“
Lee Daniels’ The Butler”
spans eight decades and depicts a spectrum of characters that could
make any costume designer’s head spin: from a rural African-American
field worker (
portrayed by Mariah Carey) to a boozy-yet-stylish ’50s lady (
Oprah Winfrey — whose character traverses all of the film’s decades as the wife of longtime
White House butler Cecil Gaines) to iconic first ladies including Nancy Reagan (Jane Fonda) and
Jacqueline Kennedy (
Minka Kelly).
From Fonda to Reagan
In the film, 75-year-old Fonda is in close replicas to the real clothing
of ’80s-era Nancy Reagan. “She loved red,” Ruth Carter, costume
designer for “The Butler,” told
Yahoo! Movies of Reagan. “A very vibrant tomato red — coined as ‘Reagan Red,’” said
Carter, who mimicked the designs of Reagan’s favorite designers, including Bill Blass. Carter even replicated a gown
Reagan wore to a state dinner.
It’s not only the clothes, but Fonda’s hair — which was coincidentally already
in the right cut to play Reagan — and her makeup transformed the Oscar winner into a convincing facsimile of the former first lady.
But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any drama in assuming the role.
Fonda managed to avoid a wardrobe catastrophe, Carter recalled, on her
first day of filming: one of Fonda’s costumes went missing — and she was
only scheduled to shoot for a few short days. “I was walking on pins
and needles.” But Fonda made it work, swapping a costume intended for
another scene while she waited for the missing outfit to arrive (and it
did, as a frantic Carter actually flew it in). Close call.
For Minka Kelly to pull it off as the stylish Mrs. Kennedy, Carter
knew she had to pay attention to detail. “My main focus was to make sure
the pink Chanel suit she wears when the [JFK] assassination happens is
perfect,” said the costume designer. “Of course we want Jackie Kennedy’s
look to be as iconic as it was in real life.” -- >
Read more: Costume: Actresses Jane Fonda & Minka Kelly Transform Into American Icons for ‘The Butler’
