The George C. Wolfe-directed Rustin tells the story behind the historic 1963 March on Washington with a twist. Fairly than centering around Martin Luther King Jr., the film tells it from the vantage point of Bayard Rustin, a gay Black activist who isn’t often related to the monumental moment. Played masterfully by Colman Domingo, Rustin’s life is depicted in a way that feels deserving and intimate largely attributable to the costuming spearheaded by Toni-Leslie James. 

“I’m a Broadway girl and I’ve done quite a lot of period plays,” Leslie James says in a Zoom call from her home. “[I’ve also done] quite a lot of period musicals and small, short movies.” She expresses that she has a long-standing relationship with Wolfe too, and that’s what led her to Rustin. Her first Broadway show was the director’s musical Jelly’s Last Jam. “After I got the decision for this film, I used to be pleasantly surprised, and it was a frightening task, but I’ve taught costume history for 15 years.” She feels that her extensive experience in costuming prepared her to depict the Civil Rights era.

Along with her background, her team, and her contacts in tow, Leslie James hit the bottom running in 2020 after being chosen as lead costume designer. Much of the film was shot in Pittsburgh and he or she shares that on-location in Pennsylvania there was an assortment of antique outfitters that she purchased and pulled from. “I couldn’t imagine [it]. That was really a lifesaver for us once we started off because quite a lot of people were doing [period] movies at the identical time.” She also bought clothing from boutiques all around the country in cities like Poughkeepsie in Latest York–there she got here across a store where she was capable of purchase nearly 25 suits from the ‘50s and ‘60s which were cut up, tailored, and copied. 

Within the film, Domingo’s Rustin appropriately wears suits that appear comfortable on him when he’s out and about in Latest York City. Half of his suits were custom-made by a designer based in California, Serj, while the opposite half were from the Poughkeepsie boutique, which is now closed. “We used among the suits on other people,” she said. Leslie James mentions that she also worked with Eric Winterling, a fancy dress designer in Latest York on Domingo’s suits. For his home outfits that are far more relaxed, Domingo wears laidback collared shirts and loose trousers. At one point while in his apartment, he even wears a lengthy patterned, velvet robe. 

“One in every of my favorite looks is definitely [the] robe,” Domingo said. “They found this fabric in Pittsburgh and created this incredible [robe], it looks like a tapestry and feels royal. I really like that Toni-Leslie James, our costume designer, went with that fabric for when he’s at home. Such as you’re at home. It’s less about [how] the world sees you.” It was essential for the lead costume designer to depict Rustin in suits in addition to outfits that exude comfort. She notes that the robe and other pieces assists with showcasing him as a multi-dimensional human being who lets his hair down at times. 

Within the moments where Domingo was shown with young activists, Leslie James wanted these individuals to have distinct style cues. She placed a considerable amount of importance on depicting them as if they were from all throughout the nation since her research pointed to that. “[I wanted] to be certain that everyone brought that background into their clothing,” she said. “Each of the actors also had an identity. So after they all got here together, we had a extremely smart, vibrant team. But after they were separate, you possibly can see that they’d separate individual kinds of dressing.” This shined through in a myriad of how: ‘60s style tailored trousers, a light-weight blue floral dress, vibrant knit sweaters, and collared shirts in hues like orange. Their youthful energy was executed in a wonderful manner. Rustin also showed viewers that they were the heartbeat of the March on Washington through telephone fundraising, strategy sessions with Bayard, and grassroots organizing. 

To reflect women’s clothing within the early ‘60s Leslie James used vintage imagery for inspiration for activists Ella Baker played by Audra McDonald, Coretta Scott King (Carra Patterson), and Anna Arnold Hedgeman (​​CCH Pounder). While Baker wore hues resembling navy blue that felt somewhat uninspired, King and Hedgeman expressed themselves through their fashion. Each of those women who were pivotal to the Civil Rights movement had wardrobes built for Rustin. Baker wore easy custom dresses as King and Hedgeman donned more memorable pieces. For example, while home together with her children in Georgia, slightly than being fully glamorous as she is commonly depicted, the previous wears a relaxed floral house dress with an apron. There may be one key moment where Hedgeman is seen in a gathering with mainly men and he or she’s wearing a maroon suit and a cream top. The dark hue speaks to the facility she holds amongst a bunch of men. 

To comprehensively depict the larger-than-life figure Martin Luther King Jr. (Aml Ameen), Leslie James says all of his suits were custom by Serj too. “Martin Luther King Jr. is immaculate,” she noted. With this as a guiding light, she leaned on vintage images of King and in addition decided to showcase him in outfits that exude comfort and leisure. “I believed it was essential that we get away, that we not appear like a life photo shoot and truly portray these people as they’re in home.” That meant outfitting him in pieces like knits and shorts in hues of brown and even a dark brown knit cap he wore in his Georgia home that felt very ‘60s. 

As for the trailblazing March on Washington scene, Wolfe requested for organizers, attendees, and background characters to wear pastel hues and Leslie James achieved that brilliantly. For that last major scene shot in Washington, D.C., a whole bunch of actors and actresses were seen in striking shots making for an exhilarating moment. “It got here together in such a lovely way, and I’m just so appreciative of getting the chance,” Leslie James said. 

Below, we speak with Toni-Leslie James on how she pieced together the costuming in Rustin, working with George C. Wolfe and dealing with the forged which included Colman Domingo, Audra McDonald, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, CCH Pounder, Aml Ameen, and more. 

ESSENCE.com: First, I actually have to ask what it was like working with George C. Wolfe?

Toni-Leslie James: In specific scenes, he gave me specific directions that he desired to go in, but I mean, the fantastic thing about working with George is you sit down and also you discuss quite a lot of things across the film, quite a lot of things of what’s happening on the time of the film without actually talking concerning the film. I feel due to our long association, there’s a trust factor there. I had specifics. We checked out quite a lot of research. We talked about quite a lot of character research. We talked about specific costumes just like the core costumes, buttons, what they wore in the course of the march, different hats, different banners, and several types of people he desired to see on the march. But George, if he trusts you, he means that you can have quite a lot of, I feel, creative license in developing the characters, 

You mentioned previously that your background is basically focused on theater, how does this work differ from working on costuming to your first film?

One in every of the things that you simply come up against while you’re doing movies like with theater, once we’re doing theater [or] once we’re doing a Broadway show, it’s mainly the time that each one the shops have, because most of our clothes are being built. So that you run right into a conflict that you’ve to space out your entire shows between 5 – 6 different shops. With film, you run into the thing that for those who’re doing a show that is ready within the ‘60s, there are probably 20 other shows which can be doing shows, [or] a movie set within the ‘60s. So while you go into the big rental houses in Los Angeles, you sometimes find that quite a lot of the stock has been depleted, and in order that’s while you start reaching out and there are quite a lot of individuals with vintage clothes across the country, in order that’s while you start reaching out the shops in Atlanta, vintage clothing suppliers and collectors and upstate Latest York, [and] vintage clothing people in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

What was most significant to you when working on this historically significant film that centered around Bayard Rusin and the beloved March on Washington?

It’s essential to bring authenticity to the clothing [since] the tendency may be to over-romanticize something, and so it’s just, I call it to run to the beautiful, and most of the pictures that you simply see of Bayard Rustin, he’s very casual. He’s very loose. Getting Bayard [correct] was incredibly essential because there’s a looseness and a comfortability with the way in which he wore his clothing. And Colman, Colman is incredible and he’s also very loose, very casual. I can’t say enough about him because he’s a beautiful person. [Me and Colman] worked together on Broadway also so we were comfortable with one another. And in addition with costumes and with all actors, even background actors, you’ve to have buy-in. People must feel comfortable in the garments and you furthermore mght must convey why they’re wearing this particular garment and this particular scene. So all of that together was what I used to be specializing in.

Was there anything specifically about Bayard Rustin that you simply desired to signal together with his Colman Domingo’s costuming?

Bayard [compartmentalizing] many various facets of his life. So it was just like the Bayard with the young team and where he was at all times working so often when he was together with his team, the tie was loose after which the shirt was wrinkled because he’s been working all day and also you rarely see him in a jacket. After which Bayard working with A. Philip Randolph and Martin Luther King Jr., after which the formality of his clothing then of the way in which he wears his suits. Still, Martin Luther King Jr. is immaculate, but Bayard, he can have the shirt on, he can have the tie, it’s not at all times completely tied, but [when] he’s there, he’s showing up in that individual work uniform.

After which you’ve Bayard as a Black gay man when he’s going to the bars and that form of casualness, that’s one other Bayard. That’s one other set of clothes that he puts on when he goes out to the bars. After which there’s the Bayard at home and the clothing that he wears there. And so it’s really such an excellent opportunity and a challenge, which makes it much more exciting. I just like the challenges of with the ability to see this man in all of his life, the way in which he resides his life. And none of its secrets. It’s just him living his life and that’s the way in which he has chosen to do it.

Are you able to discuss the way you tackled the wardrobe of Martin Luther King Jr. who was played brilliantly by Aml Ameen and that scene with the laidback cap?

We [always] see [Martin Luther King Jr.] so immaculate and we see him in suits and it’s identical to his suits are custom made and we at all times see him, but then the person has just left his house. The family is cooking dinner, and it’s identical to, what does Martin wear when he comes back into his home? He’s just gone out. He’s just gone out to the shop or going out for a couple of minutes. He’s not going to a gathering. This can be a man once more like Bayard, who’s relaxing at home. And I believed it was really one moment that I had that I could actually show Martin at home. Loads of times while you see photographs of the King family, it’s a magazine photo shoot.

I believed it was essential that we get away, that we not appear like a photograph shoot and truly portray these people as they’re at home. Because even within the movie, it’s easy. The Kings, it’s really easy to romanticize them. And I desired to be certain that we had some authenticity. [Aml Ameen] wore all custom suits built by a tailor named Serj in Los Angeles. 

I’m excited to discuss how Colman Domingo’s suits got here to life. Let’s discuss that process. 

Half of Bayard’s suits were custom and so they were made by Eric Winterling in Latest York. And the opposite half, considered one of my assistants, Nicky Tobolski, someone told her there was a person’s haberdashery [we needed to go to]. Let’s put it this fashion. It was a person’s suit shop. And this gentleman had a whole bunch of suits still with the tags on them from the ‘50s and ’60s. Most of them are Hickey Freeman. And so we drove to, I feel it was Poughkeepsie or something like that. And this gentleman had inherited the shop. It was his father’s shop. He sold all varieties of different antiques, but at the back of the shop, it was like time had stood still and it was all of those a whole bunch of suits and these amazing glass cabinets. And we got there and purchased about 20, 25 suits before he sold all of them to a European antique clothing dealer.

When it got here to the suits worn by Chris Rock who played Roy Wilkins, what did you would like to shine through?

The entire thing with Roy Wilkins is [that he’s] the younger man in that group, he’s probably the most conservative and he repeats suits more actually because that character’s not interested by clothing. Power, yes. Clothing, not a lot.

Were you searching through vintage imagery as you carved out the depiction of the powerful women within the film which included Ella Baker, Coretta Scott King, and Anna Arnold Hedgeman?

Old imagery, and I mean, Ella Baker, there are research photos of her, but there weren’t as many research photos as I might’ve liked or if there [were], I couldn’t find them. But in fact, there are differences. I’m getting back to with the ability to see Coretta and identical to a cotton dress and an apron is great, because normally once we see her depicted, she’s in a skin-tight A-line silk dress, and he or she has the pearls and her hair is in place and the whole lot else. Yeah, that’s great. That’s great for the march. So once more, the contrast between the march and at home and her clothing we had built. And Audra’s clothing we had built. 

[Hedgeman’s] clothing we also had built. That was a extremely good, elegant woman who helped plan [the March on Washington], but was still form of sidelined while you come all the way down to it. I mean, the entire women, they were crucial. But once more, we did have photographs of her in her clothing and he or she at all times dressed elegant, very professorial-like. And so we wanted to have the contrast too. Because Ella Baker, you never saw her with makeup. Baker was a employee. I read a bit of research where considered one of the [men who] wasn’t doing the planning for the march, had told [Baker] that [she] can have more power if she dressed prettier and placed on makeup and the whole lot else. And he or she was a lovely woman. And he or she was like, “I’m not doing that. It’s identical to that is me without makeup, with none of that.” So the contrast between these three female leaders needed to be present. And that’s what we were going for once we were taking a look at the costumes.

You were increase to the impactful March on Washington, how did you and your team pull that off with a whole bunch of background characters?

We had a tremendous team. I might say we had 14 different designers and wardrobe individuals who did all of the fittings for the background. So there was a period where we’d fit perhaps 80 people a day for a few weeks, after which they might do a lineup. After which I might have a look at the pictures or if I used to be there present, I’d go upstairs, we’d line everybody up for looks after which I could say, “Change the shirt, change his hat. Change, etc.” So we were really meticulous in ensuring that everybody was dressed properly. I just can’t say enough concerning the team. They were just really great. Great support, smart, amazing eyes, nevertheless it took a village. That wasn’t all me.

The quote included within the story from Colman Domingo was provided by Netflix and was captured before the SAG-AFTRA strike.