Who’s ready for the movie DOPE slated to hit theaters tomorrow, June 19? (me raising my hand)
We all know by now that the movie DOPE – set through a 90s lens – is a coming of age movie that follows the story of a high school geek (Shameik Moore) trying to get into Harvard while dodging drug dealers and other obstacles in a post-hip hop, gang-infested neighborhood of Inglewood, Calif.
Of course the script is the crust of the film, but let’s not lose the importance of styling which gives the film life and authenticity. Now consider how tough that was for Patrik Milani when you throw in a rapper, a singer, and a professional model to the cast—all figures who’ve become famously fashionable.
The FADER recently caught with Milani to learn about his super task. His secret weapon:”I lived through the ‘90s, so I know that era really well.”
Check out an excerpt of the interview:
What first attracted you to Dope?
The whole script is about being an outsider and not fitting in, and I totally got that.
The film’s tagline is “It’s hard out here for a geek.” How do you visually translate the concept of “the nerd” through Malcolm’s wardrobe?
The thing is he doesn’t think he’s a nerd but people who wear oversized clothes think he’s a nerd because he wears tight clothes and he buttons his shirts all the way up. I don’t think he thinks he’s a nerd but definitely his peers do.
Did A$AP Rocky want to keep the Air Jordans after the film?
No, A$AP has really good clothes. He didn’t want to keep anything [laughs]. But he brought a lot of clothes. We’d have the fitting and he’d be like, “Oh I have a pair of black jeans at home,” and of course his fit a million times better. But he doesn’t really dress like his character and he understood that. He’s a great actor as you saw in the film. I’d say all rappers are really good actors because rapping is like poetry. It was great to work with him, we had a lot of fun. We’d laugh during the fittings but he was very professional at work.
Chanel Iman and Zoe Kravitz have also worked in fashion and have their own distinct styles. Did they have a lot of input?
Zoe and I discussed the character before and how she wouldn’t be a peacock and, if anything, she’s so beautiful dresses down to keep people away from her. Chanel, I had met when she was 15 on an Yves Saint Laurent show—I think it was her first job. Chanel was great. She really look the role seriously. All of them made my job easy because they can all wear clothes well and got into character right away.
Read the full interview HERE
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