1883 Talking costume designer styling Yellowstone Prequel Series – The Hollywood Reporter

“I was with my team on the first or second day of the shoot. It’s all hands on deck and we’re throwing fake dirt on the actors because I thought, ‘It has to be dirtier’ – and we had to elbow the fake dirt and make the material worse,” says Janie Bryant. “And I turned to my team and said, ‘I don’t think I’ll be back here again. But we are here. ‘”

The veteran costume designer recounts in her Tennessee chest of drawers, and sounds a bit like Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone joining the Mafia family, that she’s in a place she cherishes called “” Western-ville.” And she joined, equipping a cast of literally thousands for Taylor Sheridan’s energizing drama. 1883, which premieres this week on Paramount+ as a prequel to the streamer’s hit TV series Yellowstone, and is hitting the biggest numbers for a cable debut since 2015. Bryant, who won an Emmy for her costume on the HBO series deadwood, have been in these sections before. But in that time, she’s practically become a household name as the era-defining mastermind. Foolhardy Men’s 60s international fashion, and it’s no coincidence that she also launched some of her own fashion collaborations in the process.

But these days she’s far from the canyons of Manhattan, filming in the plains of Texas and the mountains of Montana. But this time, it’s a very different story and character set Deadwood, she quickly pointed out.

“You know, there’s one word to describe it, and it’s epic, epic, epic,” Bryant said. “In my first episode, I probably got a thousand views. And of course the main cast design. Not to mention gearing up a bunch of stunts and otherworldly immigrant characters and making their way across the plains in a wagon train, shepherded by Sam Elliot as Shea Brennan . And, when she talked about working with Sheridan, the Hollywood god of creation of the moment, who couldn’t take the project from site to screen for seven months, “Taylor was amazing. He himself is quite epic. ”

Bryant is also in a similarly tight timeline and began designing with her team in LA in June before moving costume construction to Fort Worth when filming began last August. when relocating to Montana and then back to Texas. Talking to CHEAP This week, she said she’d just finished her final outfit for the season, which will wrap up filming in mid-January – but she mused when asked who the outfit was for. Given that the star-studded cast also includes Tim McGraw and his real-life partner Faith Hill as James and Margaret Dutton, newcomer Isabel May as their teenage daughter Elsa and cameos names like Tom Hanks and Billy Bob Thornton – could be anyone’s guess.

Bryant also credits players for on-screen realism. “The actresses are all wearing corsets… riding horses or driving chariots, and the men are all wearing wool with heat and elements, and you can really feel how taxing it is.” she said. “Think of a hundred degree weather and put on a camisole, corset, blazer, bust, petticoat and then put an outfit on top of that. I applaud them for going along with it.” She added, “My make-up team took some ice packs and other things to try to ease the pain. Sam Elliott said, ‘I don’t need it. I want to be hot. ‘ They really accepted what life in 1883 would be like.

Bryant says she’s given a lot of thought to the teenage Elsa, who as an adult mirrors the larger story (and who also serves as writer Sheridan’s alter ego in the retelling of the story). ), especially in the opening scene on a train in her traveling outfit.

“It was really important to show her from the start, those innocent round eyes with all the youthfulness of that character,” Bryant said. “She was a wild child too, and her aunt Claire slapped her for rude behavior and then she jumped off the train.” But, being exactly the artist she is, Bryant notes that Elsa took that leap wearing a plaid neckline that was fashionable at the time, a ruched skirt was added on the side ( a flourishing that Victorian dressmakers revived from the Baroque Period a la Marie Antoinette). “It’s one of my favorite things ever,” Bryant said, adding that Sheridan expressed a love for its blue color. Bryant said: “Blue is the color of the sky, and I feel like Elsa has an airy quality in her. “But you will be excited about the journey of that blue travel outfit. It’s like a character in itself.”

Similar thoughts occurred with Faith Hill’s outfit in a dusty pink fabric that Bryant originated in England and Tim McGraw’s felt coat with a leather-trimmed collar and carved wooden buttons. hand. “I wanted them to dress well and prepare for this journey,” Bryant said. “It seemed like the whole family really didn’t know what they were doing. So they prepared as best they could.” It also stands in stark contrast to the lone character of Elliott’s Shea, who first emerges in near otherworldly isolation. “He lost everything,” she added. “Only wear long pants, tank tops, trousers, boots. Just bare and vulnerable.”

In the middle of a busy year with 1883 as well as her time earlier this year on Paramount + ‘s Why do women kill?Bryant also has a new round of fashion collaborations. She teamed up with Hamilton Watches to personalize three of the “American Classics” styles currently available, including a version of the Vintage Quartz model on a chain bracelet. And coming this spring, she’ll be launching a capsule collection based on her deep knowledge and affection for the American West, including outerwear, shirts, and accessories. Men’s and Women’s Events, with Tom Beckbe.

Filming over the past few months, Bryant has spent a lot of time “being out of the country in a serious way,” as she puts it. “We only outside over there. One night, I will never forget, I was driving back to my hotel, and it was pitch black outside. I couldn’t see anything and suddenly, I saw a huge herd of wild boars running across the road, and I almost hit them. One looked as if it weighed a thousand pounds. And all these little pigs. I just loved them, but it was appalling. ”

And Bryant realized that she was really, really lost, just trying to get back to her hotel for the night.

“And then some cowboys saved me, thank goodness, as they did,” continued Bryant. “I stopped and he said, ‘Ma’am, do you know where you’re going?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know at all.’ And he showed me the way so I could return home.”