Rome - this
autumn on 91Èȱ¬ TWO
Authentic costumes
and props add to the realism of Rome
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In any production, costumes are essential for creating
a character, and it was no different for Rome.
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As with all other aspects of the production, authenticity
and attention to detail were critical - from the raw fabrics dyed and
aged by the production and the handmade armour, leather and metalwork,
to the props, weapons and fighting techniques.
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This task fell to costume designer April Ferry
(Oscar-nominated for Maverick) and prop master Arthur
Wicks.
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Ferry joined the production team in September 2003
and began breaking down the first three scripts for costume requirements.
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"We've done a lot of research in books and museums
to see what people actually wore at the time, because a lot of what
you've seen before in films of this period is wrong," she says.
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"Rome had people from all over the known world at the
time, and they didn't all dress alike. So we're going after the ethnic
differences and all the colour and vibrancy that was there."
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The series required more than 4,000 pieces of wardrobe, 2,500
being used in the first three episodes alone.
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All of the fabrics are authentic to the times, with
only cotton, linen, wool and silk employed.
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They were purchased in their natural state, and hand-dyed
on set. Much of the material came from India, as well as Prato, Italy,
Tunisia and Morocco.
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Approximately 1,250 pairs of shoes and sandals were
made in Bulgaria, and 250 chain mail tunics, each weighing 36 pounds,
were made in India.
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The prototype for the detailed leather cuirass worn
by army officers was handmade at Cinecittà , and 40 were replicated in
India.
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Prototypes for all of the metalwork - helmets, buckles,
belts and insignia - were handmade on set and replicated in India as
well.
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"One of the benefits to shooting in Rome is that some
of the finest craftsmen in the world are here when it comes to leather,
metal and painted fabric work," says Ferry.
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Among them are leathermasters Augusto and Giampaolo
Grassi, and metal maker Luca Giampaoli.
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The Grassis are the sons of legendary leathermaster
Alvaro Grassi, who created the body armour for Cinecittà 's golden-age
epics, including Cleopatra and Ben-Hur.
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The quality is such that many of those costumes are
still in use decades later, rented throughout the world for other productions.
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The Grassis began learning their craft as children,
playing in their father's workshop.
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For Rome,
they created the prototype for the legionary cuirass to be duplicated
in India, and handmade all of the leather wardrobe pieces for the principal
actors.
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One cuirass takes about a week to complete, and is made
using traditional techniques, with no modern plastics or glues. The
leather is all from Italy, and dyed on set.
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"We're very proud of what we've accomplished here,"
says Augusto Grassi, "because we haven't rented one pair of shoes, not
one single thing. With a small group we've done it all, and everything's
owned by the production."
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Luca Giampaoli takes a similar pride in his accomplishments
in metal. His background is in mint engraving, but he began his film
wardrobe career with Gladiator.
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"I've done everything for the main actors myself, from
armour to helmets to jewellery, using both ancient and modern techniques,"
he says.
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"It's all done freehand, and it's fun. I look forward
to coming to work in the morning because there's such a variety of things
to be made."
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Caesar's detailed breastplates take three days for the
base, and another three days for the decoration. A helmet takes about
two days to complete.
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Prop master Arthur Wicks creates everything the actors
aren't wearing, including weapons, games, tools, coins and food for
the banquets.
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"A lot of our research comes from books and museums,
especially," he says. "For example, there's a musical instrument called
a water organ in one scene, and you can't get one anywhere, so we went
to the museum, photographed and measured it, and built an exact copy
here.
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"Same for the weaving looms Servilia and Octavia
use - fully practical, and we built them from ancient designs.
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"The coins are all made for us at the Vatican mint,
and have the likeness of our Caesar, Ciarán Hinds, stamped on them.
All of the banquet food is edible, and is what they
would have eaten at the time. There isn't anything that wasn't available
in the Roman markets, but since they traded all over the world, it's
a good variety.
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"One of the biggest challenges is to anticipate things
that aren't specifically called for in the script but that you would
have needed - it takes a lot of reading between the lines.
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"The slave Strabo follows Caesar around and is
always writing letters for him, so I gave him a portable writing surface
of wax that he can carry with him, kind of like an ancient laptop, that
sort of thing.
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"It's been an enormous amount of work, but it's been
a lot of fun, imagining the small things, the luxuries they would have
had around the home and recreating the ancient games, researching their
rules. And we've done it all with six people."
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