THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

NAME: Jacqueline West
EXPERIENCE: 20 years in the film business
UPCOMING PROJECTS: I do not have a current project, but I am just starting to meet about some after hiatus.

1. What were your main sources of inspiration for the film's looks?
My main sources of inspiration for Cate's character was Tannequil LeClerq, who danced for and was married to Balenchine while Daisy was a ballerina. And from the 1960s on, I was very influenced by Audrey Hepburn. I was often inspired by one of my late 40s designer favorites, Claire McCardle, for Cate's character. For Brad's Benjamin, there were many inspirations: Gary Cooper, Marlin Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Steve McQueen. To choose the vintage looks I relied on huge bodies of research. We figured we pulled about a million pieces of research for the 5,000 costumes we created for the film. We pulled from photo albums, photography books—like those of Walker Evans, Disfarmer, Lewis Hine—and from the paintings of Hopper, Manet, Cailleboite, Degas, etc.

2. Is there anyone you would wish to dress for the Oscars?
Just myself and I'll choose Dosa, designed by my dear friend Christina Kim. I love that she recycles to create her gorgeous clothing.

3. What is the look from Benjamin Button that distills the essence of the film?
I would say whenever Brad–Benjamin is dressed very simply and very American. One example of that would be at the bar in Moscow in his worn linen shirt, suspenders, and denim jeans; another would be when Daisy arrives back from France, and he's in his khakis and grey shirt with the classic leather bomber jacket. Director David Fincher always wanted to keep him very simple and classic, the quiet observer, the "everyman" watching life—and the century—unfold.

4. What's the craziest look you've ever conceived?
The Ganeesha retro-futuristic deep-sea Victorian divers in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. And yes, I made them. They were white rubber and sterling silver plate and they now live at Fox Studios.

5. To what extent was the costuming for Benjamin Button a collaborative effort?

David and I discussed the look for each character at length before I ever met with the actors. David has a wonderful eye. He's a real artist of composition, and he sees the whole scene he is creating in his head way before we shoot it. He knows exactly the look he's going for. We would pour over research , fit photos and drawings together for hours. Then when you have two consummate actors like Cate and Brad you can count on them being very involved in the selections for their characters. They had both been living with these characters for years before actually playing the roles. They both have very strong ideas and one must listen as a designer to their feelings about the looks for each scene. It was a real collaboration. I would even talk to Eric Roth, the writer, to hear what he imagined.

6. Were the costumes influenced by the New Look?

Yes, the dress was based on the designs of Claire McCardle who is responsible for the American New Look. I even had her signature brass hooks and eyes made for the dress. I had originally made the dress in red knowing McCardle loved red above all colors and I wanted the dress to be an homage to her. My mother was a fashion designer in the late 40s and loved Mc Cardle too, so it was also for her. Then I heard David didn't like red in his films. I told Cate I'd probably have to change the color but she said "It must be Red!" and decided to show David how she looked in it. She sold the dress. I think he loved her in it, and I think she was irresistable in it too.

7.How does Brad Pitt's fashion change as he grows older?
That was the big challenge of the film, dressing him young and old then old and young at the same time at the beginning and end of the film. And as far as fashion is concerned he doesn't become more fashionable: He only changes slightly with what is available to him in different decades. I tried to keep his choices what the same man would select given his age both old and young in each decade, I tried to keep the integrity of the character within those choices, I did this by looking at family albums, my family albums and those of my husband. In albums you can watch the progression of clothing of one person through their entire lives. My husband's father was a wonderful prototype for Brad. He was very classically American working class but had a real style and very strong persona. Then I based Benjamin on Cooper in his 60s (the 40s), on Brando in the 50s, and on McQueen in the 60s—when Benjamin is in his 40s.

8. How do Brad and Cate's personal styles compare with the characters'?
They both have wonderful personal styles but neither dress today like their characters in the film except maybe for the news boy cap we see Brad in sometimes.

MILK

Name: Danny Glicker
Years in the business: 18
Upcoming projects: Up In The Air starring George Clooney, directed by Jason Reitman

1. What were your main sources of inspiration for the film's looks?

The real life of Harvey Milk and culture of 1970s San Francisco. I poured over countless documents, stacks and stacks of images depicting the real people and events, and did everything within my power to meticulously organize them into their proper timeline and recreate the people and the thriving San Francisco scene.

2. Who would you love to dress for this year's Oscars and how would you dress them?

Harvey Milk! Were he still with us, he would have LOVED all the attention. He would have completely embraced the theatricality of the most photographed event of the year to publicize every issue important to him. I see his rented tux covered in "OVERTURN PROP 8" pins.

3. What ensemble in Milk do you think best captures the essence of the main character?
The iconic outfit Harvey wears for Gay Freedom Day. A clean white T-Shirt with red trim that reads "I'll Never Go Back!" over a picture of a closet door nailed shut, and a homemade black felt armband with pink triangle. Harvey literally wore his heart on his sleeve.

4. How would you have costumed this film differently if it were one year ago? Ten years ago?

One year ago, I would have done everything exactly as I did—this project was just too important to screw up, and while we were making it, my life was all about telling Harvey's story. Ten years ago—I'd rather not imagine how that would have turned out! I've had to use all that I've learned in the past ten years to make the costumes look the way they did.

5. How much input did the director and cast have in the wardrobe decisions?

I worked very closely with Gus Van Sant and all the actors, especially Sean Penn. I loved that Sean had such a powerful investment in his transformation, and we enjoyed a really close collaboration. I gave him a thick binder of photo research in the proper time line, and it was fascinating to go into the research with him and discover the revealing details.

6. Levi's are so omnipresent in the film that they almost become their own character. How do Levi's encapsulate the sensibilities of Milk and San Francisco?
Levi's are so iconic to both San Francisco, and especially to the mystique of the "Castro Clone." It was really fun to play with all the authentic denim of the 70s. We squeezed, and I mean squeezed those guys into their 501's, and when they're that tight, nothing is left to the imagination. There's a reason the look was so popular.

7. I imagine you did a lot of vintage shopping while dressing the cast. What were some your best finds?
I was responsible for dressing literally thousands of people, and I really wanted to recreate the grunge and filth of the early 70's, so I visited a lot of untapped dumps. Filthy, nameless warehouses, but gold-mines of amazing vintage stuff that hasn't seen the light of day since the 70's. When the nominations were announced, I called my dear friend Audrey Fisher, who worked as my assistant designer for prep, and said "Could you believe this all started with garbage bags full of crap in the back of a U-Haul?"

8. 70s silhouettes and jeans are back in style. In Milk, James Franco and Emile Hirsch make a pretty strong case for long hair and moustaches. What do you think?
The actors in Milk are an extremely handsome and talented bunch of guys -- I'd be hard pressed to think of a trend they can't inspire.

Sketches from still photos of the film, courtesy of Paramount Vantage. Copyright Dreamworks LLC, 2008.

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Name: Albert Wolsky

Years in the business: More than 40 years. It sure has flown by.
Upcoming project: Duplicity, with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen

1. What was your main source of inspiration for the film's costumes?

Mostly photo research. I did not dwell too much on period fashion magazines but more on general ones such as Life, the Saturday Evening Post, and photo books of real people in real situations.

2. Is there anyone you would wish to dress for the Oscars?
I'm not into dressing actors for their personal lives. I'm not good at that. While I'm ferocious when it comes to my actual character work, I don't truly care what an actor wears off screen. It should be up to them.

3. Is there one look that distills the essence of the film for you?
I personally feel that what best captures the essence of the main characters is the milieu that they're in. What surrounds them and as a result what they're wearing resonates. Picking a scene, the visit with the neighbors. Without hitting anyone over the head, I tried to show the difference between April and Millie. April is in a simple and slick blue dress. Millie's is fussy. April is totally comfortable. Millie is not.

4. How would you have costumed this flm if it were a year ago? Ten years ago?
I really don't think I would have costumed this film very differently a year or ten years ago. It's hard to tell but I'm sure if the actors were different that would be a major influence. I design for the project but one has to always keep in mind who is playing what.

5. What was the natue of your collaboration with the director, Sam Mendes, and the actors?

I'm totally director oriented. It's my job to bring to reality his vision of the film. So, I pay a great deal of attention as to the desires of a director. We are not talking about a director saying she should wear a yellow dress. No, I'm looking for what has drawn a director to the project and what he hopes to accomplish.
I work very closely with actors. They need to feel that they are being helped and are comfortable with what they are wearing. My greatest pleasure is at a fitting sometimes seeing an actor discover their character. To know what they will look like helps immensely.Many actors need the image from the beginning.

6. How do Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet's personal styles compare with their characters'?
Kate and Leo's own styles have very little to do with what April and Frank look like in the film.First of all they are both contemporary dressers and this is a period character piece. Leo is usually quite casual and in the film he has to be in a lot of suits and ties. Kate has a great style of her own and is very contemporary in her choices. She knows what she likes and what looks good on her.
The important thing to remember that what I do and what the look of this film is not about fashion. Fashion is about what passes for beauty and youth. I describe a character in a given situation. I do character. Unless of course it's a movie about fashion and that is the character.