Timothée Chalamet is stepping into some pretty legendary shoes for his upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. The film follows the music icon over the course of several years. It starts in the early 1960s when he moves from Minnesota to New York City and ends in the mid-1960s when Dylan infamously “went electric” with his sound, which means Chalamet has a lot of costume changes — over 70, to be exact.
In a new interview with People, costume designer Arianne Phillips revealed that Chalamet wears over 70 costumes throughout the film. "He is very focused, very generous with his time and he's a dream collaborator, really," Phillips said of the actor.
“He had almost 70 costume changes in this film, which requires a lot of fitting time. I can't imagine anyone else playing this role," Phillips continued. She also shared that Chalamet would “come for fitting before or after recording music or a vocal lesson or a guitar lesson,” proving his dedication to the role.
The actor wears lots of suede jackets, denim, boots, and hats in the film, similar to what Dylan wore in the early '60s, but none of the pieces came from the singer himself. “I don't think Bob [Dylan] wanted to give up his clothes. They're hanging in his closet,” Phillips shared. However, she did try to snag some authentic Dylan pieces “a few times."
Phillips previously did the costumes for another music biopic, Walk the Line, and wasn't able to score any Johnny Cash or June Carter Cash outfits for that movie either. Regardless of the costumes' origins, Phillips says that A Complete Unknown and Chalamet-as-Dylan will “inspire a lot of young people who maybe don't know who Bob Dylan is.” And maybe the return of turtleneck sweaters, suede, and newsboy caps to the trend cycle?
