From Miu Miu to Gucci to Fendi, we reflect on the sartorial legacy of the Wes Anderson staple
Critics of Wes Anderson often accuse him of focusing on style over substance. But what about when the substance is in the style? That’s the case in The Royal Tenenbaums, where each character’s wardrobe is a window into their past, their dreams, and their secrets. The stylish 2001 film (with an equally stylised soundtrack featuring The Velvet Underground, Nico and Elliott Smith) was Anderson’s first mainstream success, cementing his signature style in the public eye. Working with costume designer Karen Patch, the film created some of contemporary cinema’s most enduring style icons and featured custom-made garments from Fendi, adidas, and Hermès which themselves went on to inspire collections by Gucci, Miu Miu, and Lacoste.
Set in 70s New York, it paints a portrait of a once great family in decline. The Tenenbaums cling onto former successes, often through their clothes. Margot, Richie, and Chas are all former child prodigies, the kind of people who would probably have a lot to say each time “gifted and talented” discourse returns to Twitter. They’re burnt out, depressed, and disillusioned with adulthood. When they return to their childhood home after 17 years, a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same – most notably their clothes. Each of the Tenenbaums has a hard time letting go of the past. The film is also a lesson in the power of uniform dressing. The characters wear the same classic pieces they love over and over. After all, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Important principles to remember as we try to approach fashion more sustainably.
Margot’s signature style is by far the most recognisable and repeated of all the Tenenbaum clan, but each character has their own unique look that Anderson uses to build their world. As the movie turns 20, we dive into the film’s best fashion moments and trace their cultural legacies.
MARGOT TENENBAUM
From the morning-after eye liner and that fur coat, to the girlish barrettes in her bobbed hair, Margot’s signature look hints at her rebellious nature and secret longing. Mysterious and apathetic, the adopted sister has worn the same outfit since age 12 when she was celebrated as a genius playwright. Her neat bob, fur coat, Birkin bag, and loafers are paired with hair clips and a too-small polo dress. She’s sophisticated, but at the same time like a child playing dress up in her mother’s closet. The smudged eye makeup and secret smoking habit reveal her rebellious streak: she ran away from home twice as a kid and has had a string of covert love affairs. This signature style paired with her disaffected angst made Margot a Tumblr icon and she has gone on to inspire countless runway shows, most notably Gucci’s AW15 outing, when Alessandro Michele sent out a series of doppelgängers complete with blonde bobs, fur coats, and loafers. Cut to 2021, and those fluffy Fendi looks and Miu Miu minis on the catwalk would surely get Margot’s stamp of approval. And that’s without forgetting what a popular Halloween costume the troubled Tenenbaum makes for each year.
RICHIE TENENBAUM
Richie was pairing striped tennis headbands with camel suits long before Alessandro Michele reinterpreted the look for the modern Gucci man. The former tennis champ clings onto his teen success through his wardrobe. As a child he’s never not seen in his tennis kit, a costume inspired by 70s tennis pro Bjorn Borg. Richie keeps on his ubiquitous striped headband into adulthood even though he hasn’t played the sport in years and now spends his time on a boat drinking Bloody Marys. Signature aviator shades and a shaggy beard hide him from the world, the shame of his public breakdown on the court and his love for his adopted sister Margot weighing heavy on his mind. Towards the end of the film, Richie cuts his hair and shaves his beard. At first, he finds facing himself too much to bear, but eventually he readjusts, the visual change showing how he has started to come to terms with his present reality.
CHAS TENENBAUM AND HIS SONS
This comically coordinated trio have mastered vintage streetwear. Their classic adidas Firebird tracksuits in fire engine red definitely make a statement. Chas wants to present his family as a united front because that’s what he was denied as a child when Richie was always his father’s clear favourite. The matching outfits also express Chas’ need to control his sons whether it’s through what they wear, their relationship with their grandfather, or the safety tests he makes them perform. The bright red ensemble and Puma whirlwind sneakers are spotless, but they’re removed from the professional suited garb of Chas’ financial whizz kid days showing the decline in his success and happiness. The adidas Firebird tracksuit is no longer on sale, but you can still snap up a vintage version online. Chas has also gone on to inspire the runway, with Lacoste sending a series of Chas lookalikes down the runway for AW15.
ELI CASH
Eli is a Tenenbaum wannabe. His eccentric personal style is an attempt to fit in with the idiosyncratic siblings who he has been friends with since childhood. “I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum,” Eli confesses. However, his attempt comes across as more performative and considered than the family’s classic style. The stetson fedora and fringed jacket paints him as a melancholy cowboy searching for belonging. He hides his loneliness and substance abuse behind a charismatic costume. As an adult, he finds commercial success as a novelist writing about cowboys but is not considered a genius the way the precocious Tenenbaum children once were.
ETHELINE TENENBAUM
Etheline is one of the film’s most underrated style icons. The powerful matriarch dresses in a revolving series of pastel skirt suits accessorised with silk gloves and an Hermès Kelly bag, subtly linking her to her adopted daughter, Margot. She is the driving force behind her children’s early success, dedicating herself to their education and publishing a book titled ‘Family of Geniuses’. The pencil she uses to hold up her hair adds a thrown together element to her conservative look, showing that while she tries to hold it together for her family, she’s feeling just as lost and confused as the rest of them.
I still think #RoyalTenenbaum is the best character to ever hit the big screen. Hard to believe it's been 14 years. pic.twitter.com/zE5HILiTJV
— Taylor Brown (@TaylorBrown1984) January 20, 2015
ROYAL TENENBAUM
The disgraced head of the family, Royal still wears a double-breasted suit, flat cap, and large tweed overcoat although he was disbarred from his profession several years earlier. He also has a hard time letting go of the past, but for him, this past is mostly imagined. Yet his style remains professional and timeless. Although his once great family has fallen apart, he still looks put-together – perhaps too well put-together for a man who claims to be dying?