For all we know, Timothée Chalamet could have given an Anna Paquin–in–The Irishman–style performance in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women remake (seven words!) and the stans would still herald it as the floppy-haired thespian triumph of the millennium. But lucky for us, his version of the devilishly charming Laurie gets more than one sentence of dialogue, popping up in several of the movie’s most delightful scenes in many different period-appropriate outfits. For the costumes, we have Oscar-winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran, who says she kept the Chala-hive in mind when she was coming up with his looks.
“I was looking for a style of suit that would be accessible to a young audience in terms of what they wanted to look at Timothée wearing,†Durran explained to Vulture. “I tried to find a way into a look that wasn’t alienating. I had lots of modern references.†The result is somewhat anachronistic, consisting of button-down shirts and vests from decades before and after Little Women’s Civil War setting. “I went earlier in dates for his young look,†she said. “I was actually closer to the 1840s. And for his Parisian look, I was closer to the 1880s. I stretched the time frame in order to find things that was the look we wanted for his character.â€
Interestingly, the three main creative inspirations for Laurie came from a collective of fellow well-dressed men: a young Bob Dylan, the British teddy-boy subculture, and James Tissot’s dandies-about-town impressionist painting The Circle of the Rue Royale. “I was looking at a way to amalgamate those pictures in a look that worked for Timothée,†Durran said, noting how Chalamet enjoyed being involved in the creative process behind the costumes. “He contributed so strongly to how he wore the clothes. When we were fitting for them, I’d tell him, Look at these things, this is what you got, how would you wear it? That’s how we went on and got the flavor of Timothée into the style of the clothes. It was how he chose to style the items. He has a way of wearing things.†Or rather: “He’s a very iconic kind of boy. He’s one of the most stylish people I’ve ever met.†We tend to agree.
