John Dunn began researching costumes for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire by scouring the legendary libraries at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum, as well as photographs inside the Library of Congress. Executive Producer Martin Scorsese even compiled a 1920s film reel for the costume designer, who also visited New York vintage shops and Los Angeles costume warehouses. “That’s what really informed us about the construction, the fabrics, materials, details, colors. And the latter was really eye-opening,” says Dunn, who was Emmy-nominated for the first season of Mad Men “We are so used to looking at that period in black-and-white films and sepia photos. Not a lot of the original color survived. But if you take apart a hem or a seam in a vintage garment, you’re like, ‘Holy Cow! Look at that color!’ It was not a drab period at all. We were amazed by the colors even the men were wearing back then.” Dunn used only authentic fabrics, nothing that did not exist in 1920, and often had to have fabrics specially woven for the men’s suits to get the proper period weight and texture. Steve Buscemi’s clothing was custom-made by master tailor Martin Greenfield, who could turn out a suit for the show in just four days, often in triplicate. — Read more about John Dunn HERE

Article by Elizabeth Snead @ deadline.com

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