Costume designer Janie Bryant has outfitted Don, Roger, Peggy, and Joan for a full decade in Mad Men years. And as much as fashion has changed since the show’s premiere, which was set in 1960, to the current episodes, taking place in 1970, Bryant says that one sartorial element of the series has remained the same.
“I like the idea of Don being rooted in these gray suits,” Bryant told VF Hollywood on a recent phone call. “If you think about Don, he is a country boy. He really comes from modest beginnings and had a very unhealthy childhood that was kind of riddled with alcoholism, prostitution, and abandonment. For me, I always go back to the gray suit because that is Don’s armor from himself and from the world.”
For the final batch of episodes, which take place after Don, Roger, Joan, and the rest of Sterling Cooper’s partners sell the company to McCann Erickson for millions of dollars, Bryant says that she upgraded all three characters’ wardrobes to reflect their new bank accounts. “Don and Roger are definitely the kind of characters who have suits made for them,” Bryant reveals. “These bespoke shirts and ties are very much part of the culture and illustrate the wealth that men and women had in that period.”
For Draper, played by Jon Hamm, Bryant incorporated more expensive materials. And even though the show’s leading man does not indulge in many trends, the designer revealed that Draper’s suits in the final episodes have “slightly wider lapels,” and to go with them, “slightly wider ties.” (As Roger’s 70s-tastic mustache suggests, John Slattery’s character embraces more of the fads.) She continued, “Don’s suits are still very contained in the Don Draper masculine, minimal design aspect of his character.” He is also incorporating some color into his looks with blue, striped, and maroon shirts that fall within his masculine palette. (Colors that are off-limits for Don Draper, Bryant told us, include a muddy-brown suit, green, yellow, or any of those “those icky colors of the period.”)
Don and Roger’s new wealth is best displayed in the early diner scene of the semi-season’s first episode. In it, Don and Roger, both in tuxedos, entertain three gorgeous women in fur and evening gowns. Explained Bryant, “That scene is really about Don being able to have whatever he wants, including the women he chooses. Don and Roger are out with these beautiful, gorgeous, very young women that are very fashion-forward and fabulous and beautiful and amazing. And then he wants to be with Diana (played by Elizabeth Reaser)—sad, destitute Diana in this dumpy diner. I think it’s an interesting story. . . it’s not about the money and the looks that one may have. It’s really about the attraction in terms of emotional capacity.”
Bryant especially enjoyed designing for Joan, played by Christina Hendricks, who is shown indulging in her new wealth by dress shopping at a fancy boutique. As she stands in her dressing room, looking in the mirror, she is wearing an incredible black-velvet bejeweled v-neck dress with feather detail that Bryant designed herself. “During this period, feathers were such a big part of fashion,” Bryant explained of her motivation with this design. “So I wanted Joan to have something that was of the moment. I love the idea of the movement that the feathers provide in that particular scene, when she is pointing to clothes and saying, ‘I want this one. I want that one.’ That dress was all about the opulence . . . it was very expensive for Joan to buy. I wanted it to have that lushness, exotic, even hedonistic attitude.”
Bryant loved the black dress so much that she suggested to Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner that Joan wear it on her date with new flame Richard (Bruce Greenwood). But Weiner had something else in mind. “When I talked to Matt about that particular scene, he really wanted her to be in something classic and almost a little old-fashioned. Something that seemed more 1960s than 70s.” Of the sapphire dress Joan ended up wearing, Bryant told us, “It was made of this beautiful Chinese brocade. And then I had my tailor do the jeweling around the neckline. People have gone nuts for that dress.” The classic design proved a stylistic counterpoint to her new, West Coast beau. “Richard’s whole costume is about him being this retired mogul and he’s totally into California, so his costume design is very modern.”
One new character who made a sartorial splash was Pima Ryan, the bisexual photographer played by Mimi Rogers. For the character’s impeccably tailored white suit, Bryant says that she was summoning a combination of Bianca Jagger, Tom Wolfe, and Annie Leibovitz “I really envisioned her in the white suit,” she said. “That was about creating this androgyny for that character. She is a real mover and shaker. It wasn’t about her liking men or women . . . it was about her getting the job done. She is a real manipulator. So it was about creating that aura for that.”
For last Sunday’s episode, Bryant was able to explore the more far-out designs of the early 70s with clothes for Glen, the Draper’s former neighbor who has been harboring a crush on Betty for some time now. “I love the idea of Glen being almost a hippie in a way . . . of him being a part of the counterculture and enlisting to go to Vietnam. It’s like you can almost imagine him in the barber chair getting his hair and sideburns buzzed off. I love that Glen comes to the house and he really is a teenager of the times with his blue jean shirt and his bell-bottom jeans.”
On the opposite end of the style spectrum is Peggy Olson, played by Elisabeth Moss. Bryant tells us excitedly how after seven seasons, the costume designer finally stumbled upon a suit that perfectly encapsulates Peggy’s fashion sense. The ensemble Bryant spoke of is worn during Peggy and Joan’s uncomfortable meeting with lewd McCann men about a pantyhose account. “That is a vintage suit and it’s actually a dress . . . the bodice of the dress is polka dot and the skirt is plaid. For me that is the perfect Peggy garment if there ever was one. It’s got plaid, it’s got polka dots, it’s got a bow at the neck. That is Peggy wrapped up in one package.” The new wardrobe addition is also practical for the character: “Peggy usually gets a new suit with each season. So that was totally realistic that she would have a new suit.”
Reflecting on finding Peggy’s final suit, Bryant conceded that she is still in disbelief about Mad Men’s forthcoming conclusion. “I can’t believe this show is going to be something of the past as opposed to the present or the future,” she said. Speaking for all of us, she added, “I’m not ready for it to end.”
