The Untouchables: Thirties Giorgio Armani – Part 2 | Clothes on Film

connery_norfolk_top-cap1-713x600-7523745

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 wholly accurate. What Malone is wearing constituted ‘dressing soft’ in the 1920s, and is clearly a look the old cop left hanging in his closet for the next ten years.

This would not have been seen as an insult in the previous decade, however, as all men (with money) were dressing soft. Whether it be in comfortably wide Oxford Bags (trousers named after the Oxford students who wore them over their sports gear during lessons), open necked white flannel shirts, or flannel pants; the 1920s was a time when looking as though you worked at nothing for a living was decidedly on trend.

The box-pleated Norfolk jacket was originally constructed in the latter half of the eighteenth century (probably for the Duke of Norfolk, hence the name) to aid in the comfortable lifting and aiming of one’s rifle when hunting. It is loose fitting, practical and still surprisingly popular one hundred and fifty years later. Timeless and yet, ironically, never really fashionable.

Back with Eliot Ness at the border post…this time for some serious quality hide:

Dark brown hip-length leather coat, cinch belt with high notched lapels, inset pockets and front flap chest pocket and buckle cuffs. Narrow spread white pinstripe shirt with red knitted tie. Light grey trilby hat with brown silk band. Blue/red tartan wool scarf. Light brown shearling leather gloves with button fastening.

This is a decadent item of sporting leather, not ideal for equestrianism as it would need to be cut higher or have a longer single vent to fall either side of the rider’s buttocks. The quality is plain to see. Cowhide would be strong and typical, but with Armani’s involvement deerskin is more probable.

The border shoot-out sequence suggests that Ness and his troupe are desperados as much as lawmakers and, as becomes evident, they are starting to enjoy themselves.

By designating each team member a signature look, e.g. newly incensed Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin-Smith) with his rage red shirt and tie; Vance-Straker and Armani have immortalised these men as a prohibition era Wild Bunch: Kevin Costner the leader, Connery the old hand, Andy Garcia the sharp shooter, and Martin-Smith the brains.

During the shoot-out aftermath, Sean Connery’s shawl neck cardigan with leather buttons also gets plenty of screen time. This ribbed wool knitwear is a fashion staple. Daniel Craig wears a shorter, more fitted update by Dunhill in Quantum of Solace (2008). One James Bond influencing another there.

For the villains of the piece, despite Robert DeNiro’s overt pomp parading suits cut by Al Capone’s real life tailor, there is perhaps only really one ensemble that stands out: hitman Nitti’s (Billy Drago) white DB.

It’s likely this is the best remembered outfit from The Untouchables by people who do not normally remember clothes in films. Then again, a white linen suit in a sea of blue and grey is not easy to forget:

White linen four on two double breasted suit, ventless, peaked lapels with watch fob. Matching high buttoned waistcoat. White double-cuff shirt with light blue pinstripes and gold cufflinks; pin collar with silver pin. Cream silk tie. High brim straw Panama hat with black silk band. White and black kid brogues.

Totally on the nose, Nitti the cold blooded killer wears white, a colour that actually represents mourning in some cultures. This angel of death dons slouchy, almost 1980s on-trend trousers; his tailoring is smart but oh-so relaxed as well.

There may have been disagreement between Giorgio Armani and Marilyn Vance-Straker regarding the overall costume look of The Untouchables, yet ultimately that does not take away from the finished result. Even with Armani’s name plastered over the opening credits, this is still a collaboration. Infamous or not, an unforgettable one at that.