New York Times Article: Suits in Scorsese's "Wolf of Wall Street"

[chris45]

Very interesting -- and great hearing from the people making the clothes =] I am also curious about YRR92's questions.. fascinating stuff.

 

[philosophe]



I saw american Hustle.
the clothing and hair for that movie is even better!

Fantastic clothes and hair.

 

[MrDaniels]



http://nypost.com/2013/12/23/meet-the-man-who-clothed-the-wolf-of-wall-street/


Meet the man who clothed ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’

That's a great article.


I just got back from catching the movie...the costume designer really did a great job. And that poor guy in the bow tie! LOL

 

[HansderHund]

Very interesting to hear, @Shirtmaven & @Len. Out of curiosity, does your job entail research into periods in which you haven't lived? For example, is it normal for one in your profession to know about shirtmaking in 1920, or is this an area in which you have expertise?

Really neat hearing the other side of it! Thanks for sharing!

 

[YRR92]

Just watch American Hustle!

Fabrics are important.

On film, white shirts are tea dipped so they are not so white.
there is almost always surface interest on the fabric or at least some sort of multi- stripe.

I did a little bit of costuming on a student film recently, and the camera department rejected two white shirts on set. Can't believe that didn't occur to me.

In terms of surface interest or multi-stripes, is that just for plain whites, or is it a general thing? Any particular reason why?

Thanks for your description of the collaborative process, Len. Having the actors pick from a short list of fabrics seems like a great idea -- makes everybody happy.

I really appreciate the insight.

 

[MrDaniels]

Here's a shot of the real man himself....I wonder if he can still afford bespoke?

 

[Celadon]

Are suits made for film made as well as "real-life" suits, or just well enough to do their job for the few minutes they're seen on screen? What happens to the clothes after the filming is finished?

 

[jrd617]



Are suits made for film made as well as "real-life" suits, or just well enough to do their job for the few minutes they're seen on screen? What happens to the clothes after the filming is finished?

I heard a rumor that they'll go up on Luxeswap...

 

[David Reeves]



Are suits made for film made as well as "real-life" suits, or just well enough to do their job for the few minutes they're seen on screen? What happens to the clothes after the filming is finished?

Unlike stage wear usually they are just as good and many times they will buy multiples of the same garment so this kind of work can be quite lucrative. Having said that Hollywood can try and be cheap on clothing ie they often try to hammer out a deal....even though a fancy lunch or flying someone out may cost as much for them but that's just part of the culture I suppose.

 

[jrd617]

Saw the movie last night. Great "period" costumes. (Is the 90s a period now?)

I didn't care for the movie itself. Way too long. It had some witty dialogue in some scenes, but it had a lot of unnecessary bachanalia scenes that didn't add to the film. I was falling asleep towards the end. Bloated piece of junk of a movie.

American Hustle is the better movie out right now.

 

[YRR92]

I just saw Hustle, and it was, indeed, pretty great. I like how understated Silver Linings Playbook was, aesthetically, but this was such a joy to watch.

 

[MrDaniels]



Saw the movie last night. Great "period" costumes. (Is the 90s a period now?)

I didn't care for the movie itself. Way too long. It had some witty dialogue in some scenes, but it had a lot of unnecessary bachanalia scenes that didn't add to the film. I was falling asleep towards the end. Bloated piece of junk of a movie.

American Hustle is the better movie out right now.

I think it either needed to be a 2 hour 20 minute movie....or they needed to focus more on the illegalities and the FBI's pursuits. But it is still very worth seeing.


Between this and The Great Gatsby, Leo is Sartorial Star of the Year.

 

[Len]



Are suits made for film made as well as "real-life" suits, or just well enough to do their job for the few minutes they're seen on screen? What happens to the clothes after the filming is finished?

When the costume designers seek me out they are definitely looking for top work. No corners are cut. Bruce Boyer always says that when there is a close up of a star on the screen your lapel and shoulder had better be good as they are about 20' wide. The only exception is for longer shots
When I did Wall Street 2 I made several full bespoke suits for Shia leboef for his close ups. But there were a few scenes where he was off at a distance and sometimes hopping on or off a motorbike. For these scenes I send my paper pattern to a made-to-measure factory that i use regularly who recreated the cut and style but at a much lower price

A few actors I have worked with pick the clothes for the movie with idea they will wear them afterwards. (See the new robocop). Others are so set in a period that they probably would not be worn under normal circumstances

Logsdail

 

[Shirtmaven]

As len said
my shirts are the same needle as any other shirt.
We do prewash fabric, unlike regular shirts
they need to fit on the first take the same as they do two days later.

Unless there is action, there is usually only one suit per scene.
shirts are made in multiples.
since they wrinkle faster, and get make up on the collars.

I love an action movie with an extended sequence.
I have not seen wolf yet.
but
we made 4 pink check shirts for Jonah hill
and 3 for the stunt, who had to vomit on himself. there is a skill you usually do not see on an actors resume.
matching patterns is even more important we made made a crazy silk print for the eastern european bad guy in
an upcoming movie. matching 6 for him and 5 for the stunt was very time consuming

Costume designers usually supply some sort of inspiration to work from
sometimes old advertisements or catalog pages
a recent broadway designer gave me a rather vague period photo.
the collar could have been made 3 different ways, the costume associates had no clue either
I picked what i thought would work.
in the end, everyone was happy.


some costume designers, without huge budgets have been sending work to china.

but. things can change quickly on a movie set.
you can't get 4 shirts in a day that need to be on an actor at 7 AM from China.

As David said, movie, TV work is profitable
rush work and multiples..

Actors sometimes request wardrobe after a shoot.
period clothing goes into warehouses and is rented for future productions.
sometimes they are sold off.

On Wolf, there was a huge loft filled with rented clothing.
I spent an hour one day, helping the assistants date suit jackets. for extras.
the gorge line on late 80's early 90's jackets were very low.
even conservative suitmakers shifted the gorge line downwards.
Armani (like Thom Browne) changed the style of men's clothing for an extended period of time.
Carl

Carl

 

[Cantabrigian]



Here's a shot of the real man himself....I wonder if he can still afford bespoke?

I believe he still owes about 100mill in restitution so I'm not sure how he's wearing a Royal Oak