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One of the favorite looks of costume designer Julian Day in "Rocketman" comes at a time of carefully choreographed disorder: a suicide attempt by the biopic's subject, Elton John.
John, played by British actor Taron Egerton, plunged into a pool in the middle of a party, stuffed with pills and alcoholic beverages, before being removed from the water, resurrected on a hospital yard and pushed in front of a hysterical stage. Fans. With a shimmy and a shake, the singer is ready to go once more.
"Bob Mackie (John's frequent collaborator in costumes in the '70s) did most of the work," said Day. "But I embellished it."
For his iteration, Day traded Mackie's light pearls for thousands of Swarovski crystals (one million were used in the film) to give the procedure an extra sparkle. Of course, the suit was "as heavy as an armor" and a last-minute decision to put Egerton in shooting gear did not make life easier for the people involved. But the scene is a triumph, reflecting the intersection between the artist and the personality and the clothes that make it up.
Egerton Taron recreating one of John's concerts at the Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium in "Rocketman". Credit: David Appleby / Paramount Pictures
"Recently, John stated that he was putting on his clothes 20 minutes before a performance and that he was becoming" Sir Elton John, "explained Day." I really wanted to get that in the movie. "
Day is a biopic veteran. He dressed Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody", Naomi Watts as Princess Diana in "Diana" and Chris Hemsworth as F1 driver James Hunt in "Rush". But this time, the designer had a creative license on his subject, in a film that disrespects historical details or genre tropes.
"When I sat down with Dexter (Rocketman director Fletcher) to talk about the movie, we discussed what we were going to do and it was still going to be this fantastic musical," he said. "I did not want to reproduce what we had seen before, it was not fantastic – we just wanted to create our own movie."
Taron Egerton as Elton John at the Troubadour Club in California, the performance that broke John in the United States. Credit: David Appleby / Paramount Pictures
As a result, the reinvention by the uniform designer Mackie's Dodgers is the closest "Rocketman" to John's outfits. The rest are original works.
One of Day's favorite looks – where Egerton wore ruby red slippers, a fur coat, a metal shirt, and a straw hat as a tribute to Dorothy, the loose lion, Tin Woodman and Scarecrow – alludes to the quest John's self-fulfillment and self-acceptance, as highlighted in the 1973 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".
The designer talked about "using John's clothes to express what he feels", a notion that reaches his kitsch climax in a shooting where the glitter pours like tears, falling on the ground in slow motion.
Costume illustrations for Darrell Warner's "Rocketman", including the "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" outfit (left). Credit: Darrell Warner / Cos / Paramount Pictures
Day refers to the costume in question as being the "devil", a resplendent make-up of orange lycra, wings and red feather horns. He figures a lot in the film and is worn when John enters a confessional of rehabilitation that frames the biopic.
"The devil was the very first costume I designed," Day said. "He's coming out of a concert and he's tired of what's going on in his life … (He is) crazy, nasty and extremely dangerous to know it.
"The idea is that, as he begins to undress, the suit has to do the same thing, the horns come off, the wings come off, the jacket comes off, all of which adds to what's happening to him. . "
The actor Taron Egerton plays Elton John in the costume of "Devil" Day. Credit: Gavin Bond / Paramount Pictures
For accessories, Day has built, bought and embellished more than 50 pairs of sunglasses and borrowed jewelry from Chopard.
"On some days, the security guards reported between 5 and 10 million pounds of jewelry," he said, suggesting that this had allowed Egerton to get noticed. "It's very interesting to see £ 500,000 ($ 634,000) on your wrist – it makes you feel different."
Until now, the film has been well received, from its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival to its UK release. ("Rocketman" will debut in US theaters May 31.) But for the designer, there is only one opinion that counts: John's.
Day is inspired by John's costume archive, but has created all-new looks for the film. Credit: David Appleby / Paramount Pictures
"If he did not want to be happy with (the costumes), then it would not really matter," Day said. "He had to be happy with them."
"I can not say more than that," said Day.
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