“I want to write something new, something extraordinary and ...

and he and Nick were part of a secret society. The research the team did at
Bazmark led them to the Skull and Bones, which is probably the most secret of those
societies. So, as a detail on the costumes, CM lined my suits with a skull and
crossbones print. She didn’t need to do that, and you’ll probably never see it, but I
knew it was there.”
“That’s the job of a costume—the actor is the transformer. The actor with the
script and the director really make the story, and the costume is there to support the
process,” Martin says.
Some traditional styles were slightly modernized, in particular for some of the
more dazzling party costumes. “Baz is always interested at looking at the past
through very modern eyes,” explains Martin. “So, it’s a process of making a very
erudite study of costume history and of the details of manufacture that were
interesting in the past, and reapplying them in a very modern, very interesting way
to the clothing.”
One way contemporary style was incorporated was by collaborating with
Italian designer Miuccia Prada on some of the female costumes. “Miuccia designed
40 of the background dresses for the party scenes. So, 20 for the ‘glamorous party’
and 20 for the ‘sad and tawdry party,’ which is what we called it,” says Martin with a
smile.
In addition to the party dresses, Prada also made the “chandelier” dress and
the fur that Daisy wears for her first and only appearance at one of Gatsby’s
parties—a pinnacle moment in the film. To complete the look, Daisy wears a pearl
and diamond headband from Tiffany’s, as well as the stunning engagement ring she
wears throughout the film.
“I’ve never worked on a film that’s had such scale but also such intricate
detail in the design of it—in every costume I wear and on every set that I walk into,”
says Mulligan. “Every time I put on a pair of Daisy’s shoes or I wear some Tiffany
jewelry… For example, the engagement ring that Daisy has is just this enormous
diamond, and every time I put it on, I feel so different, so…Daisy.”
DOING UP THE TOWN, DOWN UNDER
“New York in 1922. The tempo of the city had changed. The buildings
were higher, the parties were bigger, the morals were looser and
the liquor was cheaper. The restlessness approached…hysteria.”
—Nick Carraway
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