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Fashion in Film: Saturday Night Fever
August 29 • 7:00 pm
John Travolta was catapulted to movie stardom with his performance and effortless dance moves in this disco-era hit. Tony Manero of Brooklyn feels his only chance to get somewhere is as the king of the disco floor. Set to one of the most memorable soundtracks in cinema history by the Bee Gees, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER is an enthralling coming-of-age story that perfectly captures the pop culture pulse of the 1970s. Rated R.
About the Fashion: Bold, authentic, and iconic are the three words that best describe the costuming in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. Right out of the gate, Travolta’s white polyester three- piece suit, complete with black polyester shirt and gold chains, was splashed across the film’s marketing materials. This costume would be the defining image of disco culture. Designer Patrizia von Brandenstein ventured to a men’s boutique to purchase the suit made of a fabric that caused the actor to sweat profusely. An elastic band was added to the shirt and attached to the waistband of the trousers to keep the shirt tucked in as Travolta made his killer dance moves. Due to budget cuts on the film, von Brandenstein would have the rest of the cast provide their own costuming for scenes set outside of the disco. The litany of bell bottoms, men’s pelt vests, and lettuce hems adds to the film’s era-defining authenticity.
Costume Designers: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Warning to the Viewer: This film depicts a graphic rape scene that may be triggering to many of our moviegoers. This film is a product of its time. It depicts racial prejudices and misogynistic viewpoints that were unfortunately commonplace in American society at the time. These negative stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. The harmful depictions in this work do not represent the values of our nonprofit theater. We elected to present the film as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. We acknowledge the film’s harmful impact and hope it can serve as an educational tool to spark a conversation and raise awareness about the outdated cultural depictions in classic cinema with modern viewers.