"Transformed Language Skills in Bob: How the Costume Designer of 'A Complete Unknown' Turned Timotheé Chalamet into a Fluent Speaker"
In 2005, she deciphered the visual language of Johnny Cash's persona for Mangold's "Walk the Line," outfitting the country music legend in Western work shirts and all-black performance attire. For 2019's "Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood," she delved into Sharon Tate's actual wardrobe to dress Margot Robbie in the same snakeskin trench coat and bright-yellow hot pants the actress wore before her tragic demise in 1969. However, for the past five years, she's immersed herself in Bob Dylan's world, mastering both his outlook on life and his fashion style.
Set for release on Christmas Day in the US, "A Complete Unknown" features Timotheé Chalamet as Dylan, illustrating his rapid ascent from his 19-year-old arrival in New York to his status as a bona fide star at 24.
"We were replicating well-documented events," Phillips told CNN in a video interview. "That was the starting point for me, just in terms of research. Meticulously examining and dissecting the script to match these events."
The film spans the years 1961 to 1965, reenacting significant milestones in the folk-rock star's early career, including the iconic 1963 album cover photoshoot for "Freewheelin'," his turbulent 1964 tour with Joan Baez, and his contentious performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
Costumes tied to these occasions were straightforward to reproduce because Phillips meticulously replicated them. Take, for instance, the leather jacket and red button-down Dylan wore during the Newport performance, when he was relentlessly booed for playing the electric guitar, or his green and white polka-dot blouse from the same weekend. Chalamet, however, undergoes more than 65 costume changes throughout the movie, as depicts Dylan's backstage moments or his downtime at home when he wasn't yet famous.
"You know his stage persona, you're familiar with news reels," Phillips said. "But what we don't see are many photos of him in his personal time, apart from performances or promotions."
To bridge this gap, she had to embody Dylan, envisioning which jeans he'd choose to explore Manhattan, the shirt he'd wear to the recording studio, or which jacket he'd grab for a ride on his Triumph Tiger 100 motorcycle.
"We didn't have access to personal photos," she explained. "So my approach is to truly understand Bob, through research... grasping his aesthetic, how he dressed himself and learning from people who knew him."
Dylan reportedly supplied Mangold with script notes, but his involvement in the project was limited to that. No access to his personal wardrobe was granted, so Phillips relied on various biographies and books about his life.
The 2008 memoir "A Freewheelin' Time," penned by Dylan's former girlfriend Suze Rotolo, was particularly illuminating in capturing the essence of those early years.
"I learned a great deal from her," Phillips said of Rotolo, who passed away in 2011, portrayed in the film as Sylvie Russo by Elle Fanning. "Regarding how he dressed himself and how he wanted to present himself to the world – his persona. I believe that it's a story of a young person searching for their identity and figuring out how they want to be perceived, enjoying freedom, and breaking away from their past."
After receiving the invitation to join the film in 2019, Phillips spent years delving into her new subject and building a comprehensive visual archive of images. Gradually, a Bob Dylan fashion blueprint emerged.
"My focus was the denim he wore," she said. Phillips partnered with Paul O'Neill, head of vintage collections at the Levi Strauss headquarters in San Francisco, to locate and authenticate Dylan's preferred denim. In the early 60s, it was the classic 501s.
"You can see him wearing the 1963 version of 501s on the cover of 'Freewheelin'," she said. "They were able to help me procure numerous vintage Levi's for the movie."
But his denim preferences shifted soon enough. After spending time with the Beatles in the UK, Dylan was inspired by the sleek mod look popular on London's Carnaby Street. He transitioned to a slimmer fit denim.
"They were called Super Slims, and they're collectible and very hard to find," Phillips said of the denim style. "Luckily for us, they recreated them for us and made them bespoke, which was thrilling." Earlier this month, Levi's announced they would reissue Dylan's favorite 1955 501 jean and his classic suede Trucker jacket for a limited time.
Chalamet has delved into historical dramas and memoir adaptations prior, but "A Complete Unknown" is his debut in the celebrity biopic sphere. Despite being engrossed in music rehearsals, vocal coaching, and pre-recording sessions, Phillips commends Chalamet's endurance during numerous fittings.
"Costume design is a very personal job," she mentioned. "We're practically the only department to greet someone with, 'Hello, nice to meet you. Please disrobe.' There's a considerable amount of trust involved."
Since the promotional tour commenced, the team behind "A Complete Unknown" has received support from Dylan himself. The 83-year-old Dylan tweeted, "A movie about me is about to premiere," and tagged Chalamet as the star. Chalamet promptly publicized this on his own Instagram account, boasting 19.3 million followers. Dylan further expressed, "Timmy's a remarkable actor, and I'm confident he'll convincingly portray me, or a younger version of me, or perhaps a different version altogether."
"Working on a film based on a living person is unique," Phillips said. "I sincerely hope Dylan watches the film and enjoys it."
However, Phillips does not express remorse over the lack of access to Dylan's wardrobe. "We're not creating a documentary," she pointed out.
"Filming, in and of itself, is quite intense," Phillips continued. "I wouldn't envision Dylan having any clothing that endured 60 years, and if he did, it should be preserved in a museum, not a movie."
In the process of creating Chalamet's portrayal of Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown," Phillips had to envision the singer's everyday fashion style, as there were limited personal photos available. She relied on research, biographies, and books about Dylan's life to develop a Bob Dylan fashion blueprint, focusing on his denim preferences, from the classic 501s to the more fitted Super Slims inspired by London's mod fashion.
To accurately depict Dylan's transformation in fashion style, Phillips collaborated with Levi's to locate and authenticate various vintage Levi's and even had the classic 1955 501 jean and his signature suede Trucker jacket reissued for limited use in the film.
