Giorgio Armani & Albert Wolsky to dress Clive Owen for 'Duplicity'

21 Mar '09

3 min read

Giorgio Armani has collaborated with two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Albert Wolsky ("All That Jazz," "Bugsy") to create the sleek and dashing man-of-action silhouette for actor Clive Owen in Universal Pictures' new romantic caper, "Duplicity."

Wolsky's 13 Oscar nominations for costume design range from such classics as "Sophie's Choice" to the recent "Revolutionary Road." In his 34-year design career, Giorgio Armani has collaborated on countless movie wardrobes. Cinematic highlights of his work include films from "American Gigolo" and "The Untouchables" to "Shaft" and, most recently, "The Dark Knight."

For Duplicity, Owen and Oscar winner Julia Roberts join one another in the latest film from writer/director Tony Gilroy (seven-time Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton). They star as Ray Koval and Claire Stenwick, two spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair. When they find themselves on either side of an all-out corporate war, they discover the toughest part of the job is deciding how much to trust the one you love.

For the film, Owen traverses the corporate world in Giorgio Armani's Made-to-Measure luxury suiting. The dominate silhouette is a two-button fine wool notch lapel tailored suit, in patterns from pin stripe to nail-head design. The color palette remains sophisticated, with navy blues and light and dark grays the colors of choice. Giorgio Armani trench coats in navy and taupe, silk and bamboo T-shirts, light and dark denim jeans, lace up two-toned shoes, Chelsea boots, cashmere polos, trim flat-front pants, and Giorgio Armani Privé watches are examples of the wide selection that completes the look.

"This film collaboration was an interesting experience for me," noted Armani. "My friend, the immensely talented and handsome Clive Owen, was the first person to bring 'Duplicity' and writer/director Tony Gilroy to my attention while he was attending my men's show in Milan. I said, 'Yes,' before I even knew I would have the honor of collaborating with legendary costume designer Albert Wolsky. Albert has that rarified gift for being able to make clothing a leading character in a film. Combine that with dressing Clive in a romantic caper—and that really becomes movie magic for a fashion designer."

Owen returned the compliment. "When Tony Gilroy said to me the brief for this movie is 'You have to look great,' the first thing I did was call Giorgio and ask him to do my clothes. And I have to say, I've never been better dressed in a movie. The clothes are electric. Armani and Wolsky are the masters."

And who can speak better on the subject of clothing on celluloid than the master costume designer himself? "My goal for the wardrobe was to make it alive, have it animate like an elegant skin on a man of action," said Wolsky. "It had to stretch, move, dash and dance—always while remaining impeccable. It was a pleasure for me to work within the world of Armani. Clive is Giorgio's number-one fan, and so the fittings were a dream. It was all there. Take these luxurious fabric choices and team them with trim-to-the-body tailoring on the suits and what you end up with is the best-dressed man in the room. He's wearing Armani, of course."

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