Cafe Society, Paris: Moeurs, Costumes et 
Portrait of a Girl (thought to be Beatrice Hastings) 
From workroom to wardrobe, Johnny Depp's Modi was a playground of post-war Parisian fashion and creativity for celebrated costume designer Penny Rose.
"For any actor, working with a director with experience in front of the camera is the best thing imaginable," says Modi's costume designer Penny Rose. "This is because they know exactly how it's done. And this isn't just any actor. This is a great actor. Johnny is phenomenal."
And Rose would know. The chief costume designer on several major award-winning films, she masterminded the utilitarian looks in the rock ‘n’ roll Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982) biopic and the glittering outfits in Evita (1996), starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. Lest we forget her iconic costume designs for the Pirates of the Caribbean films (2003-2017). We need only look at the swashbuckling ensemble worn by Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to see her eye for detail and character building in action.
Most recently, Rose reunited with the Pirates lead to work on his directorial film, Modi - Three Days On The Wing Of Madness. Following its most recent premieres at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, Rome Film Fest and Seville European Film Festival, we spoke to the acclaimed costume designer on her craft and the intricate mechanics behind Modi's wardrobe.
Night Café by Axel Törneman, c.1905 - 1906
An Era of Emerging Self-Expression
In Modi, Depp transports his audience through 72 hours in the life of renowned Expressionist painter Amadeus Modigliani. Supported by Rose and production designer Dave Warren among others, he recreates the heady mise en scène of 1918 Paris; think of cobbled streets marred by World War One and jazz bars broiling with creatives and poets. It’s here that we meet Modi (played by Riccardo Scamarcio) who, alongwith his Montmartre contemporaries, infused colour into Paris' roaring Cafe Society.
Verging on the precipice of flappers and swing jazz, the period was a moment of transforming fashions and attitudes. Women expressed themselves by rebelling against traditional fashions and social conformities, while men emerged from the front lines disillusioned and all the more determined to live gloriously. Naturally, self-expression became the touchstone of the era, as well as Depp’s film; where the historical period and desires of its inhabitants are evoked through exquisite acting and costume design.
“The year 1918 was the beginning of high fashion and tremendously innovative ideas," recalls Rose. From analysing Modi's script and historical books to exploring photographs and the costume houses of modern-day Paris, Rose was tasked with reimagining the era’s fashions and impoverished clothing under the lens of post-war occupation. It was just the type of challenge that she relishes.
Unlike with modern films (typically called "shopping jobs"), period and fantasy features allow costume designer to create costumes from scratch. "You are, in essence, manufacturing everything you need for the job," she says. "It's a far more comprehensive job. But I much prefer designing clothes in the workroom, and choosing the fabrics, colours and styles." One can imagine Rose and her design cohort amassing hundreds of illustrations and fabric cuttings. Or illustrative mood boards inspired by her visits to London's prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum.
British soldiers viewing spring designs in Paris by Louis-Rémy Sabattier,
L’Illustration newspaper, 1915. Private collection.
It’s All About Beatrice & Modi
One of Modi's most eclectic and colourful wardrobes belonged to Beatrice Hastings (played by Antonia Desplat), the pen name of Emily Alice Haigh (1879 – 1943). Hastings was an English writer, literary critic, poet and theosophist. Her writings for The New Age magazine covered an eclectic range of genres, including feminist critiques which eventually foregrounded her 1909 feminist tract, Woman's Worst Enemy: Woman.
Hastings is portrayed in Modi as an "independent and interesting" woman who, upon moving to Paris in 1914, ingratiates herself with the city's bohemian residents. Inevitably, Modi caught her eye, and the pair struck up a relationship before sharing an apartment in Montparnasse. Beatrice also modelled for the artist and features in 14 of his paintings, including Seated Nude (1916).
"The pair are mad about each other," says Rose. "Modigliani is attracted to Beatrice because she is many things that he isn't. He is impoverished and struggling with his state of mind and health, whereas Beatrice is self-assured and earns her own living." We glean a sense of Beatrice’s self-assured persona from the first moment she walks onto the screen. Through embroidered fabrics, textiles and vivid colours, she appears confident and unaffected by the fads of high fashion.
Her semi-eccentric accessories, (like a scarf turned into a cummerbund and a gentleman's tailcoat) speak of the figure’s penchant for creativity and strength of character. By designing outfits which reflect Beatrice’s personality, Rose helped to bolster the film's realism, and allowed audiences to further understand the pair's romantic connection. "I think that Modigliani was attracted by her whole personality," she says.
Like Beatrice, Modi's style is emblematic of who he was. Born into a wealthy middle class family in Livorno, Italy, "the artist was a bit of a dandy in the early stages of his life" says Rose. But several years later, Modi's family had fallen on hard times and the painter migrated from art school in Venice to Paris' art hub, where poverty saw him exchange paintings in return for plates of spaghetti at restaurants. In the film, Modi's 1918 attire appears worn and suitably bohemian. The dandy style of his youth is replaced by a more austere weathered waistcoat and distressed double-breasted jacket inspired by the Bleu de Travail (French working blues), which was a popular blue jacket, trouser and overall ensemble adopted by French workers during the 1800s.
Seated Nude by Amadeo Modigliani, 1916
Photograph of Beatrice Hastings, 1898
Photograph of Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, and André Salmon
Riccardo’s choice
Once a garment has been designed and produced, a handful of iterations are made to provide the actor with options to choose from. "It can take half an hour or three hours for an actor to choose the outfit which fits their role perfectly," explains Rose. "They need to see the character reflected in the mirror." When the costume designer presented Riccardo with a range of coats, the actor's immediately spied the one garment that would become Modi's go-to accessory. "It was way too big for Riccardo but he rocked it," says Rose. "As soon as that damn coat went on, he felt like Modi."
Next, the costume design team made three replicas of the coat by dying and breaking down the material with sandpaper and bleach, before treading on the coat itself to achieve its iconic worn condition. And then, of course, they decorated each piece with identical paint marks to reflect how Modi wore his coat everywhere - even in the studio where he threw paint. "But amazingly enough, Riccardo never wore any of the replicas," says Rose. "It was like a question of luck. For Riccardo, that specific coat felt like it truly belonged to Modigliani. So the person looking after him on set had the huge responsibility of caring for the only coat that he'd wear."
Film poster of Riccardo Scamarcio as Amedeo Modigliani
in Modi - Three Days On The Wing Of Madness. Courtesy of IN.2
Long Live Dandyism
There is a moment in the film however, where we glimpse the dandy of Modi’s youth. Here, Depp takes us to a raucous party hosted by art dealer Léopold Zborowski (played by Stephen Graham) in a splendidly decorative apartment (which so happens to belong to an antique dealer). Like with Beatrice, Modi painted three portraits of Zborowski (one of which sold for $1,464,000 at Sotheby's in 2003), who became the artist's primary art dealer and friend during Modi's final years.
Zborowski was also the first art dealer for renowned painters such as Chaïm Soutine, Maurice Utrillo and Marc Chagall, and his soirée in the film is suitably brimming with artists. "It was breathtaking," recalls Rose. "All of the guests were artists or artist's models or actresses, and so we designed extravagantly fun-looking costumes. I greatly enjoyed this scene because Stephen and several other performers were really up for the madness that we created."
Rose is no stranger to designing extravagant costumes. Her Christian Dior-centric wardrobe for Madonna in Evita included 85 costume changes, 39 hats, 45 pairs of shoes, and 56 pairs of earrings. The star broke the Guinness World Record for the Most Costume Changes in a Film! You may have seen the film’s floral ball gown and pink satin evening coat at the CosProp charity auction in March, held by Kerry Taylor Auctions. The garments created by Rose were donated by the costume designer herself, along with Evita's Trifari brooch, earrings and a brown crocodile handbag.
"And now the pieces are prized relics that someone has owned or has come to own," says Rose. There is indeed a poetry to designing a costume, seeing it come to life on film and then continuing to cherish and preserve its value by passing it onto an enthusiast. Fittingly, the proceeds of the auction went to The Bright Foundation, which provides free access to creative activities, including visual and performing arts, for children and young people facing disadvantage.
Only twenty years after the musical was filmed in Budapest, Rose returned to the city for the filming of Modi. Crucially, the success of her costume designs depended on period accuracy, comfort and adhering to the visions of the actors and director. "Johnny knows me very well, and has liked what I've done for him. But, as we progressed, he grew to trust me more and more. The actors were also pleased because I honoured their wishes and made them happy. And that's the most important thing for me."
