FIDM Talents Transform Lacoste's Classic Polos into Iconic Film Looks

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In addition to toasting veteran costume designers at Wednesday's Costume Designer Guild Awards gala (did you see our starry snaps from the scene?), event sponsor Lacoste also shined the spotlight on our city's own up-and-coming talents. The legendary French label tapped nine Film & TV Costume Design students at FIDM to reconstruct its iconic 12.12 pique polo into Hollywood's most memorable movie looks, all of which were on display at the ritzy awards ceremony.

We caught up with each of the young designers last night at Siren Studios, where Lacoste held a Q&A sesh with the CDGA nominees and winners and capped off the night with a stylish rooftop dinner. From The Wizard of Oz's Dorothy to Wall Street's Gordon Gekko and more, check out what each of on-the-rise designers dreamed up for Lacoste and find out what inspired their inventive creations below.

Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

I was inspired by the exaggeration of the 1950s; everything was overdone for MGM at that time. I knew that I wanted to incorporate something iconic from the dress, so I made the bow as big as possible and added diamonds and sequins to show [Lorelei's] love for being opulent and glamorous.—Troy Clinton

Another view of Clinton's design.

Charlie Chaplin as the Lone Prospector from The Gold Rush

[Chaplin] needd a costume that was funny, and I tried to capture that "I need something now" immediacy in my shirt. I got the jacket at a vintage store, and it was the same style jacket; it was perfect. I tried to incorporate gold safety pins and that beat-up look that he was so famous for.—Lora O'Shaughnessy

Diane Keaton as Annie Hall

I found this vintage vest at a vintage men's store called Joyride in Orange County. I used men's shirting fabric for the cuffs because I wanted to keep elements of menswear. I was really inspired by Saint Laurent on the runway a couple years ago.—Saretta Jimenez

Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko from Wall Street

He’s one of the richest, fictional characters ever, so of course everything that he wears is luxurious, expensive, and over-the-top. That's why I resized Lacoste's logo to over two-and-a-half inches, and I also added this tie fabric.—Bettina Martis

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's

I love the '60s, it’s one of my favorite eras. 1961 is when my mom was born; she passed away a couple years ago so this is also like a tribute to her. The only challenge was the fabric, because it’s not the kind of fabric that’s made for this design. Everything else came pretty easy.—Alice Stirbois

The back of Stoirbois's retro shirt.

Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca

The first thing that came to my mind was, 'How do you take a polo and make it such a tribute [to the look]?' I looked at the main things that defined a trench; I have the double-breasted buttons, the wider lapels, and the rain drop on the back. I tried to be more detail-oriented rather than start over. It was a challenge because unfortunately this season, Lacoste didn’t have the color that I needed, but they were so helpful in giving me plenty of white shirts to mess around with. I dyed this one to get the color that I wanted.—Elizabeth Irwin

Judy Garland as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz

I wanted to add the bows on the sleeves because of [Dorothy's] pigtail braids, and the puffy sleeves which are definitely 1930s. I took the bric-brac trim from the original design and incorporated the red sparkle [of Dorothy's ruby slippers]. I probably dyed the fabric six different times before I got it just the way I wanted it.—Kristen Carter

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

I'm a Potter fan anyway, so it was all about the tie at first and [the design] just grew from there. Even though it's the Gryffindor House, I turned it into Lacoste with the tennis rackets. I knew had I to incorporate some elements of magic because Harry Potter's a wizard, so I wanted to make it look multi-layered. I had taken apart six different Lacoste shirts [and] I did the embroidery on the crest by hand.—Lorelei Llee (yup, that's her real name!)

Keanu Reeves as Neo from The Matrix

The original design is iconic because of Neo's coat, but not very many people realize what's under it. Kym Barrett was the costume designer and every costume in that movie went through a green dye bath, so I incorporated the green. I chose red for the crocodile logo because in the movie, Morpheus gives Neo the choice of the red pill or the blue pill; he takes the red pill.—Cassidy Combs

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