Despite the hype you may have heard about the unveiling of “The Great Gatsby” costumes last week at Prada, nothing quite prepared me for the vision of pure fashion opulence that awaited at the luxury purveyor’s Soho flagship.
Upon walking into the Broadway location, you notice that the high gloss hardwood floors are sloped downward to the center of the store’s lower lever. On this slope are built-in descending steps on which any type of new products or special displays can be housed in a dramatic, cascading manner. Now imagine this space completely staged with some of the most amazing period costumes one can possibly design with walls covered in floor to ceiling posters from the movie and film footage looping on numerous flat screens in the background. Yes, it was an impressive sight to behold.
The 1920’s style of Fitzgerald’s famed characters become the epicenter of Prada. The looks of Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), Myrtle Wilson (Isla Fisher), and other ornately-clad characters were paramount to the exhibit and lent themselves to further build anticipation for Baz Luhrmann’s adaption of the classic American novel.
The 1974 version of the story from Francis Ford Coppola starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow earned nods for fashion big wigs of the day like Ralph Lauren, but Catherine Martin and Miuccia Prada‘s collaborative work on the costuming for the latest film, is sure to set a new bar for recreating Fitzgerald’s vivid depictions of the characters and the zeitgeist of the roaring twenties.
Noteworthy designs included crystal-draped cocktail dresses lined with silk georgette and custom Art Deco t-strap heels that Miuccia sketched herself for some of Daisy’s final scenes. Although the Prada show highlighted fashion and costuming for the women, it should also be noted that Brooks Brothers, who staged a Gatsby-themed extravaganza in London at their Regent Street store in late April, did a stellar job of creating the men’s style for the film including looks for Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby) and Tobey Macguire (Nick Carraway).
If you have a free evening this week and happen to be in NYC, head to the Soho district to catch the exhibit before it ships off to Tokyo on May 12th.
