Inside The Mad, Mod World Of Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Speaking to Joanna Johnston about costume design is like speaking to Stephen Hawking about the history of time. She knows her stuff. In fact, she pretty much wrote the book on it. Over the course of her decades-spanning career, the award-winning designer became the go-to costumier for the likes of Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis. Forrest Gump’s cream-colored dad suit; Marty McFly’s space-age high tops; Abraham Lincoln’s black stovepipe hat: all her.

So when Guy Ritchie needed someone to recreate the mod look of the swinging sixties for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. — his slick re-imagining of the cult '60s TV show — he naturally turned to Johnston. “Dressing a cast like that made it very easy to come to work every day” she said about her crop of burgeoning movie stars that included Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, and Elizabeth Debicki. “They’re just all so beautiful. It’s impossible to make them look bad.”

To help inspire the psychedelic shapes and prints that lend the film its unique sartorial aesthetic, Johnston turned to magazines, books, and movies. “The British library has a lot of old Vogues, so that was a good place to start.”

Here, Johnston explains how she developed the eye-popping kaleidoscope of flashy bespoke suits, provocative mini dresses, and chic pantsuits that help make The Man From U.N.C.L.E the most stylish movie of the year.

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