Filmmakers—especially auteurs—are often overlooked when it comes to getting dressed, but their personal style deserves more of the spotlight. Directors are utilitarian artists; their work requires a purposeful uniform that evokes a hierarchy on set and simultaneously allows them to get down and dirty, but even their day-to-day outfits reveal intentions worthy of admiration.
As someone who is still in the process of developing his own look, studying the sartorial decisions of filmmakers has helped me understand the importance of timeless style. Deep down these research rabbit holes, I discovered getups that felt too special to keep to myself, so I began sharing them on Instagram through @directorfits. There’s a never-ending catalogue to take inspiration from. To start, here are a handful of my personal favorites.
Martin Scorsese
One day, you end up incorporating an item into your uniform, and you never look back. For Marty Scorsese, this is the big, gold, engraved Western belt buckle that he’s worn consistently both in his downtime and on sets, from Raging Bull and Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore to his latest, Killers of the Flower Moon.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Many details of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s on-set look for his 1980s TV series, Berlin Alexanderplatz, feel eerily contemporary. The key chain dangling from his belt loop, the big Balenciaga-esque boots, and the schlubby polo tucked into dark denim are elements you’ll spot on the mysterious bro solo-smoking a cigarette on the edge of the Zebulon patio in L.A.
Steve McQueen
I can’t help but become obsessed with a new brand every time Steve McQueen steps out to promote his latest project. At the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, he pulled up to the Occupied City photo call in brown, crinkly, free-flowing Casey Casey pants (thanks to our friends at Blackbird Spyplane for the ID!), which he paired with a red T-shirt and black chore coat.
Rouben Mamoulian
Earlier this year, I got a chance to ask style god Paul Schrader which filmmakers he thought dressed well. One of the names on his very short list was Rouben Mamoulian, a prominent director of Hollywood’s Golden Age and one of the central figures to help establish the buttoned-up director’s uniform of a suit and tie. In this rather rare casual look, we can see his initials elegantly embroidered on the chest of his freshly pressed shirt.
Tony Scott
Is that a NASCAR crew chief or director Tony Scott? On the set of Days of Thunder, Scott, who’s known for working in practical clothing, led the cast and crew in a vest—sans shirt. My eyes go to his watch and the array of pens and markers lining his necklace. Rather than filling his pockets with bait and tackle, the director stuffed them with filmmaking gadgets, like viewfinders and radios.
Hagop Kourounian runs the Instagram account @directorfits
