fashion.at/film

De-Lovely

Whenever they could, Yates and her team put the dancers and extras in vintage costumes they designed, built, and/or modified for the production, creating “costume villages” to meet the demands of dressing so many people. But for Kevin Kline’s clothing and several of Ashley Judd’s outfits, Yates had a little help…from one of the most celebrated designers of all time, Giorgio Armani.
Yates worked with Armani before on Hannibal, “so we approached him, never really dreaming he’d want to get involved,” says Yates. “But he did, which was just fantastic.” Armani and Yates met frequently for planning meetings and fittings in the Giorgio Armani Milan headquarters, where they created signature period looks for Kline and Judd as Cole and Linda Porter. more film >>>

Armani supplied several suits and tailcoats as well as eveningwear, black tie clothing, accessories, coats, and scarves. In addition, he designed and tailored all clothing for Kevin Kline and supplied beautiful evening dresses for Ashley Judd from his extensive archives which Yates was able to modify for period authenticity. Armani also made Judd’s dress for the wedding scene – a custom-designed cream satin dress with a draping train and a cascade of tiny buttons down the back – which was especially fitting as Armani created Judd’s dress for her own real-life wedding a few years ago.

Kline actually went to Armani’s compound in Italy for his costume fitting. “Armani was very excited about the project and very hands-on,” says Kline. “He would rattle away in Italian and his team of top tailors and assistants were all taking copious notes. It was like seeing a great general leading an army – calm, assured, and absolutely in command.”

“I was amazed,” adds Winkler. “Here’s this man who runs a fashion empire, and he’s down on his knees with pins in his mouth, chalking up and saying ‘Let’s get the cuffs right.’ He spent six or seven hours just fitting Kevin in some clothes – it was quite a treat.”

As a longtime personal friend of Armani’s, Ashley Judd says the opportunity to wear selections from his vintage evening collections made her feel like she was “walking back through time, experiencing a reign of elegance in America I’ve never experienced before. Everything was transcendent to an era of sheer elegance.”
“It was such a privilege being in the company of these extraordinary filmmakers,” says Armani of his De-lovely experience. “I am such a devotee of the cinema that to be given this opportunity was a challenge and reward I will never forget. Janty Yates is an artist and designer of the highest order; it was pure joy stepping outside the confines of my world and into hers. I am so grateful to MGM and Irwin Winkler for allowing me to play a small part in the making of a great film about a great man.”