Fashion and Styling in The Soprano's Prequel, 'The Many Saints of Newark'.

A young Tony Soprano, his father Johnny Soprano and new character, Harold.

The Many Saints of Newark, The Sopranos long anticipated prequel is set amid the race riots of 1967 and as such features a raft of new characters to conceive and to dress. But how does one imagine what already well-established and much-loved characters were like and dressed as before we came to know them on our television screens? One of the many features of what made The Sopranos one of the greatest television shows of all time, was it's incredible focus on the finer details - one of which was the clothing each character wore and what it subtly revealed about their personality at any given time. Costume Designer, Juliet Polcsa took great care ensuring the characters' outfits were not stereotypical, but instead nuanced and filled with personality. From Christopher's tracksuits to Carmella's pantsuits to Tony's silk short sleeved shirts, no detail was left to chance.

The Many Saints of Newark had big boots to fill in the costuming department, and Amy Westcott, the film's Costume Designer, does not disappoint.

Giuseppina arrives from Italy

The Sopranos authenticity was one of its hallmarks, and getting the costuming right without it coming off as caricature was an essential ingredient in what made it such compelling viewing. Too many mob movies have gone overboard with the costuming and the result has been a pastiche on Italian'American culture rather than a true depiction. From the opening scenes, The Many Saints of Newark nails the costuming. From the men's suits to the women's beautifully crafted late 60s fashions, the film feels utterly authentic. When Giuseppina is greeted from the boat from Italy full of hopes of the American dream, she is a perfect picture of freshness and charm. Her yellow floral dress and wide brimmed hat contrasts sharply with the expensive suits of the men who have come to greet her. Her innocence crossed with their more worldly, cynical look is perfectly visible in the choice of outfit.

In discussion regarding how she chose to depict such iconic characters as Silvio and Tony as young men, Amy says she tried "to take elements of their personality, and colours, and things like that. Each one of them had a colour palette and that was what kept to them. And also kept them in line with their character. So, I watched over all the shows and pulled out colours that I thought could translate into their past, so that it would be a little bit quicker [to recognise them]. And it was also what kind of things made them who they were on the show, whether it be just sweater choices or tie choices."

A young Tony and Carmella

Tony is not yet the feared mobster we come to recognise in The Sopranos. He is a naive teenager who is reluctant to even accept stolen goods into his home. He dreams of being a football player, although his family hint he might not be good enough. There is a softness and innocence to his character in The Many Saints of Newark. As Amy states: "Because he’s still sort of sweet. And you have to see that. You still have to empathize with him. I mean, even though you did on the show. You empathized with Jim [James Gandolfini] as Tony, you had to see that soft side as he grew. So, I think it was important to have that. And it subtly kept him youthful with stripes and flares and things where he was just fitting in with kids his age, and not Tony, the mob boss."

Livia and Johnny Soprano

The idea of 'dressing to represent' is evident in the movie. As second generation immigrants, dressing well, dressing more expensive than you can afford is something that is clearly important to the characters and would have been authentic to working-class immigrants of the day. Amy says "they dress much more expensively than they live. And they have nice clothes and nice cars a lot of the time. And it was because they’re representing. It’s a nice watch and a nice ring, but they live in a regular house and their wives dressed fairly, not extravagantly. And that was a conscious choice. We just wanted to keep them really, really grounded because this was a world that existed. It’s not some sort of fantasy. People know the next-door neighbour or whatever in Newark who was like this. And really this flash existence probably happened later, maybe in the ’80s, but we weren’t doing that.

Their heroes were Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. And they emulated them, even going into the ’60s and ’70s, when that stuff wasn’t fashionable anymore. Sharkskin suits and things like that, they went away fashion-wise. But these guys kept that, I think, well into the ’80s. Actually, probably even now."

Suited and booted John and Dickie

The main protagonist of The Many Saints of Newark, is father of Christopher, Dickie Moltisanti. As he does not feature in The Sopranos, the costumer designer had carte blanche on how she wanted to depict him. All his suits were custom made by Manhattan tailors, Gilberto's and all his shirts tailored by Carl Goldberg. Amy was particularly focused on the dual nature of his character. Dickie Moltisanti is at once the happy-go-lucky nice guy mobster who protects his mother in law from her violent husband, but at the same time a violent sociopath prone to fatal bursts of temper. As his character and mental state becomes darker throughout the movie, so do the colours of his suits. 

"He is this guy who’s so charming and so likeable, yet really complex. And he has strictly two sides to him. And we had to work on the veneer, the outside layer that everybody sees. And he worked really hard to make sure his outward appearance was this very important money guy, very high on the ladder.

I think, with him, a lot of it was staying lighter with the colours. The colours got darker as we went along, because his character got darker and his brain got darker. But in the beginning, it was very happy-go-lucky. That’s his whole attitude and demeanour. But always the bit of shine and the pocket square. And everything was always very together with him. So keeping him really looking good all the time."

The Sopranos universe always has a keen sense of Italian-American style

Regarding what the man of today can learn from the styling of the characters of The Many Saints of Newark, Amy suggestes the following: "I would say that the cut on a ’50s and ’60s suit, that’s the more tapered — and I don’t mean fitted, just tapered and a thin lapel — always looks classic. And I think it’s a beautiful look on most men. A nice flat-front pant. It’s a timeless look with a white shirt that I think men always look really, really good in a one- or two-button thin lapel. A well-fitted suit goes a long way.

The quarter break is perfect. I wish people would stop going so much further than that. And I also think that tailoring is everything. So you could get a cheaper suit and just have it tailored, and it will look great. 

Tailoring is the bottom line.

Amy Westcott quotes from 'inside Hook' interview.