For contemporary metal couture designer Manuel Albarran of Barcelona, Spain, designing Angelina Jolie's costume for the film "Maleficent" was the gig of a lifetime.

Working with Jolie and capturing one of Disney's most sinister villains "was amazing. I really connected with her," Albarran told Latin Post. Jolie gave a lot of her own input on Maleficent's beautiful, dark and powerful look. She also helped design the hand-painted contact lenses and lightweight horn headpieces, as well as the prosthetic ears and cheekbones.

Albarran wanted to capture the character, the fairytale and Jolie in an "avant-garde way." While he said the actual designing was the easiest part for him, coming up with the prototype was a bit more challenging.

In the film, Maleficent isn't able to touch metal, so there couldn't be any metal exposed in the costume. But this wasn't a problem for the metal couture designer. "I was using the metal as a structure. I used the metal and covered it," Albarran said. He also used python skin, fine leather, fish skin, feathers and bones. "I was also using animal skin, and of course some metals, some brass and copper. I think all the pieces that I used made it feel organic. Each piece was made of six or seven pieces or maybe more," he explained.

Albarran designed the accessories, including rings, broaches, bracelets, and collars. He also created most of the body suit for the last scene, which he says was "a little bit complicated technically" because Jolie had to be able to jump and bend.

"The collars were all feminine and elegant in silhouette, yet powerful and dark in atmosphere," he said. "Really organic. Some were very detailed structures. For example, I created collars where the collar, the shoulders and spine were all connected as a single piece in leather and in bone, to form the base structure where I then added various skins, feathers, etc. to create the final design."

Albarran's favorite piece was a collar with feather shoulders attached to delicate bone spine where he placed "hand-dyed layers of duck feathers, the colors grading from different greys through dusty blues and greens, to the structure, which formed the shoulders and spine," according to Disney. He formed the spine using a metal base, which he covered in leather. The silhouette of the piece, he said, is "very elegant and feminine, yet also powerful."

The eccentric and multi-dimensional Spaniard is an expert in metal couture, corsetry, leather, and many other disciplines. His highly conceptual designs have enabled him to work with some of the top contenders in fashion, advertising and editorial, including Isabella Blow, Nick Night, Nicola Formichetti, Georgia May Jagger, Cara Delevingne, ID, Dazed And Confused and Vogue as well as on campaigns for Givenchy and Lavazza.

He's also created costumes for movies, video clips and elaborate stage shows and designed custom pieces for artists such as Beyoncé and Madonna.

According to London-­based costume designer Anna B. Sheppard, known for her work on "Schindler's List" and "The Pianist," both of which earned her Academy Award nominations, "This is Maleficent from the animated version, just more beautiful."

"Maleficent's costumes evolved from mossy colors and 'floaty' fabrics to become dark and sculptural shapes in much heavier fabric with lot of volume. Artificial furs, leather and feathered accessories created by specialty designers were used to form a much darker and sinister-­looking character," she said.

A lot has changed since Disney's 1959 "Sleeping Beauty." The ever-evolving world of animation now includes 3-D and CGI, and a host of modern-day spin-offs of the classics. But audiences around the globe continue to be drawn to the tale of "Sleeping Beauty" and the allure of the malicious Maleficent.

The film is the untold story of the iconic Disney villain, much like the book "Wicked" tells the story of "The Wizard of Oz" from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West.

We see a different side of the character in 2014's "Maleficent." This time, the unexpectedly soft underbelly of Maleficent is revealed, showing many different shades of the character, proving that villains are often misunderstood.

Jolie, who draws worldwide curiosity and fascination, partly due to her longstanding relationship with Brad Pitt, has been villianized herself in the media, yet over the years we have witnessed her softer side as a mother and political activist.

"She is still a villain," Jolie told USA TODAY. "She does, in fact, curse a child. But that people can be villainous and still there is much more to them, and to understand what causes people to be villainous, is important."

Check out the official trailer for "Maleficent," starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning, which hits theaters Friday.