The Fortune: Costume Guide – Dressing Soft For Murder
Posted by
Chris Laverty – January 19, 2010
The Fortune (1975, directed by Mike Nichols) starring Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Stockard Channing has been unfairly judged as a madcap mess. Actually it is a slickly made screwball comedy, nowhere deserving of its turkey reputation. Costume designer Anthea Sylbert was responsible for recreating the story’s 1920s setting, an era as eclectic as it was revolutionary; as such The Fortune is as pleasing to the eye as it is funny.
Sylbert worked The Fortune back to back with Chinatown (1974) and Shampoo (1975). Chinatown also starred Nicholson but was a different setting (thirties) and, for his character especially, a very different look. Shampoo was Warren Beatty’s picture; he was co-writer and managed to secure funding with The Fortune as part of the deal. Being set in the sixties, Shampoo was another jump in history for Sylbert. She costumed twenty films all in all and remains one of the most respected names in the business.
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The Cats Meow: Kirsten Dunst’s Chanel Style Beach Pyjamas
Posted by
Chris Laverty – May 7, 2009
Beach pyjamas, or sailor pants, of the 1920s owe their popularity to Coco Chanel and her appropriation of the wide-legged trousers as a functional addition to the female wardrobe. Chanel hit upon the idea of pants for women while visiting Venice during the early part of the decade; she felt they were the only practical way to properly climb in and out of a Gondola.
In The Cats Meow (2001), a rather humdrum murder drama set in twenties Hollywood, Kirsten Dunst plays bright young thing Marion Davies. It’s appropriate that the first time we see her character she is aboard the yacht where ninety percent of the movie occurs (and incidentally she never leaves). Costume designer Caroline de Vivaise dressed Dunst in nautically themed beach pyjamas, which were not just suitable for the location, but also a nod to Marion’s forward-thinking ways.
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