caudience would be able to recognise Alexander in basket form\u201d. Key to this is what Dunckley calls the \u201cSkarsg\u00e5rd smoulder\u201d, which they captured by ensuring the weave could furrow at the brow. His hair, beard and lashes were made from muka, fibres from New Zealand flax.<\/p>\n Describing the interest and criticism from the weaving community as \u201creally cool\u201d, Dunckley says: \u201cI don\u2019t blame anyone. True artists of the craft have dedicated years to it. I would expect them to look at a fantasy version of their art form and see failings in it.\u201d<\/p>\n For the willow purists, Morgan says \u201cthere is no lack of osier-related eye candy\u201d in the film, pointing to a plethora of basket scenes. Prosser says he is thrilled the film has drawn attention to basket making, especially as some skills and traditional techniques are now endangered<\/a>. TikTok is rife with wicker costume making guides, including nipple tutorials which Skarsg\u00e5rd has said was the \u201cbest part\u201d of his suit. He gave his own pair to the TV host Graham Norton<\/a> describing them as \u201cextraordinary craftsmanship\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793371690_103_500.jpg\")
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