‘Genius: Aretha’ takes wardrobe seriously
Aretha Franklin knew what becomes a legend most. She liked to wear “onstage outfits as dramatic as her four-octave voice,” as Glamour declared.
The Queen of Soul loved fashion, understood the power of fashion and, at one point, contemplated entering the business of fashion herself.
“There is an interview that I came across in my research where she mentioned (the possibility of ) doing a fashion line. Somewhere in the back of her head, that was on her list of things to do,” says costume designer Jennifer Bryan, who studied the Detroit diva's incomparable looks for the National Geographic cable channel's limited series “Genius: Aretha,” which aired all of its episodes this week and is now streaming on Hulu.
Bryan grew up in Jamaica and earned a fashion degree Brooklyn's Pratt Institute before building a career in costuming for movies and television. Her costume design credits include AMC's “Better Call Saul,” “Halt and Catch Fire” and “Breaking Bad” and the CW's “Vampire Diaries” and “The Originals.”
“Genius: Aretha” is one of her most complex projects yet. It involved thousands of costumes and required hundreds of extras to be in period clothing for certain scenes. Most crucially, Bryan had to create or find outfits to accurately depict Franklin's clothing from the 1950s, when she was singing her first solos at her father's church in Detroit, through the decades that followed.
Bryan scoured decades' worth of publications for photos of Franklin, from music trade publications to magazines like Ebony and Jet aimed at Black readers to, yes, the singing superstar's hometown newspaper, the Free Press.
“I probably curated over 1,000 photographs of the time (periods) and specific ones of Aretha Franklin herself and her family and her father. The further you go back, the harder they were to find,” she says.
Though the visual history was an invaluable guide, the pictures had their limitations, especially the early snapshots. Says Bryan, “There were instances where I had to replicate what she wore to some specific events, and some of those (photos) were in black and white, and I was like: ‘Oh my God, is that dress silver? Is it gold? Is it blue or pink?'”
Another hurdle? Finding matches for certain vintage fabrics to achieve the right look, fit and draping. “You think fabrics are around for ever? They're not,” explains Bryan. “Forget about the print or the color. Just the actual weave or texture of fabrics change. The polyester back
then is not the polyester we have now.”
Sometimes, the perfect look was just waiting to be discovered.
One of the standout costumes in the series is an orange, green and burgundy knit suit worn by actress Cynthia Erivo, who plays Franklin, in scenes involving 1967 recording sessions in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. “That is actually a vintage piece that I found. It was just like a miracle. It really was. It was in immaculate shape. No holes, no snags, no faded colors. It was like, ‘Ahhhh,” says Bryan, imitating a choir of angels. “And it fit Cynthia to a T.”
Among the outfits designed by Bryan, one of her favorites came from a drawing she made after meeting with “Genius: Aretha” executive producer Suzan-Lori Parks about the job. “I didn't know I ‘had it' had it, but I felt it,” she recalls. “That evening, I sketched this navy silk velvet gown that has black and iridescent coque feathers that just wrap around her body . ... I went, ‘If I get this job, (I'm using) that gown!'”
Bryan praises Erivo for understanding the messaging that happens with clothes. “She's very collaborative and ... in her own personal style, she's adventurous. You've seen her red carpet looks. She's willing to step out of her own comfort zone and try different things.”
A sense of adventure helped because Franklin's style was always evolving with the latest trends. Although she loved sequins, feathers, furs and beading for her ultra-sophisticated formal gowns, she also embraced a variety of casual wear, from mod, fitted dresses in the 1960s to flowing caftans in the early 1970s like the ones she wore for her performances at a Los Angeles church that became the “Amazing Grace” gospel album and documentary.
Bryan had extreme difficulty locating a fabric that matched or even resembled the green silk caftan that Franklin donned for those sessions. “It had a large, what I would call exploded, paisley print. Couldn't find it. Searched high and low.” Finally, she had to have a fabric custom-made to replicate the caftan.
Franklin's clothes spoke to the awareness and sensitivity that she brought to every occasion. She knew what was appropriate to wear, whether it was to accept a major award as a performer or show her support for civil rights as an activist.
Bryan notes that Franklin, who spoke out about the need for designer fashions in larger sizes, had a contemporary take on body image. “Nowadays, we talk about being body positive and comfortable in your size. I think she was ahead of the curve with that . ... She worked with her body as her body changed.”