Up today in our Q&A with Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant: Harry Crane’s transformation into Mr. Hollywood (or so he thinks).
GQ: I wanted to talk about Harry Crane considering he had a pretty big episode last night, both in character and costume.
** Janie Bryant:** I knew we were going to be talking about him today.
GQ: How did you approach Harry’s costume design this season?
** Bryant:** Harry has been such an interesting character to costume design for, considering the many, many changes he has gone through, especially with his position at Sterling Cooper and then the new agency. It was a natural thing that he would progress into something different each season. He really has changed from this total nerdy character with short sleeves and bowties to now. I approach it like Harry Crane is a wannabe. He’s so into Hollywood and I always think of him as having this image of himself as Mr. Cool but he tries to hard. I never want him to look like a joke, it’s just, really that character who, as we say, is a Hollywood douchebag.
GQ: To your point his evolution has really gone from standard office attire this flashier persona that seems built around the loud sports jacket. It makes me think he probably doesn’t even own a navy or gray suit.
** Bryant: ** He doesn’t. He used to, but that was a part of that conservative, Ivy League aesthetic. I think how he dressed then was very much him wanting to fit in as well. He’s always possessed that thing of being a wannabe but its just progressed into different staple pieces. At first it was the bow tie and now it’s the wild sports coat.
GQ: There were three jackets last night that really stood out. It was almost like they were getting louder and louder as Harry was in each scene. Were they vintage or ones you had made?
** Bryant:** They are all vintage. You know I’m obsessed with menswear and the louder the better when it comes to sports coats. It’s been fun to be able to develop Harry Crane because he wears wider ties as well as a lot of colored shirts and all of those details are really about the later 60’s, especially the way Harry wears them. And what about that trench coat?
GQ: It stood out for being such an iconic menswear piece but also conventional, considering what Harry had underneath. Was that vintage too?
** Bryant:** That is, but you know the belted trench, as opposed to one without a belt, is indicative of the early 60’s and then the belted trench is something that became popular a little bit later. Even the double-breasted, belted trench is something we’re starting to see as well during this time.
GQ: What research has been most helpful to you in determining those subtle differences between early 60’s and late 60’s menswear? And particularly for Harry?
** Bryant:** Well of course vintage GQ has always been a very important part of my research for the show and also Esquire and Rosemary’s Baby. For Harry, though, I always see him as being separated from the rest of the guys in the office because of his desire to be a part of the Hollywood industry.
GQ: Is his dressing for a life that he’s not genuinely a part of been the most informative for you when developing his costume design?
** Bryant:** That’s exactly it. It’s having those pieces like the loud sports coat and the brighter colors and wider ties that really separate him from the Madison Avenue-esque design. And I think the clothes really tell that story about him.
GQ: What’s the process like of putting together all the shirt and tie combinations together? Do you have a definitive idea in mind or do you play around with options?
** Bryant:** I drive my assistant costume designer insane. With every episode I’m looking at thousands of ties just to separate them by what character would wear what tie. A tie is that informative piece in a man’s wardrobe but specifically for the show it’s such an important piece of costume design because it tells that story about each and every single character. [laughing] By the time we get to the end of the season I always say to my assistant costume designer Tiffany, "I can’t go through the ties one more time."
GQ: At the end of the season you need a sabbatical from neckwear?
** Bryant:** I do. But Harry’s ties are so specific and so important; it’s kind of a neurosis. [laughing] I have a tie sickness.
More Mad Men style on GQ.com:
Read last week’s Mad Props with Janie Bryant
Check out our favorite looks from last night’s episode, To Have and To Hold
See every look Don Draper’s worn this season (and every season) on Mad Men