Ruth E. Carter's Oscar-worthy costumes celebrate 'pimp style' in
![During preparation, Carter knew she wanted to counteract stereotypical presentations of black culture in the 1970s to create the film's authentic, lived-in vibe that "didn't make a mockery" of the era through the film's background characters and environments as a contrast to Moore's eccentric style. "I hadn’t seen a really good '70s film addressing black culture in a very long time, so it was important to me that I addressed some of the problems from the past. Somehow the '70s got pushed into a laughable corner with big bell bottoms, afros, and Elton John glasses," she observes. "[What I created] is what I remember seeing in my neighborhood, and I wanted to bring that into this movie so that when we see Dolemite and his antics, we could take that over the top and he would stand out, whereas everybody else [on the street] felt more real. It feels like we’re doing it right, like we’re addressing part of black culture and black history in areas that have been ignored."](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/cRyKBRSw.pR7XueRS2ElwQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/entertainment_weekly_785/2b56d8c9991054698e9267544ddcd192)
![Carter began her search for the film's costumes — around 40 percent of which she says were completely constructed, versus 60 percent acquired from vintage shops — in photographs, particularly those from collections documenting production on Moore's 1975 blaxploitation hit <em>Dolemite, </em>the making of which the film chronicles. But, before <em>Dolemite</em> became a hit, Moore cut his teeth as a traveling comic, performing for urban audiences around the country as the titular character — a larger-than-life "urban dandy," as Carter calls it, whose story was largely told through his clothes. "When he passed away, I don’t know if there was an interest in all of those wonderful outfits he created, so we did the research and went through all of his movies," explains Carter. "I looked at candid photos [from production] and people looked normal in these photographs, but then you saw Rudy Ray Moore, he had a very stagey look. [In the] '70s vibe where the stage performer actually worse a costume. For Rudy, his costume was pimp-style, so he has a rose on his lapel or the lapels are trimmed with glitter, or there’s a combination of textures, colors, accessories, and hats."](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/mZv.J_8NPZKIQDVN8bKdqA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/entertainment_weekly_785/065f9841d3f8b88edd2398d0f574921b)
![In one scene, the word "pimp" pops up to describe Moore's eye-popping, colorful style, and while Carter acknowledges that Moore's sexualized persona fits the bill, the word has a different cultural connotation in the context of his world. "When you hear 'pimp,' it’s a strange word that describes this guy with a stable of women and an over-the-top look, and that certainly is part of it, but his styling is more like an urban dandy," the designer says. "[They] get to break the rule and don’t have to follow any standard style from a menswear catalog," including hats, walking sticks, canes, and hats to top it all off.](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/YfMl_u48UDORerwSMnGtuQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/entertainment_weekly_785/f5573fd0e804bb282e2a124ba7288715)
Ruth Carter on Eddie Murphy's Dolemite Is My Name costumes
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