Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers
Photo courtesy of Black Cat Vintage
"The 1920s are my favorite fashion era. The historical influences (Russia/Ballets Russes, the opening of the Far East, the introduction of the automobile in society, Prohibition and its consequences) and vigorous displays of wealth created the most opulent fashion. The details, like the use of real gold thread, massive jewels, imported fabrics fit for kings and queens, were astounding.
"But there was a dark, romantic opium den gypsy-ness to it that appeals to me. As carefree as the era and people were, you'd think the fashion would be more bright and optimistic, but it wasn't. It was more sensual and smoldering. Coincidentally, that contrast is the same reason I love Fitzgerald's book. How ironic that people who can afford to buy anything lack the one thing that really matters... and can't be bought. That same push/pull is present in the clothes, so the book is a really perfect allegory for the time in which it was written."
Claudine Villardito
And we couldn't let Claudine go without asking her to share a couple of her favorite '20s pieces from her store.
Photo courtesy of Black Cat Vintage
"The first piece I love is a late 1920s silk velvet flapper gown. The hip ruching makes it blousey up top, then tight across the hips, and finally it flares out in a mermaid hem at the bottom. Very dramatic. The low back is a nod to the Hays Code, which legislated indecency in movies starting in the '20s. Costumers circumvented restrictions on low cleavage and short hemlines by giving dresses low (or no) backs and figure-skimming silhouettes, not to mention using bias cut satin and velvet, which shows every curve.
"The second is a mid-20s car coat with an attached sash trimmed in monkey fur. It is made of heavyweight lacquered satin, which is impossible to find today, and has the boxy/boyish cut and asymmetry so prevalent in '20s clothes. Of course the best part is the monkey fur, which you couldn't get away with today. But it perfectly illustrates the excess and flamboyance of the times."
Baz buzz and all that jazz
It's not all you need to know about The Great Gatsby, but it's enough to impress your friends at Happy Hour anyway.
* Hip hop was weaved into the soundtrack because it's the jazz of today, says director, producer and screenwriter Baz Luhrmann ('Moulin Rouge'). He wanted to create an energy for audiences that would have been as exciting as jazz was in the 1920s, and hip hop was the obvious choice. Jay-Z is an executive producer of the film.
* The movie's costume designer is Catherine Martin, Baz Luhrmann's wife, who has collaborated with her husband on all of his productions for more than 20 years. The two Australians met after his experimental theatre company hired her to design a production for the Australian Opera. Their first film gig together was Strictly Ballroom.
The Great Gatsby. Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers
* Catherine sells homewares in her spare time, with collections of rugs, fabrics and wall coverings for Designer Rugs and Mokum Textiles. Some of her pieces appear in the film and have been used at several Tiffany & Co stores around the world.
* Baz, Catherine and other crew members ensconced themselves in the Ace Hotel in New York City to write and create, because it had views that had not changed much since the 1920s.
*Another collaborator was British musician Bryan Ferry, who re-recorded some traditional jazz tracks for the soundtrack.
Read about Black Cat Vintage in 3 Story's feature. The Great Gatsby opens in cinemas Friday. And if you want a double helping of Mr. Gatsby, check out the Robert Redford and Mia Farrow version of the film May 16 at Cinema La Placita.
