Costume Designer Mark Bridges’ Conversation On PHANTOM THREAD

Set in the glamour of 1950’s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love.

With his latest film, Paul Thomas Anderson paints an illuminating portrait both of an artist on a creative journey and the women who keep his world running. Phantom Thread is Paul Thomas Anderson’s eighth movie, and his second collaboration with Daniel Day-Lewis. (review)

From Focus Features, PHANTOM THREAD is playing in theaters nationwide.

Costume Designer Mark Bridges (left) on the set of PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Laurie Sparham / Focus Features

A crucial factor in bringing Phantom Thread to the screen lay in the creation of the costumes, requiring an authenticity and sophistication on the level of London couturiers of the era like Hardy Amies. Anderson wasn’t interested in borrowing or renting vintage apparel from museums or costume houses. For frequent Anderson collaborator Mark Bridges (Inherent Vice, The Master, There Will Be Blood), creating costumes from scratch was the only solution for a story in which dressmaking is central. “Once we decided to create original designs there was no turning back,” says Bridges. “We could only keep moving forward from that point on.”

Bridges’ mission and directive was storytelling through clothing — his garments had to reflect as much as possible the psychological makeup of the characters. The veteran costume designer, who has worked with Anderson on every feature in his canon beginning with Hard Eight in 1996, resisted focusing on a single couturier as inspiration for his creations. Instead, he researched designs from the era, creating 50 unique garments for the movie, including nine original pieces showcased in a Spring fashion show sequence.

He began his research by combing through vintage editions of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar before viewing segments from the British Pathé archive on YouTube featuring newsreel footage from the era. Bridges met on several occasions with Anderson and Day-Lewis to determine the style codes of the House of Woodcock. “We spent an entire day determining the color scheme and textures of the House,” says Bridges. “We settled on deep, rich hues and a lot of lace, with juxtaposed textures like velvet and satin in some garments.”

Bridges sourced vintage clothing from all corners of the globe, including Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, and London. But many of the garments, while glamorous and era-specific, were faded by time and wear. “We discovered early on that we would be making a lot more garments than we initially thought,” Bridges says. “Silk only lasts for so long even if the garments have been well preserved. Time marches on, and moths are busy. Most of the clothes we sourced we wound up using for inspiration or understanding construction techniques. If we were duplicating a garment, we tried whenever possible to reproduce the fabrics as closely as possible to the original garment.”

Bridges and his team also had access to the fashion archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum, so they could examine in close detail iconic gowns from the likes of Cristóbal Balenciaga and homegrown talent like Hardy Amies. These
designs were later used as inspiration for key dresses in the movie, including memorable items worn by Vicky Krieps. “Having the archive at our disposal was very helpful because we could see how lines were cut and patterns constructed,” says Bridges. “It’s amazing how simply conceived a lot of the garments are, including Balenciaga’s embroidery, with its meticulous details.”

The red dinner dress as worn by Vicky Krieps who stars as “Alma” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release.
Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

One of Bridges’ team members was French cutter Cecile Van Dijk, who learned her craft at London’s Central Saint Martins — where Alexander McQueen famously matriculated in the early 1990s — before going on to specialize in lace and shape cutting. Additional seamstresses and “hands” aided in the design process, with Cecile stepping in to advise Day-Lewis during scenes requiring intricate knowledge of cutting. She often arrived on set during filming to provide the actor with quick refreshers before he shot a scene.

Instrumental to both the design and casting process were Joan Emily Brown and Sue Clarke, who were working as volunteers at the V&A when Anderson, Bridges and Day-Lewis were researching British couture during the summer of 2016. After helping the trio examine a Balenciaga original, Anderson discovered that both women had extensive backgrounds in fashion, with Brown having worked in two major houses on Savile Row during the 1950s, including Hardy Amies’. He hired both as creative consultants, based on their ability to verify in an instant whether a bobbin or pin was appropriate to the era. But he also gave them roles as actors, playing the crucial backroom roles of head seamstresses Nana and Biddy.

Clarke had taught fashion for most of her adult life before retiring and volunteering as docent at the V&A; Brown spent decades in couture ateliers across London sewing, cutting and beading. They helped cast and crew understand workroom hierarchy, including the intricate power structure between cutters and fitters and assistants and hands. They shared minute workroom details like the mandatory white gloves worn by handlers during House fittings, and recounted stories of rigidly enforced etiquette that was the hallmark of the top Houses. “It’s a very organized world to work in with an emphasis on following the rules,” says Brown. “If you were the head of a workroom, you were addressed by Mr. or Mrs. along with your first name. It was all part of the etiquette of the time and you learned things quickly as you worked. There was a very disciplined way of doing things.”

Bridges took advantage of London’s vast network of craftspeople to dress cast members both major and minor. Many have been in business for decades and include members of the aristocracy and royal family as clientele. He oversaw
the fittings of suits and apparel worn by Day-Lewis and made by Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard, whose firm was established in 1906 and counted the Duke of Windsor as a customer. Shoes were made at bespoke cobbler George Cleverley, who opened his namesake Mayfair boutique in 1958. Milliner Sophie Lamb — who has created masks and costume jewelry for the Royal Opera House — made the elegant hats worn in several key scenes, working with a professional dyer to get the color schemes right.

Anderson and Bridges both had strong ideas about how Cyril should dress, settling on dark charcoal tones for her dresses so that Lesley Manville’s English skin could sufficiently glow. “Cyril and Lesley are both a very powerful presence in the story,” says Bridges. “They come across as very strong women in their own way, but also quite feminine and beautiful.” Over the course of the movie, Manville wears a variety of tailored dresses and suits made by London tailor Thomas Von Nordheim, who learned his craft in the House of Lachasse, the very last of the surviving London couture houses; chief designers during Lachasse’s postwar heyday included Digby Morton, Michael Donéllan and the ubiquitous Hardy Amies, all of whom were subjects of Anderson and Day-Lewis’ research for Phantom Thread.

Clothing designs also sought to reflect individual character arcs, including Alma’s transformation from humble working-class server to London sophisticate, as she becomes model and muse to Reynolds Woodcock. “I wanted to begin her story through simple, maybe not so great-fitting clothes, garments that were either passed down from her mother or frequently mended,” says Bridges. “As she gets deeper into the House of Woodcock, we see a development of shape and texture even as Alma remains herself throughout.”

In a strike of good fortune, Krieps showed up for her fitting appointments early in production and to Bridges’ delight fit into every garment he had pulled for her. “Mark brought me a bunch of dresses sourced from museums and costume houses and wherever else he could find them,” says Krieps. “I never thought of myself as a model or anyone who could wear such luxurious, refined garments, but miraculously they fit me like a glove. It was almost spooky.” Adds Bridges: “Vicky had to feel the clothes and make sure they didn’t come across as fake looking, since her personality comes to dominate over the course of the movie. That’s something Vicky was especially great about. We see her go from rags to riches, but she maintains her individuality and independence throughout.”

Bridges was an assistant costume designer on the film In the Spirit (1990) with Marlo Thomas and Elaine May, and design assistant to Colleen Atwood on the Jonathon Demme film Married to the Mob (1988).

In 1988, Mark worked as design assistant for Richard Hornung on the film Miller’s Crossing (1990), a collaboration that would continue for eight more films. In 1989, Mark relocated to Los Angeles to be Assistant Costume Designer to Richard Hornung on The Grifters (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Doc Hollywood (1991), Hero (1992), Dave (1993), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Nixon (1995).

In 1995, Mark began his costume design collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson, designing Hard Eight (a.k.a. Sydney, 1996). Their next work together was on the critically acclaimed Boogie Nights (1997), followed by Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and There Will Be Blood (2008) starring Daniel Day Lewis. Mark also designed The Master (2012) starring Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. Mark’s seventh collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson was designing Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014), starring Joaquin Phoenix, which resulted in Mark receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design.

In 2012, Mark won an Academy Award, a BAFTA award and the People’s Choice award for his costume design for the Best Picture Academy Award winner The Artist (2011), directed by Michel Hazanavicius.

Other costume design work includes Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) for director Sam Taylor-Johnson, starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan; The Fighter for director David O. Russell, starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams; Greenberg, starring Ben Stiller, for director Noah Baumbach; Yes Man (2008), starring Jim Carrey; Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr.; I Heart Huckabees (2004) with Dustin Hoffman and Isabel Huppert; The Italian Job (2003), starring Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron; 8 Mile (2002) starring Eminem; Blow (2001) starring Johnny Depp; Blast From the Past (1999) and Can’t Hardly Wait (1998). Mark also designed Captain Phillips (2013) and Jason Bourne (2016) for director Paul Greengrass.

Below is an in-depth look at the exquisite detailing of the gowns from PHANTOM THREAD.

The wedding gown as worn by Lujza Richter who stars as “Princess Mona” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

The wedding gown as worn by Lujza Richter who stars as “Princess Mona” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Detail work of the wedding gown as worn by Lujza Richter who stars as “Princess Mona” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Close-up detail work of the wedding gown as worn by Lujza Richter who stars as “Princess Mona” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Close-up detail work of the wedding gown as worn by Lujza Richter who stars as “Princess Mona” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Close-up detail work of the wedding gown as worn by Lujza Richter who stars as “Princess Mona” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Black lace dress as worn by Vicky Krieps who stars as “Alma” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Black lace dress as worn by Vicky Krieps who stars as “Alma” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Black lace dress as worn by Vicky Krieps who stars as “Alma” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release.
Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Close-up detail work of the black lace dress as worn by Vicky Krieps who stars as “Alma” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Detail work of the black lace dress as worn by Vicky Krieps who stars as “Alma” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Grandson / Focus Features

Costume designer Mark Bridge’s sketch of the Princess Mona Wedding Gown as featured in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Credit : Mark Bridges / Focus Features