Last July, director Paul Feig posted the first pictures of the new, all-female cast of Ghostbusters. To the dismay of chauvinistic sci-fi fanboys everywhere, the cast, which included Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, were wearing updated versions of the iconic boilersuit costume. A gentle but key reboot of the original worn by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and the rest of the gang, Version 2.0 of the boilersuit was slate grey with white and marmalade parallel stripes worn with fingerless gloves and serious-looking moon boots.
Like the slouchy boilersuit worn by Ellen Ripley in Alien, or Suzi Quatro’s skintight, black-leather Elvis tribute, it’s a subversion of the garment’s symbolic role in popular culture. Kate McKinnon, who plays Jillian in the new Ghostbusters, noted the importance of her costume. “[We were] women playing scientists wearing jumpsuits, kind of ugly jumpsuits. And they made dolls of this. This has never happened,” she said.
It’s true: from Top Gun to Breaking Bad, the boilersuit in all its iterations (flight suit, jumpsuit, overalls, coveralls) has traditionally signified masculine togetherness and bro-unity. The new Romain Gavras-directed video for Gosh by Jamie xx pays tribute to the boilersuit’s darkest vision of male solidarity, A Clockwork Orange, and one of the Gosh costumes is an all-white jumpsuit worn with a cobbler’s apron.
In fashion terms, ever since they were featured in the collections of Balmain and APC in 2013, boilersuits have gone from being a guest star on the runway at men’s fashion week to a main attraction. For a designer, it’s easy to see the appeal: the look is minimal, breezy, malleable and vaguely futuristic. It’s also easy to work with – it has no end and goes around the body in a full-circle formation.
Earlier in the week, Vetements featured several at their couture collection, including an all-brown one (made in collaboration with Levi’s) accessorised with an oversized, snake-like belt. At the Paris menswear shows, the boilersuit was evident in a variety of guises. One of the main pieces at the Sacai show was a lilac version worn with a long-sleeved string vest and accessorised with an Amish hat and black boots. Y-3’s were medical green and covered in important-looking pockets. Rick Owens’ boilersuits were voluminous, featuring layers upon layers of cream-coloured fabric in an exaggerated silhouette, somewhere between an iceberg and a baked Alaska. While in London, Nasir Mazhar debuted an all-white, doily-patterned garment.
Taken en masse, these boilersuits followed Ghostbusters’ lead, feminising an atypically masculine piece of clothing, but also celebrating its qualities of hard-working traditionalism. Named after the train workers who had to man the steam engine, the boilersuit is closely associated with many blue-collar jobs, from the classic US petrol attendant to the car mechanic. Utilitarian chic has given us clothes inspired by medical, security and construction services, such as safety boots, hi-vis tops and weighty waterproofs.
In the new Ghostbusters, the jumpsuit comes courtesy of Leslie Jones’s character Patty, who works for the New York subway company, MTA. The boilersuit enjoys a mini makeover: a repurposing of workwear as phantasm-battling uniform to create an fashion film moment that can battle gender norms.
Style tips from this summer’s movies
Finding Dory
Watch the trailer for the Finding Nemo sequel then have a look at Prada’s SS17 men’s show – surely Miuccia had a preview of Dory and friends. The yellow and blue is very royal blue tang. Tropical fish colours – as done by Pixar – work outside of the cinema this summer.
The Neon Demon
A film about modelling is obviously going to have some fashion interest, especially when it’s directed by Drive’s Nicolas Winding Refn, the man who – with Ryan Gosling’s help – can be credited with bringing back the souvenir jacket. The Neon Demon is very new Gucci – lots of hotel rooms, some of which come with palm-tree curtains, as well as sequins and slip dresses. A good evening look for 2016 – just be sure to edit out the violence.
Suicide Squad
Jared Leto has green hair, but Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is the main fashion event in Suicide Squad, what with the rainbow bunches (quite Grimes), sequin hotpants (Kylie), baseball shirt and souvenir jacket (Louis Vuitton). Obviously, wearing all this together is tricky.
Legend of Tarzan
OK, so loincloths do have a place in fashion (see Versace), but actually it’s Margot Robbie again who provides the fashion reference here. As Jane, she wears a muslin dress and soaking wet hair, which has a bit of Beyoncé’s Love Drought about it. The sleeves – puffy and a bit transparent - are real-world-friendly, too.
Lauren Cochrane
