The year is 2049 and the world left behind by Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard thirty years ago isn’t as pretty as one had hoped. His successor in Ryan Gosling is a different story though because he rocks one hell of an epic coat in the reboot which simply begs to be explored. Yes, like an origins story – but for a damn fur coat.
For those who aren’t too familiar with the new Blade Runner world, 2049 is now a gritty urban jungle filled with nasty people and robots. Gosling’s leading man wardrobe therefore needed to reflect that environment and it does so with a hybrid fur coat which evokes a fascinating Western-military aesthetic.
What’s more intriguing though is the length which when completely closed (more on that in a moment), runs from the middle of Gosling’s face to his shins to form a piece which looks more like a piece of weathered armour.
Esquire, the people who first picked up on this cool garment design recently hit up the film’s costume designer, Renée April, to find out the inspiration behind it.
“He wanted the fur collar. That wasn’t there in the beginning.”
“It’s the same world, but it’s worse. It’s dirty, it’s slushy, it’s not a nice place to be,” says April. Gosling’s coat was directly inspired by the coat worn by Harrison Ford’s character in the 1982 film, albeit updated for the more unforgiving elements. The heavy-duster is constructed of cotton and features a utilitarian waterproof coating in army green which adds to the grimness of the film.
It’s also safe to assume that future has culled buttons or zippers. Gosling’s coat instead features a hidden magnetic closing mechanism which helps it to achieve a sleek futuristic look when paired with raised collar which forms a mask. April tells Esquire that this is a nod to the pollution levels in the future but also admits that she did it simply because “it looks cool”.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Gosling film without a personal touch of style from the photoshopped man himself. The fur lining on the coat? That was Gosling’s own input.
“He wanted the fur collar,” says April. “That wasn’t there in the beginning.”
Currently the coat is already starting to see knock-offs popping up online. Those keen on donning the real fashion of 2049 shouldn’t be too deterred though as the film’s costume department made15 of these jackets to account for wear and tear as well as stunt doubles.
If you do miraculously come across the real deal one day, don’t expect it to be in mint condition.
“I don’t want to tell you the whole thing, but by the end it’s full of holes and blood,” April adds.
[via Esquire]