The Trench Coat that was originally designed by Burberry back during the war times had many different elements that had various military functions, such as a wool lining that could be detached and used as a sleeping bag, and storm flaps that kept the rain from running into the coat. When putting together the design, I sat down with the show's wardrobe designer and we chose which elements we liked, and how they should be stylized for the character. I am a huge HB nerd so I wanted to maintain the essence of the trench as a character in and of itself while subtly dramatizing bits here and there to keep it in the realm of a comic book costume and not just another off the rack coat you could just go out and buy. The producers were really after an iconic trench look that would add definition and clarity to the overall character. Other facets of the styling of the coat were based around what looked good/flattering on Matt and what he felt good in. He would try it on and slouch a bit, stick his hands in his pockets and slink into character and let us know what worked and what didn't. He requested a variety of interior pockets because he liked the idea of pulling random odds and ends out of them. I drafted the pattern from scratch based on Matt's measurements then constructed it the same way they put together bespoke Burberry ones, there is a ton of info online about how they construct their coats and why not just follow in the footsteps of the best/original. The fun part about drawing from the comic book is that each artist drew it differently. Some were really not about the coat and only hinted at it with minimal lines while others drew it in very high detail. Sometimes it was raglan sleeve and sometimes not. The collar changed with the decades. There were a lot of options as far as that went. It was a really cool process. I wasn't privy to the early ideas that were thrown around, but Daniel Cerone was always pretty clear in what he was looking for, and was please with the end result. I think I have some sketches laying around somewhere, I'll see if I can dig them up. Thanks for your interest! It was definitely one of the most fun projects I've ever worked on!
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Aw, thanks Chris! Just fighting the good fight! I was super close to getting them to go with Papa Midnight in a grass skirt and tailcoat too, but the director axed it. *sigh*
