While working on this installment of the series, costume designers Lou Eyrich and Allison Leach developed a deeper appreciation of the late designer’s artistry as they researched his garments and accessories at the FIDM Museum & Galleries in downtown Los Angeles — home to the Versace Menswear Archive.
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Previous articles posted on this blog have been about actors who have to portray famous people in a play, movie, or TV series. They were all about the training the performer had to go to accurately play a famous figure that the public recognized. This meant vocal training to get the voice and dialect right, study of a disability if (example: Eddie Raymere in “The Theory of Everything”), but this show takes that imitation game to a new level. Having to imitate the clothing of a famous person because their clothing was such an integral part of their identity is an interesting thing. And its not like Versace’ clothing was jeans and a t-shirt. It requires an intensive study of his clothing and artistry to create the unique and well-made garments. That’s something that most people don’t think of when watching a TV show, they don’t think of the people that went into making the show esthetically pleasing. And in this cases the clothing was center to a mans life. The people that went into fleshing out the integrity of this character through his clothing had a big role to play in this production.
It amazing to read about the attention to detail that the costume designers are using to recreate Versace looks. However, I think it is important to note that Versace's assassination is a recent historical event and is well remembered. Therefore, people will remember the costumes and if the do not feel accurate, the audience will notice. Also, this the clothing is only about 20 years old and was in the public eye making it is easy to research and find what the clothing looked like. In comparison, if the show was about a fashion designer from 200 years ago, it would be much harder to find information and create with the degree of accuracy the designers are requesting. I also think its funny that they mention buying pieces off of Etsy and Ebay. I never would have expected a TV show to buy from those websites, but it makes sense that they would have replica products there. That being said, there seems to be a great amount of precision and thought that went into finding and selecting theses costumes.
Some of the other Dps and I started to watch this show every week. While the show might not be so good the costumes are pretty great. From the first moments the designs take you into the 90’s. One of the challenges about this show is that it jumps time periods all the time throughout the episodes. I think they spent a good amount of time figuring out how to costume each character. Darren crisis character I think might the hardest one to costume. He is in a bunch of different time periods but also jumps around from very cheap looking jean shorts to very expensive suits. I wish they were able to use vesscai clothing to costume everyone but that is just not realistic. One of my favorite costume pieces is the shoes vesscai wore in the first episode. I am not sure if they made it or bought them but they looked like actual shows he made.
It would be such a challenge to create costumes for a show about one of the most famous fashion designers ever. The characters depicted in the show, like Gianni and Donatella, were fashion icons of their time and thus it was must've been incredibly essential to the vision of the directors. I am very surprised that they only had one full time tailor because it seems like this would be a project that needed a lot of hands on it.
In movies and show that are specific to a certain time and certain events that were well known, like this new show or I, Tonya, costuming becomes incredibly important. Though I think the common consumer of entertainment doesn't notice when the costume is exactly right, I think that they would notice if something about it was wrong so getting the costumes exactly right would make sure that the audience is fully engaged and thrown into the world.
This show sounds very cool for the costume designers. The focus on a famous fashion designer as a lead gives the designers a lot to work with from the get go. I’m very happy to hear that they were able to actually use some of Versace’s pieces for the show, and that they were able to replicate the ones they couldn’t use with very high accuracy by comparing the actual garments. I love the ideas presented in the article that the designers want to show Andrew Cunanan “lusting” after what Versace has by costuming him in cheap and “unremarkable everyday wear”. The real elements in the design and what the actors are wearing help to tie the world being created in the TV show with the real life events that happened. From the actors’ point of view, I’m sure that it easier to get into character when you are wearing a real piece designed and maybe even worn by Versace himself.
I remember seeing commercials for this show premiering on FX and being intrigued by both the storyline of the assassination of Gianni Versace and the aesthetics of the show’s production. It was incredible to read about the great attention to detail when recreating some of the garments that appear on the show and the vast amount of research necessary to make the looks accurate and so close to the originals. As someone who is really interested in costume design, it’s amazing to think about the sheer number of hours and work put into creating the most minute details in every stitch, seam and zipper. Besides the physical garments, it was also fascinating to read about the thematic role fashion plays in the show as a separation between the shimmering, happy world of Versace and the presence of his serial killer. The disparity between the types of clothing Gianni Versace wears and Andrew Cunanan is meant to further illustrate the divide between their worlds, both economically and philosophically.
I love this show so much. Ryan Murphy creates nothing less of excellency when he decided to make a show about the assisination of Gianni Versace. The attention to detail when designing costumes is exactly what any designer should strive for when costuming anything. To be fair, they did have a full set of challenges when they took on designing the most fashionable family to ever exist, and from what I've seen they are doing an amazing job. On top of that, they have an excellent overall aesthetic, props to the director of photography. Each character is emulated perfectly, they all have a distinct style and the time period combined with the femme Miami look reads very well on screen and really shoves you into the world, making the murder believable. I really do think that this show set the bar for how much attention a designer has to put into a show, they've achieved accuracy, aesthetic, and overall beauty without a hitch.
Yay!! I am so happy that I get to read about this show as one of the articles for this week! I started watching this show when it premiered a few weeks ago, and was intrigued by the storyline. After watching the first episode, I was even more enthralled with the costume design and production design than the story itself, although Daren Criss and Edgar Ramirez do do a great job in their respective roles. I think that some people might look at using original Versace clothing as some sort of cop out for not constructing the clothes in production themselves, but if you have access to primary sources of the story that you are telling why would you not use them? I think that the costume designer in particular has done a fantastic job of styling Versace's original pieces, and cannot wait to keep watching the show to see more! She has also done a wonderful job in designing the murderer's clothing and has been able to capture is sociopathic tendencies in his clothing really well. Everyone go watch this show!
This show is absolutely glamorous and truly captures the essence of Versace, especially as highlighted through the excellent costume design of the show. The costumes highlight the true contrast between the lavishness of Versace and the average appearance of Cunanan. “Ramírez as Gianni wears a chic wardrobe full of gorgeous silk pajamas and robes, printed shirts and studded belts from his own line. Criss as Cunanan sports a mix of ’90s aspirational preppy items, often stolen, and unremarkable everyday wear.” just showcases how the designers took into account how to make both characters match the show’s aesthetic while creating a look that truly matched the persona of each character. Having to imitate such an iconic style and look can be tedious but Eyrich and Leach took numerous steps to mastering the art of what a true Versace garment would look like. The inclusion of vintage Versace clothing is an excellent way to create a genuine feeling of the style for both the actors and the audience, while paying homage to the late Gianni Versace.
I watched the first episode of the Assassination of Gianni Versace not long ago, and, right off the bat, I was fascinated by the attention to detail in the scenic and costume elements. The amount of research and care taken with each garment is insane, and I know that there are a lot of viewers who greatly appreciate the care to detail, and the devotion to the integrity of each lifestyle. Another thing I really loved about this article was the acknowledgements that they gave Joanne Mills and Jonathan Logan, their tailors. Their ability to recreate such intricate and beautiful garments. The opportunities they had to interact with the original garments to be true to Versace’s work, down to the seams, is an really cool, and I am also impressed that they didn’t just look at what was there and try to cheat their way into a simpler garment that looked the same. They were focused on all of it being true to Versace’s legacy.
This level of detail adds an incredible sense of complexity and realism to the shower. I imagine it must make it easier for the actor to immerse themselves in the rolls when they realize that the garments they’re wearing were crafted with such immense care for the original piece. This certainly helps the actors assume their characters, because it allows them to realize that this isn’t just a simple story being retold. The creator of the show is trying to make a faithful re-creation of the actual events of what happened to the beloved Gianni Versace. It never ceases to amaze me the level of detail that artists will use in their craft trying give audiences a realistic depiction of true events that . I hope that the costume designers and artists who worked tirelessly to make this happen will get their just rewards when award season rolls around for them.
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