In the cinematic realm, costume design plays a pivotal role in shaping the visual narrative and enhancing the storytelling experience. In the recently released film Maestro, directed by Bradley Cooper, the renowned costume designer Mark Bridges brings his creative prowess to the forefront, contributing to the tapestry of the movie’s visual language. In a conversation with Spencer Williams, Bridges delves into the intricacies of his work, offering insights into the thought processes, inspirations, and challenges he faced while crafting the costumes for Maestro. From capturing the nuanced evolution of Leonard Bernstein’s wardrobe across decades to ensuring that each costume serves the character and narrative seamlessly, Bridges provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into the artistry that contributes to the film’s overall brilliance.
Spencer Williams: I am so happy to welcome Academy Award-winning costume designer and 2024 CDGA nominee, Mark Bridges. Hey Mark, it is good to see you.
Mark Bridges: Happy to be here! It’s nice to see you too.
Spencer Williams: Maestro was such a great film, and I am excited to get into the Maestro costumes. What was your familiarity with the story of Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre?
Mark Bridges: Before Bradley Cooper shared the script with me, I had limited knowledge about their relationship. While I was familiar with Leonard Bernstein, it was mostly in a peripheral sense. I knew about his involvement in the Young People’s Concerts on television in the 60s and, of course, his music for West Side Story and On the Town. However, I had no idea about his family life. Starting from scratch, I delved into extensive research, immersing myself in understanding their dynamic. So it was great to start from scratch and just research, research, and research!
Spencer Williams: Plus, you’ve worked with Bradley Cooper before, so there is a trust there, and he obviously plays a huge role in the film. Can you discuss your collaboration with Bradley, who not only starred in a film but also wrote and directed it? How did your previous collaborations influence the process this time?
Mark Bridges: We previously worked on Silver Linings Playbook and Liquorice Pizza and formed a good trusting relationship. We’ve always admired each other’s work, and he’s a great person. So when he asked me to jump on this, I was thrilled.
It’s the difference between working with an actor and working with an actor-director. This is the first time I’ve done this. My job is always to serve the piece, serve the script, and serve the dramatic moments. I make sure my actors are comfortable and able to do what they need to do in front of the camera. Whether he’s jogging in a garbage bag or being a crazy version of Jon Peters, it’s always about making sure he can do what he has to do.
Now that I’ve worked with him as a director, Bradley has this wonderful ability to try on my suggestions. He looks at them, assesses them, and then looks from the outside in as a director to decide whether it will serve the big picture, which is really only in his brain. So, the level of trust and commitment was there. It felt easy for me, though not so easy for him because he had hours and hours of fittings that would break up. He’d say, “I have two hours tomorrow and three hours on Wednesday.” And I’d just say, “I’ll take you when I can get you.” We worked through all the costumes, trying to prioritize what was going to be shot first so that we could get things into place.
Spencer Williams: I imagine this also poses a challenge because if he’s giving you that time, that means he’s also giving other departments that time as well.
Mark Bridges: Exactly. Yes. We would often have phone calls while he was in a van scouting, practicing with his dialect coach, or working on conducting, for which he was a very good student.
Spencer Williams: The film’s timeline spans several decades, from the 1940s to the 1980s. And Mark, when I think of you and your work, especially films like Phantom Thread, I always think of “Timeless Glamour.” That is the Mark Bridges style, so how did he use costumes to convey the passage of time in Maestro?
Mark Bridges: Timeless glamour. I have to get that on a T-shirt. It’s so complimentary. Thank you so much because a significant part of my misspent youth was spent watching black-and-white films in front of the television, which uniquely prepared me for this project. Of course, the artists that I studied also played a role. I watch a lot of films, always examining what defines a particular year, such as the hallmarks of 1946. You can observe how a decade evolves; I do the same with the 70s. For instance, the 1970s of Inherent Vice is not the same as the 1977 of Boogie Nights—the styles progress.
So, you’re always seeking the language of each decade, whether it involves shoulder pads, double-breasted suits, or a fuller cut of trousers for men. For women, in Carey’s case, her dress has shoulder pads, and it reflects a post-war, end-of-World-War-II length in skirts before the new look emerged. The goal is always to identify the hallmarks of the period to convey the story. I aim to make it interesting to look at but without distracting from the dramatic moments. I don’t want to pull you out of the narrative, making you wonder about the fabric instead of immersing yourself in the drama.
Spencer Williams: It is subtle immersion.
Mark Bridges: Yeah, I call it a “quiet emphasis”. It’s there, and you’re a little aware of it, but hopefully, the action and the actors take your eye more than my costumes.
Spencer Williams: So, on that same subject, many of these scenes were shot in black and white. What were the challenges that come with doing costumes in black and white?
Mark Bridges: Oh, you know, you always look for the textures to stand out, like a pattern or a bit of tooth or a little sparkle. The graphics play a role, too; I prefer not to draw attention to it, but it’s interesting how these two in the frame (Photo is below) are balanced. Bradley has the most contrast, starkly dark and pale, while she’s also the lightest thing in the frame. They balance each other, and you’re not drawn more to one than the other. If she matched the color of the sofa, your eyes would likely focus more on him. It’s a constant strategic process—playing with contrasts and values to guide the viewer’s attention or achieve balance.
You’re always strategizing on how to play with contrasts and values to guide the viewer’s attention or create a balance. For example, in classic black and white films from the thirties and forties, the star often has the highest contrast, making the other players fall away in medium value. We aimed for that balance, combining texture and character with the graphics involved in black and white.
Spencer Williams: Right. That’s very fascinating. It’s such a process of finding that balance. One thing that I found very interesting reading before this interview is you actually got to visit the Bernstein home, I believe, and actually see some of the actual clothing. Is that true?
Mark Bridges: Yes, I have some photographs of those clothes—Lenny’s jackets and things from the eighties, post-Felicia. There’s a very multicolored silk tie robe that he would wear after finishing conducting, removing his sweaty white tie and tails to relax and greet his company backstage. This guy was as colorful and eye-catching even in repose, always exuding a star quality. It was interesting to see how, as the 80s became more relaxed, his clothes became somewhat inappropriate for someone of his age. In the closet were items resembling members-only jackets but more like designed windbreakers.
While there wasn’t a ton of stuff, we found some samples, and some items were still in dry-cleaning bags. We used a robe that belonged to Lenny in the film, though it didn’t make it to the final cut. It was exciting to have that piece. Additionally, we used something of Felicia’s that Jamie, the daughter, had brought out. She mentioned her mother always wore these at the country house and said we could use them if we wanted. I couldn’t say no, thinking maybe I could find a place for it. There was one very short but important scene when Jamie asked Lenny if he had talked to Jamie, as she was hearing rumors. It worked perfectly because she would wear it at that house, creating a subtle and appropriate moment that didn’t distract from the scene. You just accepted it as how she dresses when she relaxes.
Spencer Williams: Wow, that’s such a great opportunity. I don’t think I’ve heard a costume designer yet say they have had an opportunity to use a real garment worn by the person being played in a film.
Mark Bridges: I know! That’s why I was like, “Yes, we will borrow that…” I’m not going to pass that up.
Spencer Williams: Well, I have to say one of my favorite scenes from the film was the cathedral scene. It was just beautiful. It really gave me chills. And it was also really cool to see Lenny just in his element. Can you talk about this specifically? It’s more of a traditional Maestro look that I have in the back of my head. This is really like his moment.
Mark Bridges: It is formal menswear, white tie and tails. It’s pretty classic and quite beautiful. Of course, he needs a coat that allows him to execute all of his very extreme movements. So, we worked very hard to make it appear like a regular jacket in repose, but when he needed it to move, it moved. He is incredibly physical in this; we had a few instances where things came undone, like the vest flapping out, but it’s real. I never want to rig anything so that it doesn’t behave naturally. Again, I want my actor to be free to do whatever he wants, and we’ll let those garments fall where they may.
Most of it was done in one take. The camera moves, and it’s all recorded live. Whatever happens, happens, and we were fine with that. We never wanted to interrupt and try to make the clothes look perfect because we didn’t want to break the spell. He’s in the moment, we’re filming, the orchestra’s there—let’s just let it play out. It was genuinely exciting to be there, and it turned out to be a stunning part of the film.
Spencer Williams: It was beautiful. I also noticed there were a lot of people in that cathedral. So, I imagine you must have had a massive team to pull this off.
Mark Bridges: I did. I had an incredible team in London who, under our guidance, visited and saw what they were pulling. We communicated a lot through emails and research pictures. They fitted everyone in the chorus, everyone in the orchestra, and then everyone in the audience. On the day of shooting, it was an incredible operation they had set up there. It’s mind-boggling how they managed it, how everybody went through the process, and how they made the scene beautiful. I was very happy with it, and I would work with my crew again in a minute. They were brilliant.
Spencer Williams: It sounds like you had a serious operation there. I now want to take this time to talk about Felicia Montealegre, who was an actress known for her extreme elegance. So tell me about your collaboration with Carey Mulligan and bringing Felicia back to the big screen.
Mark Bridges: Yes, we had known each other from at least one of the camera tests, and I liked her right away. She, of course, was doing her own work on the script and finding out about Felicia. She even went to Chile and met some of the family and things. So I went and gathered prototypes for all the beats and all the scenes in the film. When we got together, as I said, I tried to do a fitting in chronological order so I could say, “Let’s walk through. I thought we’d start with this and then maybe this look.” We worked on prototypes, which was great because we would see the same pluses or minuses. So I knew we were going to get someplace.
You know, it’s always about what’s going to give that quiet emphasis to any scene. There’s that scene at Thanksgiving where Snoopy goes by, and we got real double-knit wool from the period. We had it dyed to be that beautiful forest green color. It was made from a Balmain home sewing pattern. They used to have designer patterns, and we made it. It had interesting seams. But I was also inspired by a photograph of Felicia, which is very famous for the night they gave a party for the Black Panthers. So I knew she would wear a higher collar and have this multi-strand gold necklace.
But of course, every moment of somebody’s life is not documented, although they come pretty close. So there are times when you put two and two together. She’s this economic level, and this is what’s in the air during this period. That’s where this dress you’re showing (Photo Below) right now comes in. It’s supposed to be a very romantic reunion for them. The last time we saw her in an evening gown, it was very dark, very heavy. They were sort of on the outs, and she left his pajamas outside kind of thing. Well, this was a reunion and a kind of rekindling. So this choice became lighter, sexier, and a moment in time. It’s like an odd combination of a portrait of Betty Ford and Halston. You’re just dealing with the zeitgeist of the moment. I came up with this, and I feel like it served the moment. It is very feminine, looks strapless under that little cape, and just works subtly for that moment in time, very beautifully fragile and welcoming, which is what we needed.
Spencer Williams: She really feels like a great compass throughout the film to show what periods the story was in and the mood between her and Lenny as well. Felicia’s added a lot to the storytelling.
Mark Bridges: Somehow, men’s clothes don’t quite change as much as women’s. So you’re going to use her costumes as a storytelling moment.
Spencer Williams: Toward the end of the film, we see Lenny, the teacher, I would say, as he’s a little bit more relaxed and giving his time back to the community. We’ve talked about Lenny throughout his life, but what were you trying to convey at the end when we see him in his costumes as he’s teaching?
Mark Bridges: This was something that made him really become much more of a relaxed person. Early on, we see him much more dressed up, and I was shocked at some of his later album covers. He’s there with the opera singer, and it’s kind of a candid picture on the cover of an album, and he’s wearing jeans and a zip-up fleece. Whoa. He had gotten quite a large belly later in his life, the real Lenny. And so we had a different body shape that Kazu Hiro, the makeup designer, made. So this luminous shirt (Pictured Below) accommodated that without drawing any attention to it. Also, you see it in the next scene when he’s got his shirt open. There are several documentations of him wearing this shirt. So, it must have been a favorite. Why not have it on film forever? We had a couple of them made, long distance. And when we got them, they were great. And then we just tried to break it down so that it feels more lived in.
Spencer Williams: That’s fascinating. And as we come to the end of our time together, what do you hope audiences take away from Maestro in the performance, the story, and also the costumes?
Mark Bridges: Oh, that’s interesting. You know, I hope that my costumes give quiet emphasis to the brilliant performances that these people are doing and serve as a little storytelling tool. I hope they come away with an understanding that this is a well-lived life, not without its own problems, but that love can prevail despite all the adversity and bumpy roads. That’s what I think is really nice about this film. I believe many people can relate to long relationships that aren’t always smooth sailing, but if the love is there, it will survive.
Spencer Williams: Well, with that being said, I think you and your team killed it. Costume designer Mark Bridges, thank you so much for joining. This was lovely.
Mark Bridges: Thank you so much. It was great talking to you.
Maestro is now streaming on Netflix
