On the eve of The Great Gatsby world premiere in New York City, F. Scott Fitzgerald scholar and fashion historian, Dr. Deirdre Clemente, was invited to the launch of the Plaza Hotel’s ‘Fitzgerald Suite’. Present was Oscar-winning costume designer Catherine Martin who has lavishly and intelligently festooned a room that offers its nightly dweller a chance to soak up all things Scott, Zelda and Gatsby. Of course they talked costume, and Clothes on Film have the exclusive.

Deirdre Clemente: Your work on the film translated into unique partnerships. Everyone is talking about Brooks Brothers and Prada, but tell me a little bit about the work you did at The Plaza. An entire suite dedicated to Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby, which of course has that amazing scene at the hotel.

Catherine Martin: The Plaza suite straddles fact and fiction. We have an entire wall of images of the Fitzgeralds, who were frequent guests of the hotel.

DC: I believe they lived around the corner at one point at 38 West 59th Street so they could be closer to the hotel.

CM: Yes. They were big Plaza people. We included many images of them. I think one of my favourites is his cancelled passport photo, which shows him and Zelda and Scottie. I kind of love that. As for the “fiction” part of the suite, we made a section of the room as a “hall of champions” for Tom Buchanan with all of his sporting memorabilia. We invented many things, such as a trophy for him being an inter-collegiate tennis champion. I think he played every single sport in our version.

DC: He was a captain of the Asshole Team.

CM: (Laughs). Yes. And of course, the suite has many books, Fitzgerald’s own and some we used for inspiration for the film. There is a section I call the Fitzgerald reading nook, with two shelves of his collected works. It was really important to Baz and I that Fitzgerld’s work be in the suite. And we’re in the process of getting a facsimile of Baz’s copy of the book with all his annotations in it. So that will eventually be here.

DC: So, you’ve provided in the suite many of the things that inspired you and Baz, as you did your research.

CM: We’ve got a whole bunch of books on Long Island and Long Island mansions. Of course, we have things that deal with the period or people that were important in the period. Images from the film itself. We have an image of Plaza suite as we envisioned it in the film, with views out to the park, 5th Avenue and 59th Street. And you’ll see there’s a digital view that we made of the Plaza in the period. Lots of energy went into making it just right. And we have an image from the Museum of the City of New York and the actual view of the Plaza from 1922. We worked with actual images in recreating the city views.

DC: So very technically advanced stuff. How does technology play into your version of the 1920s?

CM: Because we are really coming out of the First World War, I think the 20′s are really made by this clash of man and machines. It’s important to know where these characters have come from.

DC: Are non-readers going to be bored in the suite?

CM: We have a ton of DVDs. There is fantastic series on New York, Ken Burns. Cosmopolis is particularly about the 20′s. There’s the old version of The Great Gatsby and an incredible documentary on Prohibition that gives you a real insight into the period. And Tiffany & Co. made us Jay Gatsby’s monogram in the movie, and so they’ve made playing cards for the film.

We’ll have movie memorabilia set in boxes. This is a facsimile of the invitation card, ‘Dear Mr Carraway, The pleasure would be entirely mine if you could attend my little party. Yours Sincerely, Jay Gatsby’. There are love letters from Jay to Daisy, an invitation to go to the military dance. Just like little stuff like that.

And then games. Restoration Hardware has done a whole range of vintage games. So we’ve included Monopoly which was of course a game you could play at that time. Hopefully you won’t be playing too much Monopoly. We have a bottle of Lieber Gustav, which is reportedly a fragrance that Zelda picked for F. Scott Fitzgerald in Antibes. And don’t worry. You’ll be able to make yourself a Gatsby inspired cocktail.

DC: A Gin Rickey, extra ice?

CM: Extra gin. And the room service menu will be 20′s inspired.

DC: Tell me a little about the amazing portraits of the cast you have around the suite?

CM: These images of our cast are all done by a fantastic photographer, an old friend called Douglas Kirkland, who shot everyone from Marilyn Monroe to that famous shot of Ann Margaret on the bike with her legs out in the Wonder Woman outfit. So we’ve basically included the images of all the cast that play in the Plaza suite.

DC: So it’s a mix of history and your own interpretation of the 20′s?

CM: Yes, it’s an experiential thing. It kind of jockeys fact and fiction. You’re meant to be able to have an adult-themed experience – for the want of a better word – where you’re able to come and enter my imagined version of a weekend with Scott and Zelda.

DC: No one’s passed out on the ground. You pay extra for that.

CM: Strictly speaking, of course, it’s my fantasy. There was a lot of discussion of how we approach this. Do you literally recreate the suite? But that penultimate scene of the book is not particularly pleasant. It’s an emotionally charged, aggressive scene where you have Gatsby and you have Tom Buchanan fighting. And so I thought it was very important to make an experience that would be a pleasant one – particularly if you’re spending money on it.

You want to understand the history, and the connection that Fitzgerald had to the Plaza. You want to understand the depth of feeling we have for his work and also how it connects to the movie. It’s more of a broadly eclectic experiential thing, than just something trying to be strictly textbook. It’s not meant to be an intellectual treatise, it’s meant to be a moment of happy ephemera that you enjoy. And hopefully you get to read some of these fantastic short stories, at least.

DC: Would you say that’s a similar approach you took to costumes in the film, this idea of, ‘it’s not an exact representation as much as our interpretation of the historical time’?

CM: I think that our approach was very much about making sure that a modern audience could understand who and what everybody was, and what was happening in the story. That was the fundamental thing. Baz (Luhrmann, director) very much said, ‘I don’t want to end with a nostalgic New York that ends up being this sepia world that distances everybody from the story. I want you to feel as if you were F. Scott Fitzgerald or Zelda or the characters in the book in the 1920s. A new, exhilarating, modern and absolutely the most titillating, scintillating and visceral experience you could have – and not ‘polite’.’

He also said that because the book was published in ‘25, it’s set in the summer of ’22 and it kind of foreshadows the crash. We used the whole decade as an influence. So whether it’s Daisy’s costumes that are much closer to the early ’20s, or whether its Jordan’s costumes that are much more related to the late ‘20s, you see the different characterisations of the women. Daisy is much more aligned to the late 19th century in terms of what is expected of her as a woman. Jordan is a self-determining person, who is a professional, who earns her own money. They are two different women completely.

Carey Mulligan does the most incredible job of Daisy. She is incredible. And you really fall in love with her. You really understand who she is and where she comes from. It’s incredibly poignant when she says to Nick Carraway about when her daughter was born, “the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” And you realise in that instance that she isn’t a fool but she’s only been bred since birth for one thing, which is to be a charming, vivacious trophy wife. She’s achieved that goal at 18 or 17 and a half. And it’s downhill from there. Is that all there is? Ultimately.

She says in that whole speech to Nick, ‘I’ve seen everything, I’ve done everything and it’s all terrible’. I think she (Carey) is incredible in it.

DC: Do you think your Daisy is more endearing that Fitzgerald’s version?

CM: I think she is what you make of her in Fitzgerald’s version. It’s whatever your interpretation of it is.

By Deirdre Clemente & Aisling O’Connor

With thanks to Catherine Martin.

© 2013, Contributor.

Securing perhaps the biggest costume job going at the moment, Michael Kaplan has officially been chosen as costume designer for Star Wars Episode VII. It was on his IMDb page for a short while (later removed), but now the appointment has been corroborated by the man himself. “I am very excited to be working on Star Wars” Kaplan confirms to Clothes on Film “I’m so looking forward to collaborating, once again, with JJ.”

Kaplan is now director J.J. Abrams’ regular costume designer having worked with him on Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness. Evidently after two terms with Abrams on Star Trek, Kaplan has the sci-fi chops necessary to tackle arguably a denser franchise with even greater fan expectation. Get it right and he could have an Oscar to put alongside his BAFTA statuette and Costume Designers Guild awards, get it wrong and there will be nowhere to hide, and probably no option to come back for the sequels.

Michael Kaplan first dabbled in sci-fi for Blade Runner. Saying something about his reluctance to be pigeon holed, Kaplan’s next film was Flashdance.

Besides Star Trek, one of Michael Kaplan’s earliest sci-fi gigs was as co-costume designer with Charles Knode on Blade Runner in 1982 (which he referenced for Into Darkness). Kaplan’s most impressive skill however is his versatility. A costume CV that includes Flashdance, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Seven, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Fight Club and Burlesque is not the résumé of someone afraid to try new things. What Kaplan has in store for Star Wars Episode VII is anybody’s guess at present, though providing he retains Han Solo’s black cotton waistcoat he is at least starting on safe ground.

Star Wars Episode VII begins shooting in 2014 for release in 2015.

© 2013, Chris Laverty.

This week’s world of costume design reduced to links and soundbites.

Kristin M. Burke

Costume designer Kristin M. Burke talks about her career. Love this interview and love Kristin.

Brave

Merida gets a rather shocking makeover by Disney.

The Great Gatsby

It’s out now so we can all judge for ourselves. In the meantime here is Catherine Martin talking about how she made the costumes ‘feel modern’.

Sophie de Rakoff

Legally Blonde and This Mean’s War costume designer Sophie de Rakoff discusses the misunderstood job of creating contemporary looks on-screen.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Bryan Singer tweeting more pics of Louise Migenbach’s 1973 era costumes.

Mad Men

Catch up with Janie Bryant’s new looks for season six.

Revenge

A slide-show lowdown of Jill Ohanneson’s costumes on the new series, including $100,000 worth of Samira 13 pearls and a $12,000 Vera Wang.

© 2013, Chris Laverty.

Michael Kaplan’s career is one film after another of “wow, he did that?” cinema: Blade Runner, Flashdance, Seven, Fight Club, Burlesque, plus dozens more. Kaplan’s connection to Star Trek began as costume designer on J.J. Abrams’ reboot in 2009, and now he is back for the sequel. Despite admitting he was no expert in the world of Star Trek before signing on, his work on both movies has been praised; particularly the Enterprise crew uniforms (that reoccurring Starfleet pattern is a classy touch).

Here chatting exclusively to Clothes on Film, Michael Kaplan explains his approach to costuming Star Trek Into Darkness (out everywhere this week).

SPOILERS WITHIN

Costume sketch of Spock’s volcano suit. The finished suit worn by Zachary Quinto was constructed from copper.

Michael Kaplan on heritage:

When I was designing the first film I was always looking for a tone that felt correct in re-establishing Star Trek for today’s audiences of ‘Trekkies’ and general moviegoers. This time, that had already been done, and for the most part, embraced, so a certain amount of trepidation and downright fear was out of the way. I could now move forward with a more proportionate amount of fear and trepidation in tackling a movie of this scope.

On design:

The overall script was darker for Star Trek Into Darkness and so the costumes reflect that world. As prequels to the 1960s TV series, both of these films that I designed with J.J. Abrams hark back to that time period as its heart. While working on both films I always had books featuring fashion designers Rudy Gernreich, André Courrèges, Paco Rabanne and Pierre Cardin close at hand to ground me in that period.

Klingon costume sketch. For the Klingons it was all about the helmet detail; look closely at the forehead…

On fashion:

I generally don’t reference current trends while working on a film. Fashion is so fleeting that by the time the film opens, any ‘current’ trend would be long gone. Zoe Saldana’s t-shirt in Into Darkness (worn when she meets the Klingons) is an anamorphic graphic that I liked; I think it came from a thrift shop. Simon Pegg as Scotty’s civilian shirt seen in the bar is my idea of a futuristic Hawaiian shirt. Once again, it was my intent that the extras in the film evoke the miniskirt era.

On Benedict Cumberbatch’s late casting as John Harrison:

I really like it when I can think about a character’s costumes without being encumbered by thoughts of the actor or movie star who will be wearing it. Of course, after the role is cast, I need to do some editing.

On Harrison’s briefly seen ribbed shawl lapel; a homage to The Wrath of Khan costume?:

If anything, it’s more a homage to Deckard in Blade Runner…

Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison. Is Cumberbatch’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it ribbed shawl lapel (above) a nod to Robert Fletcher’s costume for Ricardo Montalbán in The Wrath of Khan? Possibly…

On details:

Since there is a lot of drama and emotion in Star Trek Into Darkness, I needed to be careful about making too much of a statement with over-the-top, futuristic clothing, which could be distracting and have the potential to upstage a scene. I chose to use subtle details and set up a few rules, like, no zippers.

On the volcano and space-jump suits:

I designed both the volcano suit and the space suits. They were all built by Film Illusions, and worked without a snag. These were not simple costumes, since ventilation, cooling, audio and lighting systems were necessary. The actors’ comfort and safety were always our second concern.

Space ‘jump suit’ sketch. Note that the individual inside this costume appears to resemble Cumberbatch, despite his late casting.

On Alice Eve’s underwear as Carol Marcus (HERE):

After trying my hand at reinventing the bra, the results were so distracting that the intent of the scene would have been missed. I will say no more…

With thanks to Michael Kaplan.

Star Trek Into Darkness is currently on general release.

© 2013, Chris Laverty.

In light of Prada, Tiffany & Co., and Brooks Brothers, all producing Great Gatsby inspired lines and the much publicised drama between fashion and costume designers, we should consider the influence that costume has over fashion. The alliance between costume and fashion designers has been both beneficial and contentious. Fashion does have a much longer history than film costume design, but since the beginning of moving pictures, both industries have nurtured an intimate relationship.

In the advent of cinema, fashion was placed centre stage in filmed fashion shows. These fashion shorts slowly evolved from runway shows via the introduction of a stories surrounding the garments (Bruzzi, 4). Early costume design was influenced by current runway fashions, such as Vionnet’s signature bias cut gowns hugging actress’ bodies on the big screen. Starting in the 1930s, costume design and current fashion slowly began to pull away from each other. This changed when MGM brought on board Gilbert Adrian and Howard Greer for a Cecil B. DeMille film. The introduction of these two men into this industry was a turning point in the history of costume design (Bruzzi, 4).

The white organdy gown designed by Adrian and worn by Joan Crawford in Letty Lynton (1932). This gown prompted a rush of copies by fashion retailers in the early 1930s.

Adrian worked as the head of the MGM costume department from 1928-1942. During this time he transformed Greta Garbo into a fashion icon. Joan Crawford too; Adrian’s ruffled organdy gown for Letty Lynton, a soft and glamorous dress, captured fantasy within the ruffles and was widely copied by retailers. Crawford and Adrian swept fashion with wide shoulder suits and beautiful simplicity. Adrian’s designs excited moviegoers – the allure of Garbo or Crawford wearing a design that is a little bit outrageous but intensely exciting on screen, spoke to them. There was and still is a need to recapture this glamour as retailers scramble to get their own similar versions onto racks (LaVine, 166). Adrian moved on to fashion design and today is celebrated in both worlds.

Fashion designers have also been commissioned by studios, greats like Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli and Hubert de Givenchy. In more modern times designers such as Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Vivienne Westwood have worked as costume designers (Bruzzi , 8). There have been occasions when the costume process did not agree with these designers and some did not last beyond a few projects. Chanel struggled when working with Gloria Swanson and refused to compromise her vision for the benefit of the film’s story (Bruzzi , 3). Even with such wrangles, there have been a few wonderful exceptions; Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn, for example, was a successful match that began on Sabrina. Edith Head and Givenchy both worked on this movie, but Givenchy designed Sabrina’s Parisian wardrobe, all fantasy and beauty, which caused animosity with Head. Arguments over who designed what lasted for far too long (Bruzzi , 6). Fashion designers have also been able to enjoy both professions, though not many fashion designers stay in costume. The job descriptions differ but both can create a wearable dream. It is this dream that speaks to the heart of the moviegoer or fashion lover.

Audrey Hepburn wearing a striking bateau neckline dress. It is still contested whether Sabrina’s costume designer Edith Head or contributing fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy created this look for the film.

A film can be watched by millions, reaching out and transforming our reality for a short time. Doesn’t fashion do the same when we see that mesmerising dress or perfectly tailored suit in a shop window? The viewer is transformed for a moment, and who wouldn’t want to keep that moment, pulling it out again and again to relive the fantasy? When the fashion world finds its cue in costume design we are given the opportunity to take this fantasy home. This has been happening for decades, notably when Edith Head’s designs for Zaza influenced a resurgence of early 1900 inspired fashion on the Paris runways (Maeder, 80). More contemporarily, a popular television show like Mad Men sports a style that is so glamorous and nostalgic it fits comfortably with the right retailer. Costume designer Janie Bryant and Banana Republic came together to create a line that translated the 1960s look for the store’s target market.

With influence that is on record since the early days of the film industry, costume design speaks to the masses in a way that runway high fashion can never reach. Movies are accessible; they take the viewer into a world dictated by creative forces that are strongly persuasive. Businesses have appreciated the media’s influences on consumers for years, and it is no surprise that retailers are working with costume designers. Companies similar to Banana Republic that have created collections with costume designers include H&M for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Trish Summerville) and Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Macy’s who all carried a line inspired by Oz The Great and Powerful (Sue Wong, based on Gary Jones’ work on the film).

Jon Hamm as Don Draper and Jessica Paré as Megan Draper on the TV series Mad Men. Costume designer Janie Bryant worked with high street brand Banana Republic to create a tie-in line for the show.

This is not a relationship that can be glossed over as coincidence; costume excite the moviegoer and fashion reacts with inspired designs. This partnership, whether acknowledged or not, is strongly beneficial. From Adrian to Prada, costume designers and fashion designers will always find themselves closely aligned, business will benefit and consumers can own a piece of fantasy.

By Kristin Koga.

Kristin holds a BA in Textiles and Clothing from California State University, Long Beach. She aspires to be a costume designer and is the creator of Fashioned for the Geek, a blog that explores costume design in television.

Sources:

Bruzzi, S. Undressing cinema, clothing and identity in the movies. Taylor & Francis, 1997. Print.

Maeder, Edward. Hollywood & History. Los Angeles: Lucasfilm Ltd., 1887. Print.

© 2013, Contributor.