Recreating the look of Hollywood’s golden age was far from black-and-white for costume designer Trish Summerville.
But for the most part, the film (and Summerville) opted for grit over glitz.
“It’s not super-glamorous,” she tells EW.
Credit: Netflix
“We’re really focused on the daily life of Mank [played byGary Oldman].
So we were looking for authentic pieces and nothing too over-the-top.
It has to be subtle.”
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“For Dave’s films, it is always pretty muted.”
Don’t look at the sea of color out there.'
Especially on our crowd days.
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Some rules of thumb included avoiding solid black fabrics, which soak up light in a scene.
Luckily, we built most of the principal clothing."
“It was just trying to have this elegance.
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But she was quite aware of the world.”
“It’s this nice bias cut; there’s a lot of movement in the sleeves.
There’s a lot of drape through the neck line.
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“Every year they had circus parties,” Summerville explains.
“We went through all these photographs and picked different costumes we wanted to replicate and mimic.”
Summerville was particularly drawn to the choices of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in archival photographs.
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“There’s a picture of Bette Davis that’s quite amazing and brilliant.
It’s so in Bette Davis' style.
So she’s the bearded lady.
There’s a great photo of her with a cigarette in her hand and this marabou beard on.”
They played croquet and golf, and you often see her in trousers, especially at San Simeon.
Louis B. Mayer
There’s no photographic evidence of the studio mogul attending Hearst costume parties.
The perfect finishing touch?
A gold lion lapel pin.
“Arliss [Howard] was great,” she adds.
“He let me put him in the jodhpurs and the high boots and the padded belly.
William Randolph Hearst
The newspaper magnate echoes his mistress' ensemble.
“We have to maintain some dignity.
He’s such an elegant gentleman.
They are the ringleaders, and this is their show,” Summerville says.
Mankhits Netflix Dec. 4.
To read more from the December issue ofEntertainment Weekly,order a copy hereor find it on newsstands now.
