The Untouchables (1987, directed by Brian De Palma) is remembered for, amongst other things, Sean Connery’s accent, that blatant Battleship Potemkin riff with the pram, plus a rather lavish Giorgio Armani wardrobe. Though it was a rough ride getting that look onto the screen. Marilyn Vance-Straker was costume designer for The Untouchables, she created the look for each character. Armani then tailored most of the suits and accessories as per her designs. However, apparently too keen to stamp his house’s identity on garments, Vance-Straker had to re-cut most of the clothes Armani had provided in order to make them suitable for filming. The overall result is as a gorgeous looking…

Second in our two part glimpse at the clothing of The Untouchables (1987). Costume design by Marilyn Vance-Straker, selcted tailoring and suiting by Giorgio Armani. Sean Connery’s character Malone prefers a more relaxed style of dress to Costner’s Elliot Ness, as illustrated the first time we see him out of beat uniform in civvies: Norfolk style jacket in brown twill tweed. Light green shirt with pointed collars and single button cuffs. Red cable knit waistcoat. Brown tweed peaked cap. Dark green loose fitting wool trousers. Black lace-up leather shoes. “Soft clothes” huffs crooked Police Chief Mike Dorsett (Richard Bradford) at Malone’s colourful attire. This is a jibe, but is also…