Eastern Promises: Viggo Mortensen’s Double Breasted Suit

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Eastern Promises (2007). The setting: London. The location: burger joint. The outfit: Viggo Mortensen’s gorgeously cut black double breasted suit. It is simply exquisite.

Black wool four-on-one double breasted suit with flap hip pockets and rope shoulders; white cotton-poplin turn-down collar shirt; black knitted tie.

Mortensen’s mob infiltrator Nikolai is surely the best dressed Russki knuckle duster in the capital? On Viggo’s tall, slim frame the jacket appears elongated, helped by the high four on one button configuration (four buttons on the front of the jacket, one that fastens bellow the lapel line).

It seems almost as though it should be a six on two, but this might have made him look like a 1930s banker or, worse still, a gangster (he is supposed to be just a ‘driver’ after all). Flap pockets add interest below the centre, while narrow flat front trousers keep the ensemble youthful and modern. The black makes it intimidating.

Another point of note, the lapel roll on the jacket is way lavish. Resting slightly up with no hint of being pressed it adds a cache all its own. Go to any mid-priced men’s clothing store and have a peep at suits littering the rear like a dry cleaners; their lapels will look as though they’ve been sat upon by a fat man.

Mortensen dresses sharp throughout Eastern Promises, however this is a personal favourite outfit for the bravura presence it affords the right wearer. If you’re tall and toned enough you owe it to the rest of the world to wear a DB (a short guy can look fine in a DB too, so long as he’s not squat and favours Glen Plaid). Not sure who cut the suits for the film, though the ones on Mortensen appear precisely finished to fit his enviable build.

Director David Cronenberg’s sister Denise is credited as costume designer. Mortensen was quoted as saying ‘Denise came up with the clothes and we just sort of fine tuned and picked particular kinds of shoes and suits’. Thus implying the suits were not tailored for Viggo from scratch.

Update:

Viggo is wearing either Giorgio Armani or diffusion line Emporio Armani suits (possibly the latter as this would tie in with his Emporio wraparound sunglasses). Here is a LINK to an interview with David Cronenberg to clarify.