Of
all the "Gatsby" partnerships, Brooks Bros.’
53-piece menswear collection may be the most
high-profile — and most authentic.
"F.
Scott Fitzgerald was actually a Brooks Bros.
customer," said Arthur Wayne, vice president of
global public relations for Brooks Bros.
Wayne
also pointed out that while "The Great Gatsby"
doesn’t explicitly mention the 195-year-old label,
Fitzgerald’s debut 1920 novel, "This Side of
Paradise," does, pointing to a passage in which one
character advises another: "You must go to Brooks
and get some really nice suits."
Thanks
to the "Brooks Bros. for ‘The Great Gatsby’"
collection, which hit the clothier’s retail stores and
website April 15, a fellow wishing to follow that advice
can avail himself of a range of colorful, 1920s-flavored
tuxedos, suits, suit separates, shirts, neckties, shoes
and accessories directly inspired by Catherine Martin’s
costumes for the Baz Luhrmann film — costumes that
were, in turn, based on pieces in Brooks’ own
archives.
"Think
of it as life imitating art imitating life," said
Wayne, who made it clear that while Brooks Bros. opened
its extensive digital archives to Martin — and
produced some 2,291 items for the film’s background
cast and principals — the credit for what’s seen on
screen goes to Martin.
"These
costumes were very much informed by our archives but
designed by Catherine," he said. "This wasn’t
purely an archaeological dig; we took a lot of
liberties. She wanted everything to have a big impact
and feel very fresh and very cool in that very Baz
Luhrmann way."
He
noted that the Gatsby-inspired pieces are not exact
matches of the costumes.
"We
looked at what she had done and reinterpreted it a
little bit to make things just a little bit more
contemporary. For example, the pink suit (worn by
Leonardo DiCaprio) in the movie is made from the same
fabric, but some of the specific details of it would
look very costume-y on an item sold in the store. What
we ended up with is a range of pieces with a clear link
to the film but that stands on its own."
The
aforementioned pale pink linen jacket with subtle white
stripes ($698) and matching linen trousers ($298)
certainly wouldn’t look out of place at a garden party
circa 2013, and thanks to the overall timeless nature of
men’s formalwear, neither would the tuxedos
(one-button, peak-lapel, center-vent jackets with silk
faille details, $848, matching tuxedo trousers, $248) or
ties ($60 to $98.50).
Although
the same can’t quite be said of the boldly striped
regatta blazers (options include burgundy with white and
navy blue stripes or navy blue with red and white
stripes, $798), natty straw boaters ($198) and
greyhound-headed beechwood walking sticks ($148), thanks
to the resurgence of Ivy League style, even the most
eye-catching pieces of the collection are on trend for
spring.
To
promote the collection and the film, select Brooks Bros.
stores will be featuring displays that include costumes
worn in the film, which hits theaters May 10.
"Brooks
Bros. for ‘The Great Gatsby’" collection,
available at brooksbrothers.com.