#‘The Crown,’ ‘Perry Mason’ Costume Designers on the Suits That Make the Men

Welcome to Chippendales

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Chippendales founder Steve Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani) pays a pivotal visit to a custom suit maker. “He’s at this point in his life where he’s getting everything made: shirts, suits, ties,” says costume designer Peggy Schnitzer. She marks a milestone in the Indian immigrant’s journey toward his American dream through his “uniform,” which began with late ’70s beige suits.

An exacting Steve demands that the reluctant tailor shorten his jacket sleeves, defying the era’s style, solely because he wants to showcase his Rolex with the solid gold fluted bezel and diamond dial. “It wasn’t important for him to be in fashion,” says Schnitzer, whose custom suit design took inspiration from 1980’s American Gigolo. “It was more about what people can see: his watch, his rings and his tie pins.”

Steve’s extremely buttoned-up and fastidiously styled suits and ties also emphasize his growing rivalry with Chippendales choreographer Nick De Noia (Murray Bartlett). Opening the New York City outpost in 1983, Nick commands every room in outfits of effortless minimalism, his shirts rakishly open at the neck. “I never put a tie on Nick, because I wanted you to see the difference,” says Schnitzer. “Nick just wears his own clothes, but the clothes wear Steve.”

The East Coast debut is a smashing success, landing Nick and the dancers a television segment with Phil Donahue, who introduces him as “Mr. Chippendales.” Steve becomes incensed, especially after Nick — and his new moniker — secure more daytime spots. Countering with an interview on the local Los Angeles news, Steve introduces a splashier look: a dark gray notch lapel suit, with a silver shirt and tie, tastefully accented with a pin. “I just thought it was a statement to have that super elegant monochromatic suit and something that he might not pick himself,” explains Schnitzer, imagining that Steve’s wife and Chippendales accountant Irene (Annaleigh Ashford) influenced his decision. “Maybe now he’s so used to bespoke, but it was like nothing that he’s ever worn before.”

But Steve is humiliated on air thanks to awkward banter, an embarrassment exacerbated by a makeup job that disregards the tone of his complexion, an issue still prevalent today. He rapidly unravels and initiates a path of destruction for the club, Nick and himself. Contemplating his actions, Steve sits silently in his dark office, his hands clasped atop his desk. His gold Rolex looms out of his jacket sleeve, glimmering ominously.

Perry Mason

HBO

Scrappy PI-turned-lawyer Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) has evolved since he donned a tie that he pilfered off a dead body in the drama’s first season. After a brief stint in civil litigation, he returns to criminal cases to defend two young Mexican American men accused of murdering the dilettante son of a Los Angeles mogul. Mason can’t resist a challenging fight for justice in his ongoing crusade (or chip on his shoulder) against the establishment. But he needs to upgrade his usually rumpled suit for the endeavor.

Costume designer Catherine Adair custom-designed a navy three-button, notch lapel suit, with “a slightly more sloped shoulder” and a narrow waist. “All the suits Perry wore are period-correct,” says Adair, who based the ensemble on a vintage early ’30s suit that perfectly fit Rhys.

In the courtroom, Perry faces off against assistant DA Thomas Milligan (Mark O’Brien), who arrogantly quashes the defense in a magnificent three-piece plaid suit, complete with rarefied peak lapels and double-breasted waistcoat. His accoutrements, including a red silk tie matching a perfectly folded pocket square, are precise — “bespoke to the nth degree,” says Adair. The comparison between the two in their tailored but disparate suiting clearly illustrates the classism and corruption that Perry is up against, while helping Rhys with his performance. “Matthew actually came up to me afterward, said an expletive and then, ‘Thank you. This really helps,’ ” she recalls.

Later, investigating a shady gambling boat, Perry undoes the courtroom suit jacket and loosens his tie, while a brawl with henchmen musses his crisp shirt. “For Perry, there’s still the discomfort of being in his own skin and being at odds with himself,” says Adair. “There was still that feeling that even if you put him in something that was bespoke — or not from the morgue — the discomfort of not being at peace with himself is apparent, even when he goes into court and slowly is more together.”

But one mystery still remains: How did Perry acquire his new suit? Adair explains that she and Juliet Rylance, who plays Della Street, pitched a scene (or expository line) in which the law student takes Perry to the tailor. “The story was too dense and complex [to fit it in],” explains Adair. “We kept saying, almost to the very bitter end, ‘Can you just put one [scene] in? Because everybody’s going to ask this question.’ “

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“Make me into a British gentleman,” says Mohamed Al-Fayed (Salim Daw) to his new hire Sydney Johnson (Jude Akuwudike), the former longtime valet and footman to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Along with mentoring the billionaire on afternoon tea etiquette, Sydney takes Mohamed to the tailor for a pinstripe suit that’s literally fit for a king, albeit abdicated. “The Duke felt it gave him more stature in photographs,” says Sydney, gesturing toward a higher-waist cut on the double-breasted, peak lapel jacket.

But returning costume designer Amy Roberts, who won an Emmy for season three, explains that his aspirational suiting arc began much earlier. In 1946, enterprising teenage Mohamed (Amir El-Masry) sells Coca-Cola on the streets of Alexandria, Egypt. After spotting the Windsors visiting the British-occupied territory, he becomes enamored by what the monarchy represents. “I want to match them. I want to be like them, have power like them,” says the young dreamer, whom Roberts outfitted in a “cool little jacket” to differentiate him and his ambitions from his brothers, and a “really quite decent suit” for his wedding. “For me, it starts from that, as to why he wants to get into English society,” she says.

The real Al-Fayed enjoyed printed silk shirts with flair, which Roberts referenced through colorfully striped dress shirts. She also expressed Al-Fayed’s penchant for wearing lightweight fabrics, despite the chilly English winters. “[Mohamed is] alluding to British society, and all the snobbery that goes on with that, but doesn’t quite do it,” says Roberts. “He still holds on to himself.”

But even with his billions, Mohamed can’t attain the ultimate validation: meeting Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton). He buys Harrods department store in 1985 to secure the coveted sponsor’s seat next to her at a polo match, only for the queen to snub him by not attending. A hopeful Mohamed wears a silver-gray peak lapel suit in a jaunty twill weave. His French-cuff shirt, with pink and pistachio vertical stripes, feels playful and harmonizes with his eventual seatmate and fast friend Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), who’s in soft lilac.

“We were really keen to link them together, and it was light. It was funny,” says Roberts. “The scene is so clever — the lightness of it — and we all know what’s going to happen.”

This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.