David Byrne has donned some pretty outlandish suits in his lifetime—remember the one from Stop Making Sense?—but the former Talking Heads frontman decided to keep things classic and monochromatic for this year’s Oscars.
The singer enlisted the tailors of Martin Greenfield Clothiers to create his all-white ensemble for the awards ceremony, and it looked nothing short of spectacular on stage. Perhaps most astonishingly, the look was completed in just one week.
“Making the suit was a fun fast project for us,” Tod Greenfield told Robb Report via email.
The Brooklyn shop, referred to as simply MGC by those in the know, was founded in 1977 by Holocaust survivor Martin Greenfield but is now run by his two sons, Jay and Tod. The family outfit handcrafts a lot of clothing for film and television projects, so it is used to working quickly. In fact, MGC previously partnered with Humberto Leon to make the gray suit Byrne wore in the broadway production of American Utopia and creates a lot of pieces for the singer’s personal wardrobe.
This time around, though, the creation would need to stand out at Hollywood’s night of nights. It did, of course. Byrne looked effortlessly cool as he performed “This Is a Life” from sci-fi hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, alongside Stephanie Hsu and composer trio Sox Lux. The enigmatic performer decided to wear a pair of so-called hot dog fingers made famous by the film, but his sartorial elegance still pulled focus.
To execute the two piece, MGC worked with EEAO‘s costume designer Shirley Kurata and in-house patternmaker Richard Masciantonio. The team first made a mock-up of a Nehru jacket based on Byrne’s measurements, then did an in-person fitting of the mock-up before finishing the actual suit in two days. After another in-person fitting, the tailors made the finishing touches and delivered the final outfit to Byrne two days later.
“It took a few days to nail down the look and choose fabric, then about one week to make, fit, and complete the suit,” Todd adds. “I’m most proud of our capability to determine what is best for our customers and handcraft it in our factory.”
If you want to channel your inner Byrne, MGC’s ready-to-wear suits start at $1,300.
