At a recent event at the Carlu, “Mad Men” fashion including beehives and pearls were de rigueur. 60″s dress up night? Not quite. LCBO promoting their new line of “old fashioned drinks” brought Janie Bryant,the Emmy award winning costume designer of Mad Men to town. Just how influential has this show been to fashion in the last few years? It practically brought back the retro look .Mad Men also went on to influence a number of major fashion designers for their retro look collections : LV, Chanel , Marc Jacobs to name a few. Amazing accomplishment for Janie Bryant,the show’s fashion mastermind! We had a chance to catch up with the effervescent , St.John clad designer at the LCBO event:
Real Style: Janie did you ever think the tv show was going to get this big?
Janie Bryant: NO, not in a million years, it was so exciting to see it blossom like that. It’s very rewarding for me personally, I really enjoy the experience.
RS: Where do you get your inspiration for the 50″s and 60′s clothes on Mad Men ?
JB: Well ,I have been working as a costumer on the tv period shows for a while.I love and know the 60′s quite well. I’m a huge fan of vintage myself and I also modeled some of the clothes on my own family, like my very elegant grandmother for example.
RS. Did you know people are so in love with Don Draper that when Jon Hamm comes out as himself on the Red Carpet runways, people are saying they want him to look like Don Draper..same clothes, same hair?
JB: (laughing) No, I didn’t know, but I’m so flattered!
RS: Tell us about your book and your clothing line for QVC.
JB: The book is called The Fashion File and it provides style advice and info on the history of fashion as well. Also for anyone interested in vintage clothing there are lots of tips on how to incorporate and wear your retro clothes and lots of behind the scenes info on what goes into dressing the various characters on the show. The QVC line is a 20 piece 60′s inspired collection and I’m hoping to bring it to Canada soon also!
RS: What would you tell our readers to invest in when buying vintage?
JB: Definitely some fabulous retro accessories, because you can wear them so many different ways. Also look for an amazing jacket in quality fabrics!
Speaking of “old fashioned”. This is a name of an actual drink that Don Draper drinks on the show. The bartenders were making this and some other 60′s inspired cocktails at the event. All we can tell you, is that we now know how the Mad Men in the 60′s drank all day long! What we can’t tell you is just how they managed to remain standing on their feet by the end of the day. Those drinks were yummy, but Potent to say the least! How does the saying go? In those days men were men and the women stuck to water…something like that.
Tags: Canadian Fashion event, fashion designer, Janie Bryant, Janie Bryant at LCBO event, Janie Bryant Mad Men, Janie Bryant Mad Men costume designer, Janie Bryant QVC fashions, LCBO Old Fashioned drinks, mad men fashion, The Fashion File, vintage clothing
Can’t wait for the show to be back
Great show and Janie Bryant is fantastic. I was at the LCBO event and she looked stunning