Introducing the Brooks Brothers collection for Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of the Great Gatsby.F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous 1925 American novel, set in the sizzling, sexy bacchanal of Jazz Age New York, is now in the cinematic realm of Australian auteur Baz Luhrmann.
From the designs of double Academy Award winning designer, Catherine Martin, Brooks Brothers produced all the men’s costumes in Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of the Great Gatsby. There are the costumes for Carey Mulligan from Prada and Miu Miu and the Art Deco jewels especially created by Tiffany & Co. There is the Fitzgerald Suit at The Plaza hotel in New York decorated in Art Deco style byThe Great Gatsby‘s designer Catherine Martin with Restoration Hardware furnishing and copies of F. Scott Fitzgerald book. There are also Leonardo DiCaprio’s clothes as Jay Gatsby created by Brooks Brothers. F. Scott Fitzgerald was a life-long Brooks Brothers customer, making America’s oldest clothier a perfect partner for the filmmakers. “It was this most basic and fundamental connection that has made our collaboration so authentic”, said Martin. “Brooks Brothers is mentioned several times in Fitzgerald’s writings as a representation of the ultimate gentleman’s purveyor of fine clothing to the American man of distinction”.
A majority of the 500 men’s costumes featured in the film were inspired by images and products from the company’s archives. The resulting costumes added a period-specific authenticity to the film and helped bring F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece to life in 3D. Brooks Brothers has adapted the costumes to create a special collection which is now available in stores and online.
Now, the collection’s white linen suits and boater hats are appealing to the sartorial style of a younger generation, whose introduction to “The Great Gatsby” might have been in high school English class. “We’ve gotten a great response for the collection,” Rita Cooper, assistant manager at Brooks Brothers in Greenwich, said. “Lots of young guys have been coming in just to take a peek. The movie is definitely helping with the buzz.”
Remember: In the movie version that starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, Redford’s clothes were made by Ralph Lauren including that pink suit which has become a lasting sartorial image, a look that continues to be referenced by designers including Lauren himself. In the Luhrmann film, DiCaprio also dons a pink suit and that pink suit has made its way into Brooks Brothers’ Gatsby collection, a special line inspired by the movie’s costumes.
