Cate Adams, Costume Designer
Edited by Leonard Zelig
Behind the Scenes photos by Miles Crist
March 5, 2024
Illustrations by Richard Merritt
(Click to view in full resolution)
During my first talks with David Fincher to discuss the script, one of the first notes he gave me was that maybe “The Expert” should be in an Ann Taylor suit. Ann Taylor is a small US chain of clothing stores for fashion-forward career women. Put together, but not flashy. Very understated despite her wealth. That was my first impression.
When we got closer to shooting the scenes with Tilda Swinton in Chicago, there was correspondence between her and David about shaping the character, what she would wear, what her house looks like, that he shared with me and Gigi Williams, Head of Makeup.
She lives in a beautiful, mid-century modern home, and she has money from her occupation, but she is very under the radar. She indulges herself with smaller luxuries like fine-dining restaurants, where she keeps her own bottle of whisky, and Swiss ultra-luxury vintage watches like an Audemars Piguet. A masseuse could be seen leaving her home with a table.
David suggested a simple but beautiful dress with a flow, with a sway. It had to be warm because it was going to be really cold since we were shooting at night in Chicago in February. So, maybe wool. And nice shoes, but not so tall as to risk hurting anyone when she topples. He wanted something that was in a lighter tone, similar to “The Killer” in Paris. It’s funny how there are these hidden Easter eggs, everything connected. And all the light tones couldn’t have a touch of pink in them. If you look at some khakis on the color wheel they will lead to pink. And he doesn’t like pink. I also had to avoid greens. And patterns. So, it had to be muted tones like off-white, ecru, eggshell, cement… She shouldn’t be menacing when you first see her. You want a bit of compassion or empathy for her.
I knew I wasn’t going to have a lot of time with Tilda. So, we just started doing a lot of research. After scouring the internet for dresses and looking for reference photos of her films and press appearances, we started to think that we should make our own dress.
Tilda Swinton had always been on my radar. She is a fashion icon! Everyone wants to dress her. She dresses quite androgynously in real life, but that’s not what David wanted.
Then, I found a movie she starred in with Ralph Fiennes and directed by Luca Guadagnino called A Bigger Splash (2015), in which she looks so beautiful. She has the simplest feminine outfits, really pretty shirt dresses, wraps, and oversized button French shirts. The Costume Designer of the film is Giulia Piersanti. And Raf Simmons, former artistic director of Christian Dior, collaborated with her and the director creating Dior pieces for Tilda. I took a lot of ideas from them. That silhouette in particular.
I knew she looked good with some kind of wrap going on. I knew that she looked good with a collar. She has that long, beautiful neck. I really wanted to show her chest, but I also knew that it shouldn’t be too sexy, and it shouldn’t be too revealing.
During the production in New Orleans, I found a shape of a dress from Zara on Poshmark that we used as inspiration to make a pattern from Tilda’s measurements. And we found a beautiful ecru or eggshell-colored wool crepe fabric that we sourced from Promenade Fine Fabrics, based in New Orleans. I had Nancy, our cutter fitter, pattern the dress and make a matching belt. But we didn’t have enough time to finish it, so we brought it to Chicago and lined it in there. The dress was made, and we had that in our back pocket.
Then, my Assistant Costume Designer Ken Van Duyne and I spent three days, before the fitting with Tilda, shopping all over Chicago, hitting every single designer store: Armani, Ralph Lauren, MaxMara, Brunello Cucinelli, as well as the department stores Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
At Yves Saint Laurent, I saw a beautiful brown blouse with French cuffs and really cool golden cufflinks. And I was, “Oh, that would be cool if she had cufflinks! Like a dominant male accouterment but very sly. Like she’s a boss. No one really knows what she does, she’s very undercover and mysterious.” We added that to the dress as a subtle power touch.
Then, Tilda arrived at the fitting. She and David talked for a bit, and then David said, “Okay, you guys, go do your thing,” and he waited outside the room. She came in, all fabulous, took her coat off, and said, “What’s going on here?” I said, “Would you like to start by looking at the racks? I’ve put together a few outfits to start…” And she said, “No, I want to wear what you want me to wear.” I said, “Well, I made a dress for you, and I would love you to try it on.” And she said, “Done.” She put the dress on, and it looked incredible on her. It was like a unicorn costume moment. Of course, it needed small adjustments, but it looked pretty great right away. She loved it.
We put on some Christian Louboutin booties from Net A Porter because we wanted to make sure she’d be able to walk if it was snowing or in the cold, but we also wanted her to have a little heel. And a beautiful MaxMara coat we had found in Chicago that matched the dress perfectly. We had every layer in that color imaginable. It had to look like The Expert is very calm because she has just had a massage. The masseuse comes into her house and then leaves. Then she just takes herself out for dinner. And it was like a wrap coat. It looked beautiful.
We invited David into the room, he looked her up and down, and he simply said, “Great.”
Then, we talked about accessories like a scarf, and a pocketbook. We had some purse options that had to fit the gun. We went with a Brunello Cucinelli pulled from their shop in Chicago. We added a Smith+Mara diamond industrial cuff earring as a finishing touch.
In the beginning, we weren’t sure what hair color she was going to have. When she came into the fitting with very blonde hair, it seemed to play the character, especially to the reference by Leo, the Taxi Driver, of her looking like a Q-tip. The Hair Department went even lighter and it worked with our look.
David said, “Let’s shoot it.” We took some photos. And he walked back out. I whispered to Tilda because David was right outside the room, “Do you think we need to give him another option?” And she said, “No, I’m good if you’re good.” And I thought, “Okay, I should take a beat,” and went out and asked David, “Do you want any more options?” And he said, “No.” And that was it!
I was so stunned and excited. I’m not sure if Ken and I hugged at that moment or tried to be professional. That was one of the best moments of the production and my whole career. An unreal experience for me, my assistant designer, and our costume crew. It makes me so proud we could orchestrate, execute, and nail that look. I’m so grateful to them.
As the cherry on top, Tilda left with a “Well done!” as a farewell in her lovely British accent.
“The Killer” Costume Design Department
Costume Designer: Cate Adams
MAIN UNIT
Costume Supervisor: Catharine “Fletch” Incaprera
Assistant Costume Designer: Ken Van Duyne
PARIS
Costume Supervisor: Lenaïg Periot-Boulben
Key Set Costumer – Cast: Iris Jarre
Costume Buyers / Set Costumers: Avril Lecocq, Camille Lartigue
Standby Crowd: Aude Langlois-Meurinne
Seamstresses : Véronique Boisel, Marion Uberall
Ager / Dyer: Valentina Fici
Costume Runners: Julien Bugeaud, Robert Turel
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Key Costumer: Anthony Rivera Jr.
Costume Supervisor: Irene Freundt
Key Set Costumer: Abril Medina
Set Costumers: Lucylle Montero, Camila Canaan
Seamstress: Luz Esther Aybar
Head Aging: Caroll Maura
Aging Assistant #1: Zoe Blanchard
Shopper #1: Anabelle Paulino
NEW ORLEANS
Costume Coordinator: Alexa Howard
Key Office Costumer: Chelsea Descenna
Key Set Costumer: Marie Boensch
Truck Costumer: Olivia Vestina Torres
Set Costumer: Taylor Wilcox
Ager / Dyer: Gayle Merindino
Cutter / Fitter: Nancy Molleur
CHICAGO
Costume Supervisor: Jennifer Jobst
Key / Trailer Costumer: Angela Verdino
Costumer: Seth Elliott
Set Costumers: Louise Upchurch, Kirrah Perkins
BG Costumer: Kareena Gardner
Ager / Dyer: Kristi Wood
Stitchers: Sandy Lazar, Kate Shattock
LOS ANGELES
Costumer: Steve Constancio
LOS ANGELES ADDITIONAL UNIT
Costume Supervisor: Brittany Pask
Key Prep Costumer: Jeanine McKirnan
Key Set Costumer: May Azzow
Costumer: Emily Moran
The Fincher Analyst 