If there's one movie that perfectly embodies the style sensibility of the 1980s, it's American Psycho. Released in 2000 and based on Bret Easton Ellis' 1991 novel of the same name, the psychological thriller is a picture-perfect snapshot into the decade of decadence.
Focusing on Manhattan-based Wall Street yuppie and serial killer Patrick Bateman, portrayed in the film by former GQ cover star Christian Bale, American Psycho is filled to the braces with hallmarks of yesteryear. There's Bateman's now unimaginable Discman, Jared Leto's Paul Allen in a jazzed-up tie and braces, stiff business cards and the evil protagonist's mighty wardrobe. Being GQ, of course, it's this latter point we haven't been able to get out of our heads for, well, the past couple of decades.
While haunting the streets, nightclubs and restaurants of the city that never sleeps, Bateman serves 1980s big fits aplenty. While many of the brands mentioned in Ellis' novel chose not to be referenced in the film, Calvin Klein and Comme Des Garçons included, the costume department did an excellent job in channelling the era's ego-centric energy. Here are a few of the highlights…
In both the book and the film, Bateman wears a Rolex Datejust 16013 with jubilee bracelet (similar to the watch of Richard Gere in Pretty Woman). With the Datejust having first been introduced in 1946, this stainless-steel and gold two-tone version was a 1980s creation. Swish and flashy, two-tone watches were a mainstay in the timepiece collections of 1980s businessmen. An era obsessed with showing off, it's no surprise that Bateman dons a shiny gold and silver timepiece, nor is it a surprise that, when in bed with two prostitutes, he snaps, “Don’t touch the watch.” Nice.
Bankers in the 1980s took inspiration from the “Dirty Thirties” when it came to their formalwear. Double-breasted tuxedos were all the rage in the 1930s and the Valentino black dinner jacket worn by Bale on screen is a perfect example: his has a six-on-two button DB front and sweeping satin peak lapels that sit wide across his torso.
To match these excessive era-appropriate design elements, Bateman's trousers feature double reverse pleats and satin side stripes, while his crisp white shirt features a narrowly pleated front bib, accented with Gatsby-worthy yellow-gold cuff links. The cashmere camel scarf is an additional signifier of 1980s materialist surplus.
You may think of City traders during the Thatcher years when we mention pinstripes, but they had their place across the pond too: pinstriped suits epitomise the 1980s style of the well-dressed corporate bigwigs who wanted to show off their status (take Gordon Gekko, for example). In American Psycho, Bateman wears a classic charcoal pinstriped double-breasted suit: this Valentino number is boxy, has exaggerated shoulders and excessively large notch lapels.
It's the power suit of all power suits, chosen by costume designer Isis Mussenden. Wall Street's current bankers could learn a lesson or two from the cut.
XXL with emphasised, well, everything, this is the coat of all coats (rivalled only by that gorgeous Armani wool number worn by Gere in American Gigolo.) If a 1980s banker thought a power suit was the way to the top (or at least make others believe that's where you were heading), then the overcoat was the pièce de résistance. More bouncer than banker, the strong-shouldered overcoat was (and still is) a way of showing you meant business – the ultimate power play and a perfect embodiment of the excess and stiff styling that defined the Wall Street workers.
Bateman's ties are in a range of jewel tones – mainly red, green and yellow – and come in a series of snappy patterns. Bold and statement-making, they're there to be noticed: after all, he's just a shallow 1980s businessman with a lust for supremacy.
Then there's the braces. Upping his yuppie game, Bateman sports a pair of clip-on braces, despite having belt holes. Another power play, it was Bateman's way of fitting into the crowd he so desperately wanted to be a part of and exude some affluence.
The specs are Oliver Peoples. The axe-sharp Bateman sports round tortoiseshell glasses by the Californian brand in Mary Harron's film adaptation, which accent his chiselled visage. In the film, Bateman says, “Paul Allen has mistaken me for this dickhead Marcus Halberstram. It seems logical because Marcus also works at P&P and in fact does the same exact thing I do and he also has a penchant for Valentino suits and Oliver Peoples glasses.” Just like us.
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