THE GREAT GATSBY AND ME
Months before Baz Luhrmann’s remake of The Great Gatsby was to be released, the film had sparked something of a 1920s style revival. Costume/production designer Catherine Martin (above), Australian wife of Luhrmann, was charged with making the film beautiful, a challenge she has successfully overcome many times before: she has already notched up four Oscar nominations, and won two Academy Awards and a Bafta for her work. So what were the challenges in Gatsby?
‘One of the things I’ve learnt from working with Baz is that he is a master at wringing out of clothes and wringing out of the costume designer – in this case, me – the subtleties, the attention to detail and the rigorousness, particularly in men’s clothes, that gives you a feeling of character.
‘It’s simple things, like the foldedback cuffs on a lot of 1920s suits. I use a lot of that detail in the movie, and tried to find tailoring details that you don’t see on modern-day suits. There are also classic references. Nick, for example, wears a Norfolk jacket: it’s what you associate with classic country living.
‘Our clothes are probably more body-conscious in some respects, and I’m always concerned that I’ll be arrested for transgressing historical accuracies. The most difficult character to design for was Daisy. And not at all because of the charming Miss Mulligan – she is a pleasure – but because Daisy is an interesting conundrum. She’s a woman defining herself and her position in society through the protection of men.
Carey Mulligan brings a more complicated perspective to the character and to the story, and I needed to step up to the plate to fill out that very big brief.’
‘One of the things I’ve learnt from working with Baz is that he is a master at wringing out of clothes and wringing out of the costume designer – in this case, me – the subtleties, the attention to detail and the rigorousness, particularly in men’s clothes, that gives you a feeling of character.
‘It’s simple things, like the foldedback cuffs on a lot of 1920s suits. I use a lot of that detail in the movie, and tried to find tailoring details that you don’t see on modern-day suits. There are also classic references. Nick, for example, wears a Norfolk jacket: it’s what you associate with classic country living.
‘Our clothes are probably more body-conscious in some respects, and I’m always concerned that I’ll be arrested for transgressing historical accuracies. The most difficult character to design for was Daisy. And not at all because of the charming Miss Mulligan – she is a pleasure – but because Daisy is an interesting conundrum. She’s a woman defining herself and her position in society through the protection of men.
Carey Mulligan brings a more complicated perspective to the character and to the story, and I needed to step up to the plate to fill out that very big brief.’