American Hustle: costumes of the year?

Plunging necklines, slinky dresses and near-misses: American Hustle's costume designer Michael Wilkinson reveals the story behind the fashions

BY Kate Bussmann | 18 December 2013

There's no question who got the better end of the fashion bargain in American Hustle . Clue: it wasn't the men. A twisty heist film set in New Jersey in 1978, its male cast endures some horrific style crimes: Bradley Cooper sporting a terrible at-home micro perm; Jeremy Renner in huge bouffant, boxy suits and massive ties, and Christian Bale with an absurd comb-over and a pot belly (which isn't a prosthetic - he gained over three stone for the role).

But Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams ? They lucked out. Adams spends much of the film in slinky Diane von Furstenberg wrap dresses, oversized vintage Christian Dior sunglasses and Gucci horse bit jewellery, while Jennifer Lawrence is sexier than we've ever seen her, her hair piled high, her dresses leaving little to the imagination.



Amy Adams in American Hustle

"I was thrilled at the prospect of doing a film set in the 1970s," says veteran costume designer Michael Wilkinson , whose varied CV includes two Twilight films and the upcoming Batman vs Superman . "It was an era for clothes when ideas were big, people lived large, took risks and didn't give a damn. Today, we're much more conservative - we hide in our clothes.

"We watched every film set in New York and New Jersey in 1978, looked at endless photographs of 'real' people from the period, and magazine shoots, advertising and high fashion."



Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams in the film

To emulate the look, Wilkinson scoured private collections, vintage stores, flea markets and the film studios' own rental houses. "I mixed high end vintage designer pieces - Halston, Gucci, Diane von Furstenberg, Christian Dior and Ozzie Clark - and custom made costumes, combining strong dramatic lines with soft, sensual fabrics."

Nowhere is that more true than in the plunging necklines worn by Amy Adams.



Amy Adams plays Sydney Prosser

"There was a new spirit in the clothes for American women in the late 1970s. They were enjoying new freedoms in fashion - less underpinnings, less structure and bold, streamlined shapes. The natural shapes of a woman's body were celebrated. I wanted to reflect the sense that Amy's character Syd was constantly treading the fine line between supreme confidence and fragile vulnerability."

The dresses may be gorgeous, but for Adams, they were a little perilous. "I never used tape," she told The Cut . "It's a credit to my posture. And good editing. And nudity clauses."



L-R: Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence in the film



Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper go for a power walk