HIS behaviour is NSFW but his wardrobe is very suitable for work.
The character Christian Grey is, of course, the playboy billionaire from Fifty Shades of Grey, played by actor Jamie Dornan in the soon-to-be-released film adaptation.
And while the infamous tampon scene from EL James’ best-selling novel isn’t in the movie, one aspect of the book has been translated to the finest detail — Christian’s suits.
As Justin Timberlake sang, “as long as I’ve got my suit and tie, I’m-a leave it on the floor tonight”.
Sure, Dornan gives his brooding stare and chiselled jaw a workout in director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Fifty Shades (if the trailers are anything to go by).
But it is his made-to-measure suits and ties, created by Oscar-winning costume designer Mark Bridges, that are catching the attention of the fashion world.
While the racy sex scenes leave Dornan and co-star Dakota Johnson (who plays Anastasia ‘Ana’ Steele) sans clothes, there is a certain “look” to the movie when they are actually wearing some — clothes, that is.
FOLLOWING SUIT
Sharp dressing is in for men who are suiting up in custom-made blazers and trousers, style experts say.
You could call it the Hollywood factor (it is awards season, after all) — American Sniper actor Bradley Cooper, professional suit-wearer George Clooney, and The Theory of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne are muses of the tailored look.
“The bigger picture of men beginning to understand the attractiveness of a good wardrobe to women. I think that ‘trend’ of attitude might be the thing this film (Grey) will influence,” Fifty Shades of Grey costume designer Mark Bridges told News Corp Australia.
Already, women are asking Bridges (who won an Oscar for his work on The Artist and is nominated again for his work on Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice) advice on how give their boyfriends a Christian Grey-inspired sartorial makeover.
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“I have people coming up to me ... and asking, ‘how can I get my boyfriend to dress like Christian Grey?’” Bridges said.
“Nothing looks better than a properly fit suit. You see it more and more in men’s magazines but I think once this film comes out, every man is going to be is going to be getting things made.
“Made to measure, I think ... is going to explode.”
Bridges has already noticed the Grey-effect on the red carpet.
“It’s already happening out there. I was at the Critics’ Choice Awards and I was ... impressed by a lot of the young men who knew how to wear a suit, had it fit properly, and kept their jackets on even when they were ... partying and dancing,” Bridges said.
“I was really impressed by that, I’ve always thought that’s the way it should be.
“They weren’t celebrities or anything and that’s what got me most excited, is that it’s coming back around to the days of the golden age of Hollywood when ... no matter who you were, no matter what social status you were, you dressed well.”
MORE THAN JUST A SUIT AND TIE
They say a suit makes the man. And Bridges said there is hidden meaning in the suits Dornan wears as Christian Grey, which obviously includes a lot of actual “grey”.
“He starts out very straight forward and business-like in grey ... the first of many shades of grey,” Bridges said.
“It goes from varying tones of grey for the first couple of suits to a navy and then when ... you understand that she’s changed him, he wears something completely different that we hadn’t seen him at all.”
The cut of Dornan’s custom suits — of which about a dozen were made, with some made in multiples — are form-fitting and lightweight.
“The fit changes as it goes on. It’s very uptight at first, very protective, and then as he emotionally starts to relax, you see his suit and the fit of his clothes change.”
Apart from a Charvet tie, most of the neck wear was made-to-order for the movie.
“Some of them were purchased ... but not the main tie that was sort of fetishised — that was made in Beverly Hills,” Bridges said.
“There are little signals in some of the ties ... sometimes, the motifs kind of subtly suggest what’s going on in his mind.
“But I think at the most part, it’s a luxury of texture, a luminescent quality, without ever taking away from his face.”
DRESSING LIKE DAKOTA: JEANS, CONS AND KEDS
While Jamie Dornan’s wardrobe is all about the suit, Dakota Johnson’s is more playful for her role as Anastasia ‘Ana’ Steele.
The book spells out specific style look for Ana — that she wears “a blue jacket”, “sensible brown knee-length boots” and is a “Converse and T-shirt kind of girl”, according to US Vogue.
Bridges said he “stuck to” what was in the text, along with a few suggestions from Johnson.
“There’s footwear that’s mentioned in the book that we sort of stuck to, I think viewers expect that — the Converse, and we also branched out into some Keds as well, which was Dakota’s suggestion and I happened to like them,” Bridges said.
He also styled her in Stella McCartney bras and knickers but noted that “there’s actually not a lot” of lingerie.
“We maybe see her get undressed once. I used very simple, cotton, lace-trimmed ... pretty, college student lingerie,” Bridges said.
“We used some Stella McCartney — she’s friends with Sam (Taylor-Johnson) and she provided us with some very beautiful things.
“It’s like you’ve either got clothes on, or you don’t. That’s middle ground of underwear doesn’t really happen a lot in the story.”
Even Anastasia’s casual looks were custom-made.
”There’s a peach dress, there’s a grey dress that she graduates in, those were made for us for the film. There’s a silk robe we made that for the film.
“One of them was inspired by a designer dress that we saw that fit her well but the colour wasn’t right, so we had to remake it in a light colour, for the emotion of the scene.
“Also, there’s a story point where she borrows her more well-off room mate’s clothes, so that gave us a little attitude.
“Anyone who’s familiar with the story from the book knows it’s not just her closet we’re working with.
“I tried to make it young ... but still say something about where her head’s at.”
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