Psycho Killer Qu'est-ce que c'est

They say men look better in a well-tailored suit; I whole heartedly agree with that statement. Nothing beats a well fitted suit with patterns or even in a solid color, it just brings some men to life. There is a cleanness to it which is very disarming. So, what if the man inside the suit was a cold-blooded killer? This is the brilliant juxtaposition in characters like Patrick Bateman of American Psycho and Hannibal Lecter in the Hannibal TV series. These men while very different in why and how they commit their crimes are no less vicious. Men aren’t often spoken about in terms of clothing; in fact this is one of the only spaces where men aren’t part of the conversation. While modern men now are catered to in the realm of fashion, clothing style started solely as a trivial way to keep women occupied. Men of the past had more important things to do then to think about dress, so the burden of being an object of desire in that way fell to the women. Fast forward to now however, and men have a plethora of styles to chose from, and while not completely in balance we are starting to see the equal marketing of vanity for both men and women. Drawing inspiration from Instagram I noticed that Philp Nobile Jr., editor of Fangoria, was reading From Tailors with Love; An Evolution of Menswear through the Bond Films written by Peter Brooker and Matt Spaiser. Realizing that I haven’t picked up my history of menswear book since grad school, I decided to follow that path. I wanted to focus specifically on these two men because clothing so closely defines who they are as men and as killers. Costume designers Isis Mussenden of American Psycho and Christopher Hargadon of Hannibal used texture, print, and coloring so effectively for these characters.

American Psycho was a film about the 80’s that was made in 2000. Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, it tells the story of an ambitious financier Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) living and working in Manhattan’s financial district within the economic boom of the 1980’s. While so fixated by image and how others perceive his physical and work appearance, looming under the surface is a psychopathic killer. He hurts and using women, he goes after men in his field who dare to stand in his way or receive more attention than he does. Written and directed by Mary Harron co written by Guinevere Turner, bringing a story of this caliber to life only makes sense to have women at the helm of the ship. If this film had been directed and written by men, I feel that it would have been unpalatable. Patrick Bateman and his antics are the antithesis of toxic white man masculinity, but while horrified while you watch this film by the story, it still feels contained. I say this often that it is hard to describe films from the female gaze, but you know them when you see them, and for me the feel like an exhale. A place where I know I am watching pure storytelling, not some hyper version of a fantasy that the male gaze often has.

Isis Mussenden used color and texture to bring the suits of Patrick Bateman to life in the most effective way possible. When you trace the arch of menswear over the last 100-150 years, you’ll notice that not much has changed. Of course, the cut of pants and how they we worn, we certainly don’t see many men donning tails and top hats anymore, but for the larger part menswear has been pants, shirt, maybe a waistcoat (vest) and an over jacket (blazer or what we now know as a sports coat). With that in mind it becomes difficult to dress men, especially in the setting of a story because the variety just isn’t there. What Isis did was used color, stone greys, light blue, pinstripes. She isolated Patrick from the rest of his counter parts who were all in the same suits, but by giving him his unique voice, which is exactly who he is. In the sea of financial workers, he is the red herring, although seemingly similar on the outside he is different from the rest because he is brutally murdering people after hours. When we come back to times of conservative pushback in history, we see men’s suits taking on boxier frames, almost show the world that men are still in charge by taking up space. Angular shoulders, boxed suit jackets, wider legged pants, all frame the body in a way that allows the wearer to feel bigger than he is. We saw it happening in the 50’s into the early 60’s. The idea that “men were men” they smoked, drank, and took women to their desire. And in an environment like Manhattan, it’s faced paced world of work hard play hard, we see Patrick mirroring his surrounding in the same way. These fabrics are thin and on any other wearer would appear vulnerable but on him they come off cold and harsh, just like New York winters. I understand that there are colder environments, but if you’ve never experienced a New York winter it is unbearable. Not for the fact that you have to walk everywhere but the metal buildings create wind tunnels, and you cannot keep warm, there is an inner ear cold that I have only ever felt when I’ve been home.

Patrick then becomes the city. What is a great juxtaposition, that we also find with Hannibal Lecture, is that his is a meticulous clean freak. He keeps to his routine and takes precaution before each kill. Either wearing his see-through plastic suit or killing in the nude. He does not want his image to be tarnished, literally and figuratively.  To have the choice of the see-through coveralls is also informing us that, like Hannibal, who they are as individuals is very important to them. We can see exactly what they are wearing beneath, which is a bold choice and almost a cocky attitude from them. I love how those plastic suits are used in both characters.

Hannibal (Mads Mikkelson) is much more calculated and precise with his killings, while Bateman is most definitely driven by passion and anger. We do see him start to unravel by the films end even confessing to his lawyer all the horrible things he’s done. Hannibal was brought to the screens as a series developed by Brian Fuller and had a three-season run, although I know it’s fans and myself included are itching for more seasons. Based on the book series about Hannibal Lecter by author Thomas Harris. In this incarnation we are treated to a pre-institutionalized Lecter who is still a practicing psychologist. Working together with the FBI’s Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Agent Jack Crawford (Lawrence Fishburne) on solving horrific murders. We learn that Hannibal is Will’s psychologist, and we are treated to pieces of the Red Dragon book murders and moments.

What sets Hannibal Lecter apart from Patrick Bateman is his emotional intelligence, which is clearly shown through his costuming. Costume designer Christopher Hargadon uses a warmer color pallets, patterns, and textures, to create the suits that Lecter wears through out the series. He is a man of Eastern European decent so his style is more sophisticated than the men of the FBI he stands against, who are just American men in anything you can buy from Macy’s for your workday. Most of the series takes place in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland in winter. It is barren, cold, and the ground is heavily laid with snow. When we enter the office of Lecter, we are treated to warmth. Large leather seats, ample fireplace, and drink carts filled with warming beverages like brandy. He is a man that you should trust, and he wants Will’s trust as well. He himself is warm and inviting and a man of refined tastes. Always seen in the kitchen and hosting dinner parties over glasses of the best wine, we are not to know that he is a cannibal killer. Except we the audience do know, and if you’ve seen the original Silence of the Lambs film or read the books, his outer exterior makes it even more nerve racking because we know his fate. I many a times wondered what he was serving his dinner guests and cringed that they had no idea what they were consuming on the plates in front of them.

Hannibal is a man of means. You can see that the quality of his suits is higher than his counter parts, with wools and tweeds being the primary sources. These threads do not come cheap, and he wants you to see how high his tastes are. According to Hargadon all of Hannibal’s suits were custom created per episode based on the psychology and theme of the episode by a local suit maker Garrison in Toronto. In the” Gentleman’s Gazette” article I came across on the suits, they even speak to the style of knots he uses in his ties to convey personality, which is not a detailed I picked up on first glance as I am not a suit expert; but I’m learning.

Dressing men to this degree, and even dressing highly complex killers in this way is truly an artform. I don’t think fans realize the layers that go into these characters. A psychopath or sociopath to us is not how it appears to them. These men feel justified in their actions and within their deep mental resets they feel that this is who they are. While the marketing isn’t there for men in this way, men can and should take pride in how they look. Dressing the man is just a complex as dressing a woman. Men are allowed to think about texture, color, and patterns. Vanity in a healthy amount is valid.  I deeply admire the work of Christopher and Isis because these are the moments as a costume designer that I am astounded. Knowing that yes, I could do it, but don’t feel nearly at that level of work yet. Nothing is left up to chance and it is all in the details. I do hope that one day I to can create complex looks to this degree.