Catherine Martin: On Authenticity
VAULT spoke to Oscar winning costume designer Catherine Martin about her work on Baz Luhrmann’s feature film Elvis, a major contribution from Warner Bros. Pictures to the legacy of one of the most spectacular pop icons of the 20th century. Elvis’ (Austin Butler) story is seen through the lens of his complicated relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Oscar winner Tom Hanks). Spanning over twenty years, from Elvis’ rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, the story is set against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America.
Image credit: Photo of Austin Butler as Elvis on set of ELVIS, 2022, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved
Congratulations CM on Elvis. I found myself transfixed while watching it, and wanting to know more. I think it’s going to be a revelation for a young audience for whom Elvis is a cliché or a stereotype. I was really moved. It’s a beautiful story that you tell.
Well, that’s certainly how the family (of Elvis Presley) felt. They felt like they didn’t need to be embarrassed about Elvis any longer. They could feel really proud of their grandfather and their husband.
The costumes are incredible. Tell me about that creative process, because I know that detail is incredibly important to you. How do you begin to tell the story of someone who endures in contemporary culture but in actual fact died so young? How do you capture that?
It starts with Baz’s vision for the story. In this case, what was interesting about it, or what interested me, was that it was not just a biopic. It is also a universal, human story, almost an American opera set against a very large canvas, from the loss of innocence of America after the war in the ’50s, through the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. It was a huge period of change and unrest and to me, that makes it very, very interesting. I love the fact that clothes are really a reflection of social history and the mores of the time. And Baz is always focused on every detail of costume and how the costume helps to tell the story. Because there’s an intersection of the story, the actor’s interpretation of the character and how the costume also fits into the complete landscape of the period. The costumes ...Subscribe to read this article in full
