“The faux furs look great on the big screen!” Kym Canter was speaking about the collection of coats created for the fantasy musical Rocketman. The film, which charts Sir Elton John’s rise to fame through the soundtrack of his greatest hits, has music at its heart, but the singer’s colorful and flamboyant clothes undoubtedly share the starring role. And to the surprise and delight of Canter and her young Carmen-backed brand, House of Fluff was asked to create eco-friendly faux replicas of his signature furs.
Part of 85-plus wardrobe changes, the collection of furs was created by the New York-based company in less than a week. “We were very flattered,” said Canter about being asked to be part of the project. “At that point we were not even a year old brand!” She went on to explain how the House of Fluff team had a series of conversations with the costume designer Julian Day, and how important it was for Alex Dymek, the company’s design director, to help him understand how the coats should be constructed so that actor Taron Egerton, who takes on the leading role, would be as comfortable as possible on screen.
The team were sent sizes and sketches, and from these made muslin versions of the coats which were then shipped to London for the initial fittings. Only then did the company move on to make to the actual garments. “We were under such time pressure to make everything and ship it out to the costume team,” said Canter. “It takes a lot of time to make the muslins, send them for fittings, wait for them to come back, then make the pattern and finally the real coats. Luckily, Alex is a genius and the whole team nailed it!”
While Day had freehand in creating the wardrobe for the film, he didn’t simply want to replicate every one of the singer’s outfits, and Elton John had worn a lot of real fur in the past. “We were thrilled they decided to go faux,” said Canter. “No animal lost its life for the sake of vanity or a movie.” Indeed, the House of Fluff brand is 100% cruelty free. It develops its faux fur textiles in Italy, or sources them directly from around the globe, and has partnered with renowned scientists to create the most non-toxic textiles on the market. All of its products are made at a fair trade factory in New York City, with excess fabric repurposed into sweatshirt designs or plush collectibles called Scrappys. And the company partners with a women’s co-op in El Salvador for the production of its fabric garment and dust bags.
Commenting on feedback from the film, Canter explained that although the coats weren’t created as a capsule collection, perhaps in hindsight they should have been. “We have already had requests from customers for similar styles,” she said. “Everyone loves the piano key coat!” Watch this space...
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Home Page Image: David Appleby/Paramount Pictures.
