Adapted from a controversial William Lindsay Gresham novel published in 1946, Guillermo del Toro’s new thriller, Nightmare Alley, is filled with charlatans, hustlers, and con artists. Bradley Cooper leads the pack as Stanton Carlisle, a charismatic carnival worker who aspires to become a big-city star—by whatever means necessary. After he learns a cold-reading technique that can deceive audiences into believing he possesses psychic powers, Stanton becomes a sensation in 1940s Buffalo.
Costumes play a significant role in Stanton’s con once he lands at the glamorous Copa nightclub with his girlfriend, Molly (Rooney Mara). While their clothes may have been once appropriate for their roles as carnival gawkers, they must elevate their presentation once their targets become moguls and millionaires. Nightmare Alley, in many ways, resembles two different films, according to costume designer Luis Sequeira: one set at the seedy sideshow and another within the upper echelons of high-society New York.
“Guillermo and I spoke at the beginning about creating these two polar opposite worlds with distinct palettes and textures,” Sequeira told Vogue. “Most of the characters in the carnival are past their prime, so I wanted a lot of the costumes to look aged and worn out to show that history. Then once we moved into the city, it was all about dressing the characters in clothes that were of the moment. The fashion is brand-new, and everything looks very slick and monochromatic.”
Bradley Cooper in Nightmare Alley.
Photo: Kerry HayesNightmare Alley is del Toro’s homage to classic film noir, where a character’s alluring facade can mask ulterior motives. Take Dr. Lilith Ritter, a glamorous psychiatrist who attempts to expose Stanton as a fraud before getting tangled in his web of deception. Played by Cate Blanchett in full femme fatale mode, her collection of stylish gowns and velvet capes reveal more about the character than any verbal description.
“Luis designed a reality with his costumes that reflect personality and help tell the story,” del Toro says. “Leather, wool, embroidery—they all define character and integrate visually to a color and texture palette, seamlessly.”
Ahead of Nightmare Alley’s December 17 premiere in theaters, Sequeira shared some of his costume sketches with Vogue and spoke about bringing del Toro’s sinister world to life.
Stanton “Stan” Carlisle (Bradley Cooper)
“Stanton goes through the biggest visual transformation,” Sequeira says of the Nightmare Alley protagonist. Whereas Gresham’s original novel and the 1947 film adaptation were more evenly focused on the ensemble, del Toro’s take places Cooper at the center. “Everything he wears at the carnival is sagging and threadbare. He has a finite wardrobe, so we wanted to create a kind of capsule collection for that first part of the film: a couple of pairs of pants, some shirts, and a jacket. Then when we moved into the city, it was all about looking nouveau riche.”
Molly (Rooney Mara)
If there’s a conscience to be found among the Nightmare Alley ensemble, it’s in Molly, a carny who becomes a key part of Stanton’s con once they move their act to New York. While Stanton is out to fully reinvent himself both professionally and aesthetically, Molly is less sure about the sinister new world her paramour has pulled her into. That hesitation is reflected in her wardrobe, with Sequeira wanting to imbue Molly’s looks with a sense of youthfulness and naïveté, like a performance dress featuring a fluttery butterfly print.
“Molly has to leave her performance outfits at the Copa, so Stan purchases her a beautiful red coat to secure that look of glamour. But underneath she wears something a little plainer that harkens back to her former life,” he says. His team reinterpreted materials from the carnival sets into “comfy-cozy” clothes that Molly wears in the latter half of the film. “Stan would’ve burned everything from that carnival because he was remaking himself, but we wanted to show that Molly would’ve kept some threads from her old life.”
Cate Blanchett (Dr. Lilith Ritter)
Dr. Ritter represents the world of distinguished old money that Stanton wishes to inhabit. Sequeira cites her as his favorite character to dress in Nightmare Alley, drawing inspiration from Paris fashion sketches from the ’40s for Blanchett’s designs. “It was all about working with Cate’s body frame and making her look as beautiful as possible, which isn’t difficult,” he says. The designer culled materials from various archives across Spain, Italy, and the U.K., pulling different types of velvet for Dr. Ritter’s collection of glamorous eveningwear. “There’s one gown that had little brass stitching throughout, so in the low lighting of the Copa, any kind of movement really made the fabric sing.”
Zeena is a tarot reader who created the cold reading technique that Stanton is so desperate to master. She and her husband Pete (David Strathairn) formed a successful duo until the latter’s alcoholism forced them into working traveling sideshows. “Zeena experienced her heyday earlier in the ’20s, so you see her in one of those theatrical quick-change costumes that she would’ve worn time and time again,” Sequeira says. “We had the embroidery done in India and oxidized it when we got it back to really show that Zeena had gotten a good 15 years of use out of those garments.”
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source: https://www.vogue.com/article/nightmare-alley-costumes
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